Boxer out after MRI shows up aneurysm

Kiwi boxer Richie Hadlow has been withdrawn from the Joseph Parker v Alexander Flores undercard after a routine pre-fight MRI scan discovered a brain aneurysm.

His coach says the discovery is a blessing rather than a curse.

Hadlow, who fights in the lightweight division and represented New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast this year, underwent the examination as a result of promotion company Duco Events’ push to improve the safety of boxers on their cards.

It would have been the 31-year-old Hadlow’s professional debut and his boxing career is now in question. A brain aneurysm is a bulge in a blood vessel which can be fatal if it bursts.

His coach Phil Shatford said Hadlow, a former Aucklander who now lives in Queenstown, was “devastated” to hear the news ahead of his professional debut. “I’m devastated for him as well but they’ve found it and I’d rather they found it now,” he said.

Hadlow’s brain abnormality was found because of Duco Events’ insistence that all fighters on the Parker v Flores card at Christchurch’s Horncastle Arena undergo an MRI scan due to the recent deaths and head injuries that have blighted the sport.

Last month, Christchurch man Kain Parsons died after a corporate fight in the city and while Duco’s David Higgins was reluctant to say he felt vindicated by the finding, he did add: “To maximise safety was an obvious step. It would have been nice if no issues had been picked up but I tell you what, I’m relieved we have taken this step as . . . we could have had another tragedy on our hands.

“Unfortunately Richie Hadlow won’t be able to fight again until he is medically cleared,”

Higgins added. “That was a result of that MRI process and we were told that otherwise that issue might not have been picked up.

“We feel for Richie. He’s devastated he can’t fight on the card but he also understands that his safety is paramount. The next step for Richie is that he sees a specialist neurologist for a full assessment about what the prognosis looks like going forward.”

Shatford said it was a “minor” issue. “But a minor one can turn into a major one,” he said.

“All credit to Duco to make these guys get these tests,” Shatford added. “It makes you wonder how many others are walking round with these problems — rugby players and others in contact sports.”

Hadlow, a former top gymnast who only took up boxing seven years ago at the age of 24, was to fight Dunedin’s Ricky Curline in Christchurch.

Higgins said he wouldn’t find a replacement fighter and that there would be one fewer bout on the card.