THE NSAC SHOULD SET A HIGH BAR ON MOUTHGUARDS
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 14 Oct 2013
Las Vegas, NV:- Although many will certainly disagree, I say that the Nevada State Athletic Commission is one hard nose government entity the State of Nevada should be proud of.
Oh, the Commission is not perfect and had problems in the past but at the very least it is better than some of the commissions I know.
That being said, if NSAC set a good example in boxing, many of the other ones around the country will surely follow suit.
Particularly if such example will add to further protection of the fighters and the betterment of the sport.
Case in point:
Last Saturday night at the Thomas and Mack Center inside the UNLV campus, in an undercard fight of the Bradley vs Marquez tiff, Filipino fighter Jun Dolinguez (17-0-2, 13KO) was matched against a Mexican fighter, Giovanny Caro (24-14-4,19KO).
In two separate occasions, Caro?s mouthguard dropped to the canvas and referee Vic Drakulich had to a call time out to pick up the mouthguard and take it to Caro?s corner to be washed and put back in his mouth.
While it is not fair to assume that Caro got rid of his mouthguard purposely (an old trick in the trade still practiced by boxers when they are in jeopardy so the fight will be stopped for it to put back in their mouth thereby gaining a few seconds to recover), one wonders why the mouthguard fell to the canvas at the precise moment when Doliguez was raining unanswered punches on the Mexican.
If Caro did get rid of his mouthguard purposely, the interruption robbed Doliguez of a quicker victory and placed Caro in an unusual danger.
Fortunately in this case stopping the fight momentarily did not matter much as Dolinuez eventually knocked out Caro.
Such practice (spitting the mouthguard out) must be stopped not only to prevent cheating but most especially to protect the fighters.
Heaven forbids but if Doliguez hit Caro square in the mouth at the precise moment Caro got rid of his mouthguard a sure fire injury would have occurred. Depending on the intensity of the impact and the direction from where it came from and where it hit, it could easily fracture Caro?s teeth or worse, fracture his jaw.
In light of this incident, and the many occasions I saw it happen, I challenge the NSAC to set standards on mouthguards.
You hear me Keith Kiser?
The NSAC should not allow fighters that come to the ring using ?boil and bite? and ?stock? mouthguards. And certainly not those ?one size fits all? products available via the internet.
The Commission keeps an eagle eye on the boxers when they tape their hands and put on the gloves. They even sign the tape to show that they had been inspected. This is to prevent cheating and to protect the fighters from unnecessary hand injuries.
Why can?t the same be done with mouthguards?
After all, it does not cost anything extra to the Commission as the inspectors are already in the dressing rooms to check the hand wraps and gloves.
A simple test in the dressing and proper observations during the fight will do wonders.
In the dressing room the Commissioner in charge should require the boxers to put on the mouthguard they intend to use during the fight and push it up against the teeth. Then ask them to push it out with their tongues or open their mouth wide. If the mouthguard is dislodged, it should not be allowed to be used. The second mouthguard which is presently required to be available by the Commission is then tried. If none fits, they should be required to produced a better fitting mouthguard or forfeit the fight and their purse.
This should not cause any problem if the boxers, their trainers are educated about the new rule when they sign the fight contract and during the ?rules meeting?.
One may argue that the boxers can still cheat by not pushing the mouthguards hard during the inspections. But if the rules are changed, and the boxers and their team are properly told that the boxer gets a point deducted every time the mouthguard drops, the cheating will certainly stop or minimized.
During the fight the Commissioners should watch the fighters right after the bell rings after each round. If the fighters push out his mouthguard with his tongue before he even gets to his corner, that mouthguard should be confiscated and replaced with a new one that fits better.
The NSAC should mandate that only proper mouthguards be allowed in contact sports in the State of Nevada. Preferably, they should be made by a qualified dentist to assure proper fit and protection..
Proper mouthguards will certainly prevent cheating as the fighter would not be able to spit out a properly fitted mouthguard.
But most especially, it will provide better protection for the fighter!
Who can argue against that?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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