Death in Utah: Who is to Blame?

Ron Widelec

21.07 - He fought Cedric Boswell, Vaughn Bean, Kirk Johnson, Michael Grant, Hasim Rahman, Obed Sullivan, Fres Oquendo, Kelvin Davis, Mo Harris, Sinan Samil Sam, DaVarryl Williamson, and several other big name fighters. With a list of opponents like this you would think you were hearing the tale of a great champion. However, this line will not be written on a plaque at the boxing hall of fame; it will more likely be found on a tomb stone of a fighter of which you've probably never heard.

His name was Brad Rone, from Cincinnati, Ohio. I'd never heard of him either, except that I had noticed his name on the records of several prominent fighters I had researched. He was a relative no-one in the sport; until now. Bradley Rone died last Friday of a heart attack while in the ring. He was fighting for the 6th time this year, trying to break a 25 fight losing streak, which spanned the last four years. He had a record of 7 wins, 41 losses, and had been knocked out 12 times. For whatever reason, he was still fighting, despite the string of losses, and the damage he had taken over the years battling some of the biggest names in the division, before they became the biggest names in the division.

Maybe he really needed the money to support his family, or some other pressing matter. But for whatever reason, he stepped into the ring last Friday for the last time. I can't help but feel that this tragedy could have been avoided had the local commissions stepped in. Rone had lost his last 25 fights before that night. The commission had no business letting this fight occur. The safety of the fighter is obviously in question and the commission should also be taking actions to make sure that competitive fights are being made. Instead, they allowed the fight to happen, and now a man is dead.

For those of you that think the responsibility should be on the fighter, to some degree you are correct. But the commission has a responsibility as well; like a referee in the ring, when a fighter can no longer defend himself sufficiently the commission must step in. A man that has been knocked out 12 times by some of the hardest punchers in the sport may not be in the right mind to decide for himself whether he can continue his career. For those of you that say these men need to be left alone to get money for their families, I think it is clear that the alternatives are far worse.

My deepest sympathies go out to the family of Bradley Rone. Very few of us even knew who he was, but let his name been spoken in every boxing ring around the nation, and every boxing commission meeting, as a grim reminder that boxing is a dangerous sport, especially when a commission doesn't care. Let this death not be a vain. Let us learn from this tragedy. If we forget the name Brad Rone, then soon enough their will be another article like this, only with a different name you've never heard.
Let the commissions know you care!

For various state boxing commission info go to http://www.aaprp.org/body_state.html
Send them a letter, call them up, do anything except remain silent!

Any questions or comments… Email me at Beowolf88@aol.com