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SPORTSTuesday 29 March 2016
With Blackwell in coma, British boxing experiences deja vu
STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
As Nick Blackwell lies in an
induced coma in a London
hospital following a brutal
middleweight title fight, a
heavy sense of deja vu is
hanging over British boxing.
In 1991, Michael Watson
suffered a near-fatal brain
injury in an all-British world stop taking head shots to
title fight against Chris Eu-
bank. Watson needed six
operations to remove the
blood clot that had formed
on his brain, leaving him
partially paralyzed.
Twenty-five years later, the
long-retired Eubank was
a central figure in another
dark night for the sport in
Britain. And it might be that
his memories of that fight
against Watson prevented
the worst of scenarios in
Saturday.
Eubank was in the corner
of his son, Chris Eubank Jnr.,
who was handing Black-
well a beating in their fight
for the British title at Wem-
bley Arena. By the end of
the eighth round, Blackwell
was in a bad state with his
left eye closed and swollen.
Eubank Snr. saw the grav-
ity of the situation and en-
tered the ring to speak to
his son before the ninth
Chicago Blackhawks’ Teuvo Teravainen, right, of Finland,
scores against Vancouver Canucks’ goalie Ryan Miller during
the third period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British
Columbia, Sunday, March 27, 2016.
VANCOUVER, British Co-
lumbia (AP) — Chicago
clinched its eighth straight
playoff berth with a 3-2 win
at slumping Vancouver on
Sunday, with Andrew Ladd
scoring the go-ahead goal
with 2:27 left.
Tomas Fleischmann and
Teuvo Teravainen also
scored while Trevor van
- Thisis a Feb. 28, 2015 file photo of Chris Eubank Snr, left, speaks to his son Chris Eubank Jnr at
the O2 Arena, London. British boxer Nick Blackwell lies in an induced coma in a hospital in Lon-
don Monday March 28, 2016 following a brutal middleweight title fight against Chris Eubank Jnr.
In 1991, Michael Watson suffered a near-fatal brain injury in an all-British world title fight against
Chris Eubank Snr. Eubank Snr., was in the corner of his son, Chris Eubank Jnr., who was handing
Blackwell a beating in their fight for the British title at Wembley Arena.
round began, telling him to two, if it goes to a deci-
sion, why hasn’t the referee
Blackwell. stopped the fight? I don’t
“If the referee doesn’t stop get why.
it, then I don’t know what “So maybe you shouldn’t
to tell you,” Eubank told his leave it to the referee. But
son. “But I will tell you this: If you are not going to take
he doesn’t stop it and you him out to the face. You
keep on beating him like are going to take him out
this, one, he is getting hurt, to the body. OK?”
NHL Roundup
Blackhawks clinch playoff
berth with win at Vancouver
Baertschi scored for the
Canucks, who have man-
aged only seven goals dur-
ing their eight-game losing
skid. Emerson Etem had
Associated Press two assists, and Ryan Miller
finished with 29 saves.
Riemsdyk had two assists
for the defending Stanley PENGUINS 3, RANGERS 2, OT
Cup champions. NEW YORK (AP) — Sidney
Goaltender Scott Darling Crosby scored on a deflec-
made 26 saves in his ninth tion at 4:30 of overtime,
victory of the season, filling and surging Pittsburgh beat
in for regular starter Corey New York in a potential first- ropolitan Division, moved
Crawford who is not on this round playoff preview.
road trip due to an upper- Matt Cullen and Phil Kes-
body injury. sel also scored for the Pen-
Alex Burrows and Sven guins, who have won eight
of nine. Marc-Andre Fleury
made 25 saves.
Eric Staal scored twice for
the Rangers, who had won
three straight. Kevin Hayes
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. pion Tyson Fury said on Twit-
The fight continued to the
10th round, when it was
stopped after the ringside
doctor advised the referee
that Blackwell was unable
to see through his left eye.
Minutes later, Blackwell fell
to the floor in the ring and
was taken to hospital.
He suffered bleeding of
and Jesper Fast assisted on
both of Staal’s goals. Henrik
Lundqvist stopped 29 shots.
Derick Brassard was called
for high-sticking with 1.4
seconds left in regulation
to give Pittsburgh a power
play in the extra period. But
the Rangers killed it off be-
fore Kris Letang’s wrist shot
from the point ricocheted
in off Crosby in front.
Pittsburgh, third in the Met-
within three points of the
second-place Rangers and
two ahead of the idle Is-
landers. The Penguins have
a game in hand on the
Rangers.
HURRICANES 3, DEVILS 2
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Vic-
the brain and is in intensive
care, sparking an outpour-
ing of heartfelt messages
from the boxing fraternity.
“Will u all pray for Nick
Blackwell please ASAP,”
world heavyweight cham-
ter.
The BBC reported late Sun-
day that surgeons are not
planning to operate on
Blackwell.
Watson said he “went
down memory lane in
many senses” as the Black-
well-Eubank Jnr. fight un-
folded. Unlike during Wat-
son’s darkest moment 25
years ago, there were
medical professionals on
hand for prompt treatment
for Blackwell.
“I went through a lot when
it happened to me, and it
makes me feel happy that
what I went through led to
a change in the medical
provision laid out for box-
ers,” Watson told Monday’s
edition of British newspaper
The Daily Telegraph.
“Young Chris need not
blame himself for what has
happened. It was not his
intention to bring harm to
his opponent, as strange
as that sounds. It was an
accident.”q
tor Rask scored twice for
the first multigoal game of
his career, leading Carolina
past New Jersey.
Rask, who has scored in
three straight games, end-
ed the Hurricanes’ skid
of six consecutive games
without a power-play goal
when he connected in the
first period. He scored his
20th of the season early in
the second to make it 3-0.
Ron Hainsey scored the
other Carolina goal, and
Cam Ward made 23 saves.
Bobby Farnham and Tra-
vis Zajac had the goals for
New Jersey. Devils goalie
Scott Wedgewood, play-
ing in his fourth NHL game,
stopped 20 shots.q