‘I lost more than 10 pounds’: Boxing referee feels remorse over tragic outcome of Stevenson bout
Boxing referee Michael Griffin, who officiated the tragic bout which left Canadian fighter Adonis Stevenson in a coma, says he has been haunted by the outcome and is struggling to come to terms with his role in the fight.
The fight between Ukraine’s Oleksandr Gvozdyk and the WBC light-heavyweight champion Stevenson took place on December 1, when the 41-year-old Canadian who was defending his title was knocked out by Gvozdyk suffering just the second defeat of his professional career.
Stevenson was conscious in the end of the fight but it soon became apparent that the boxer was severely injured as he was removed from the ring on a stretcher and taken to a nearby medical facility.
And back comes Gvozdyk in the 11th to close the show and ice Stevenson. Gvozdyk wins by KO in round 11. Good finisher. pic.twitter.com/hNiYQlNmJ7
— Joey Oddessa 🇨🇷 (@MMAOdds) December 2, 2018
It was later revealed that the fighter underwent emergency brain surgery and still remains in critical condition after doctors induced him in medical coma.
Griffin, who oversaw the fight on that night said he lost his sleep over the horrible incident adding that he still sees “the images of the fight in mind.”
“I can not see how I could have reacted otherwise. I saw that Stevenson could no longer defend himself. But because of the movements of the two boxers and my position, I had to wait a second,” he said, as cited by boxingscene.com.
“I lost my appetite, I lost more than 10 pounds. Every night, I wake up at 4 am with the images of the fight in mind.”
