Boxer Leavander Johnson died Thursday from injuries sustained five days earlier in a lightweight title fight with Jesus Chavez.
The 35-year-old died at University Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized since being injured in the fight Saturday night at the MGM Grand hotel-casino.
A hospital spokeswoman said Johnson was pronounced dead at 4:23 p.m.
Johnson was put in a medically induced coma after undergoing brain surgery less than an hour after his fight with Chavez. Doctors were initially unsure he would make it through the night, but the next day expressed cautious optimism after tests showed improvement in brain function.
Johnson spent 16 years as a professional fighter before finally winning a version of the 135-pound title in June. But, in his first defense, he took a beating from Chavez before finally being stopped by a flurry of punches in the 11th round.
Very few boxers achieve what Johnson did, but they all risk their lives trying to win. Jim Lampley complained that we should have a draft so that poor kids aren't forced into Iraq to escape poverty, but Lampley makes his own money commentating over boxing matches where different poor kids risk their lives to make money.
So does Jim Lampley really worry about poor kids or is it just an easy way to target Bush?
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