Monday, July 2, 2001
Updated: July 3, 3:39 PM ET
Boxer dies six days after knockout
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- A light-heavyweight boxer, comatose for six days
after he was knocked out in the waning seconds of a nationally
televised 10-round fight, has died from his injuries.
Beethavean Scottland, 26, was pronounced dead at 10:36 p.m.
Monday at the Bellevue Hospital Center, the facility announced.
Scottland, who underwent two surgeries at the hospital, never
regained consciousness.
The fighter was survived by his wife, Denise, their three
children and a large extended family. Many of his family members
stood vigil at his hospital bed in the days after the June 26
fight.
Scottland was knocked out by a left-right combination with just
37 seconds left in his 10-round bout with undefeated George Khalid
Jones. He was initially able to answer questions in the ring, but
fell unconscious within minutes.
The fighter was rushed to Bellevue, where his condition
deteriorated over the next 48 hours.
Scottland, a last-minute replacement when another boxer was
injured, becomes the first boxer to die in New York since 1989.
Super-middleweight John Gross died of similar head injuries
suffered in his bout.
On April 21, 19-year-old Cresencio Mercado died of a brain
injury in Pueblo, Colo., a week after collapsing in the ring. On
Feb. 16, 31-year-old Quinton Grier collapsed in the ring at the end
of a bout and died of unknown causes in Joplin, Mo.
Scottland began boxing at age 12 in a Washington suburb, turning
pro in 1995. His record over his six-year career was 20-7-2, and
the North Brentwood, Md., resident viewed the fight against Jones
as the biggest bout of his career.
Scottland's addition to the ESPN2 card aboard the Intrepid Sea
Air Space Museum was the result of two twists of fate. First, his
fight against an opponent in Maryland was canceled when the other
fighter suffered an injury.
That cleared the way for him to fight Jones, whose opponent had
suffered a broken nose during training.
State boxing officials said last week that they were reviewing
the fight, which is standard procedure whenever a boxer is
seriously injured. Scottland suffered a subdural hematoma, a
rupture of the veins between the brain and the skull.
Funeral arrangements for Scottland were pending.
A fund has been started for his family. Contributions may be
sent to the Scottland Family Fund, in care of The Auxiliary to
Bellevue Hospital, Room 100, 462 First Ave., New York, N.Y., 10016.
