This is what can happen when a UFC fighter takes on a boxer ... my condolences to the family and I will visit them when we get home.

An update to this story is that he has since died from his injury.


Former Alberta UFC fighter in 'critical condition' after knockout hit
A former UFC fighter from Alberta is fighting for his life following a boxing match in Edmonton Friday.

Tim Hague suffered a brain injury after he was knocked out by opponent and former Edmonton Eskimos player, Adam Braidwood, during a KO Boxing event at the Shaw Conference Centre.

“Tim remains in critical condition. We are all with him,” said his sister Jackie Neil in a Facebook post Saturday.

Photos

Boxer Tim Hague, right, faces off against former Edmonton Eskimos player, Adam Braidwood, during a KO Boxing event in Edmonton on Friday, June 17, 2017. Hague is in hospital with a brain injury following the fight.

“We ask for prayers and privacy at this awful, unexpected time,” Hague’s family said in a statement sent to CTV News.

The fight lasted two rounds before a left hook knocked Hague to the ground. A post-fight video showed Hague leaving the ring under his own power, but he was soon rushed to the hospital, according to KO boxing.

According to a Facebook post by Alberta Professional Boxing, he underwent brain surgery to relieve pressure from a brain bleed.

“Nobody wants to see something like this happen. It’s a freak accident. It doesn’t happen often,” said local boxer Jelena Mrdjenovich, who was in the crowd during the fight.

Hague is originally from Boyle, Alta. and fights out of Edmonton. He used to be a kindergarten teacher before transitioning into mixed martial arts and UFC fighting. In 2016 he made the move to boxing.

In a video post promoting the June 16 fight, Hague said he stepped up to fight Braidwood with only “a few weeks notice” as Braidwood didn’t have an opponent.

“I’ll fight anyone,” he said in the video.

Braidwood is currently ranked first in heavyweight boxing in western Canada and is ranked ninth overall with KO boxing.

Many were asking why the fight wasn’t stopped long before the knockout. Alberta Professional Boxing said that the three knockdown rule wasn’t enforced that night.

The commission that oversees boxing in Alberta has declined to comment.

 

I was just reading that the boxer/ufc fighter Tim Hague from the article above from JPT has died yesterday!

Very sad!

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jun/18/tim-hague-death-boxing-fight-ufc-mma-knock-out

Thinskin

 

Crossover fights are a recipe for disaster and this upcoming bout may well make headlines for all the wrong reasons as well !

 

More nonsense about this non-event that is a license to print money!

Thinskin

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2017/jun/20/conor-mcgregor-floyd-mayweather-ufc-boxing

 

Officials are now coming under fire for not stopping this fight when it was apparent that Tim was in dire straits in the corner and Adam Braidwood was allowed to deliver shot after shot onto an obviously beat man. Braidwood is one big fucker and you know it when he hits you ...

I offered my condolences to the family yesterday and what most people don't know about Tim is that he was a gentle giant and a fourth grade school teacher just south of here in Beaumont and his school is heartbroken as well.

Ultimately the blame lies with Tim who knew what he was getting into by signing a contract for this fight ... a review is now in the works to avoid another incident like this but it is boxing and shit happens !!!

 

A commentary:
Edmonton fighter's death highlights risks, patchwork rules of the ring
Taking both boxing and MMA bouts together, fallen fighter had been stopped 3 times in 10 months


Tim Hague is shown at a 2009 UFC weigh-in. Hague died as a result of injuries from a boxing match that took place on June 16 in Edmonton. (Neil Davidson/Canadian Press)

Up to a point, there was nothing extraordinary about last Friday's boxing match between heavyweights Tim Hague and Adam Braidwood at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton.

It was the kind of bout that regularly populates weekend fight cards in the boxing world. Braidwood entered with a more impressive 7-1 record compared to Hague's 1-2 mark. But Hague had also contested dozens of bouts as a mixed-martial fighter.

While boxing and MMA operate under entirely different rules, there was no reason to think the seasoned Hague would automatically fold at the first sign of aggression from his foe.

While it was clear Braidwood would be favoured, he is not a natural star in boxing. The former top pick in the CFL draft only took up pro boxing in earnest in 2015, after his career with the Edmonton Eskimos was finished.

• Edmonton MMA community remembers 'gentle giant' dead after boxing match
• Tim Hague 'shouldn't have been in the ring,' critic says of fatal boxing match

"I actually didn't think on paper it was an egregious fight to have been made; it just turned out to be once it started," said Corey Erdman, a boxing journalist and consultant for Showtime Boxing and Premier Boxing Champions.

There was no glaring skill difference for the first minute. But Braidwood would then knock Hague to the canvas, and the outcome was never in doubt again. By the end of the first round, Hague had been officially knocked down three times.

Within 30 seconds of the start of the second round, Hague stumbled around from some rather ordinary-looking Braidwood shots. It would have been an ideal opportunity to call a halt to the fight.

"The stakes weren't high enough for that bout to be continuing like that," said Erdman.

But it continued, and Braidwood scored two more knockdowns, including a right-left combination that saw the back of Hague's head bounce violently off the canvas.

With some help, he was able to sit on his stool. But the toll had been too great. He would be rushed to hospital, his family announcing his death from brain injuries on Sunday afternoon.

'Protect fighters from themselves'
After starting his MMA career winning 10 of 11, Hague settled into journeyman status, losing as much as winning the rest of the way. He had lost 13 times in 34 mixed-martial bouts, eight times by stoppage.

At the not-so-young age of 33, Hague decided last year to try his hand at pro boxing, having only fought once previously in the squared circle.

With a career as a teacher and the modest pay that an eight-round bout entails, Hague was likely driven by a passion to compete and test his mettle; he would have been under no illusions that the brass ring of boxing awaited.

Hague's was not a great record, but nothing on the order of a recent event in New Brunswick, in which a boxer who had lost about 90 per cent of his previous 20 bouts was licensed, and suffered a serious brain injury as a result.

Still, his overall profile suggested due diligence was required.

Erik Magraken, a B.C. lawyer and MMA enthusiast, catalogues the byzantine rules that provide the framework for professional fighting on his site, CombatSportsLaw.com.


Tim Hague, a Grade 4 teacher, decided to try his hand at pro boxing starting last year. (Supplied/Jordan Bittner)

"That's the statutory reason athletic commissions exist," he said. "They're created to set up rules and regulations to protect fighters from themselves, because sometimes these men and women are too tough for their own good."

In an age of heightened awareness of brain trauma in sport, there is no league in boxing and it can be a Wild West patchwork of inconsistent regulations across jurisdictions at the best of times.

Prizefighting is technically illegal under the Canadian Criminal Code unless a province regulates its terms by establishing an athletic board, commission or similar body. But unlike the provincial framework featured elsewhere, the responsibility for combat sports in Alberta is devolved to the municipal level.

'Comprehensive' review launched
A basic inquiry into Hague's ledger as a fighter should have sparked concern. He had lost four of his last five MMA encounters. And just 56 days after getting kicked in the head and being KO'd in the first round of a July 2016 bout in Russia, Hague was allowed to box in Edmonton, losing in a four-round decision.

By contrast, Manny Pacquiao, one of the greatest boxers of this generation, was forced to sit out for 90 days after his knockout loss in late 2012 to rival Juan Manuel Marquez.

Hague went on to lose by knockout in the first round of a December 2016 boxing match in Edmonton, and then dipped back into non-boxing combat in April, losing in less than a minute in Lethbridge, Alta., during a promotional MMA event called Rumble in the Cage.

That is three first-round defeats in the span of 10 months.

According to Edmonton Combative Sports Commission guidelines, if a boxer has suffered two knockouts or technical knockouts from blows to the head within a six-month period, he is to serve a medical suspension of at least 180 days. If a boxer has suffered three KO/TKOs from blows to the head within a one-year period, the suspension would be for at least a year.

It is unclear whether the commission treated the knockouts in non-boxing competition as applicable to their boxing safety rules, but at first blush it doesn't seem so.

Boxers lacing up the gloves for a pro bout in Edmonton are also required to submit MRI or CT scan information, although there is no date requirement. In contrast, many jurisdictions want a scan that is anywhere from less than one to three years old.

While the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission did not provide details of Hague's pre-fight neurological assessment, it said a "comprehensive review" of the incident is being conducted.

"There are many people and organizations involved in putting on these complex events including promoters, referees, ringside judges, physicians, chief inspector, paymaster and the presiding inspectors assigned to the fight," the commission said in a statement.

"We have mobilized quickly and are working together to review the circumstances surrounding this incident and will determine the next steps following the evaluation of the information."

Boxing's warrior code
Perhaps to its detriment, boxing has fostered a culture that includes a kind of warrior's code.

Fighters as accomplished as champions Roberto Duran and Acelino Freitas have encountered criticism for surrendering instead of "going out on their shield," in boxing parlance.

Fans watching a 2015 bout involving unbeaten prospect Prichard Colon questioned the Puerto Rican's toughness on Twitter as he complained to the referee about punches to the back of his head. Colon would collapse in the dressing room afterward. (He survived but is now confined to a bed or wheelchair with limited brain function.)

"Boxing has this oddly dangerous and perverse fascination with never giving up," said Erdman. "That kind of mentality needs to be stripped out of the sport."


The competitiveness of a boxing between all-time great Floyd Mayweather, left, and mixed-martial arts star Conor McGregor has been questioned, but the bout is set to take place on Aug. 26. (Getty Images)

Hague's death occurred just days after it was announced that UFC champ Conor McGregor will meet Floyd Mayweather in a boxing contest in Las Vegas on Aug. 26.

McGregor sports a laudable 21-3 record as an MMA fighter, but he is a complete novice as a pro boxer. And while Mayweather has been away from the ring for two years, the American has never lost as a professional and is considered one of the all-time greats.

Canada's own boxing great Lennox Lewis is among those who've derided the bout as "ridiculous." Breitbart.com said the matchup "threatens to KO two combat sports."

That is unlikely. The matchup of these two outrageous, self-promoting personalities is certain to be lucrative, generating boffo business for the city's casinos, hotels and sports books.

And matchups with non-boxers have taken place without incident: Muhammad Ali battled the Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki, and then three years later took on Lyle Alzado, the NFL player. Randy Couture, meanwhile, exposed boxer James Toney in an MMA bout without causing undue pain.

It may sound counterintuitive, but Mayweather is so brilliant at what he does compared to a fighter like Braidwood, he might be able to bloodlessly dispatch McGregor without harm. The Nevada State Athletic Commission, with millions of eyes watching and critics ready to pounce, should also be expected to be vigilant.

The international spectacle will have little in common with a clubfight in Canada. But once a man gets hit, anything can happen.

"If things are getting out of hand, the corner, the referee and maybe Conor himself need to be OK with pulling the plug on this," said Erdman.

"This should be a learning opportunity for everyone."

 

I see that Mayweather and McGregor are exchaanging insults...........i guess this is about as interesting as this event will get!!

Thinskin

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...s-mcgregor-of-racism-and-uses-homophobic-slur

 

I dont expect it to be a good fight. Mc Greg gonna clinch,it will be a disastor and proclaimed drawn. Just waste of time and money. To see a top fight with Floyd you must provide a top fighter.

 

I'm just watching the film A Fighting Man and although nothing like the upcoming fight it is about a young fighter and a guy past his prime that gives all he has to show he can still fight.



I dislocated my elbow on a guys face earlier today and it is fucking sore as hell but back in its socket. I have been cranky all day because of it and I only ask nicely once for people to get out of my face ... I don't like hurting people anymore but I will be fucked if I will "be the bigger man" and look old and tired LOL.

 

Foreman Did Not beat Ali ?? Foreman destroyed Frazier in two rounds in their first fight to take the title !!
Everybody thought Foreman would do the same to Ali !! { George laughed when somebody said Ali might win } That was the great rope & dope fight as Ali let Foreman wear himself out. Beating on Ali's arms. Then Ali went to work & knocked George down & out in the 8th rd. !! Foreman was working towards a rematch but lost to Jimmy Young on points ending that comeback !!

 

For most of my life I knew who was the Heavyweight champ. I remember seeing Tyson knocked out by Buster Douglas !! I never like Iron Mike & when he Bit Holyfield
I lost any respect I had for him. He later fought Lennox Lewis who beat the living hell out of him !!

 

I will give Tyson the respect that he owned that division for a time but he was more a scrapper than a boxer and his sheer strength carried him for much of his career . Being too stupid to know when you are hurt helped too . That ear thing was the final blow for me as well .

 

Thanks!!

I think Lewis was a very underrated boxer and is one of the best I have ever seen!

Thinskin

 

Further to that Edmonton boxer death I posted last month. We have a serious problem in the records and something doesn't jive, his records show 2 extra fights both of which were knockouts that aren't in the official record. Someone got some splaning to do ...

Had this information been in the record this fight might not have been sanctioned and this man could still be alive ...

 

I wanted to watch Mike Tyson fight George Foreman.

If Foreman won I would have felt that I had died and gone to Heaven.

If Foreman lost I would still be in mourning.

 

Barbaric sport. Unbelievable that with pro football (American) getting ever more strict over concussion dangers and arguably ruining the sport, boxing is still allowed to exist, and these idiots are taking decades off their lives for a few bucks.

 

When I lived at home (college etc) we had HBO and Mike Tyson had a show about boxing history and boxing lore. I used to watch it. He seemed like an eloquent, sensitive guy. Then I read the stories about all the scandals (several rapes, statutory and otherwise), and in disgust I tuned him out. And then of course there was that cannibalism incident that you guys are referring to. The guy seemed ok on his show, but what an animal.

 

I remember this Fight but it was more tragic then I knew !! Not only did Boom Boom Mancini beat challenger Duk Koo Kim into a life ending coma. Then the referee committed suicide & a few months later Kim's mother also killed herself !! http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/m...nged-tragedy-hit-boxing-ring-article-1.258729

 

Gervonta Davis against Francisco Fonseca, an American against the flower of Costa Rica. Davis, who won the IBF super featherweight belt, lost it on the scales yesterday when he failed to make weight in the 130lb division. So, if Fonseca wins he will take the title but if Davis prevails, the title will remain vacant.

 

McGregor arrived at the fight venue in style a short while ago ...