Head Trauma’s Agony: Boxer Is Brain Dead

By KWANG-TAE KIM, AP

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean boxer Choi Yoi-sam, who lost consciousness after winning his WBO intercontinental flyweight title fight last week, has been declared brain dead, a hospital spokesman said Wednesday.Choi was declared brain dead at 1 p.m. (0400 GMT), said Ko Seung-kwan, a spokesman at Asan Medical Center in Seoul. Choi had been in a coma since shortly after winning the fight against Indonesian challenger Heri Amol in Seoul on Dec. 25.

The 33-year-old South Korean was knocked down in the 12th and final round of the bout but got back up and was declared the winner on points before collapsing.

Doctors were scheduled to remove Choi’s organs for transplantation later Wednesday after getting approval from the prosecutors’ office – a legal requirement before organs can be removed – said Ko.

South Korean media reported that Choi said he would donate his organs.

“He has lived a hard life,” South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted Oh Soon-hui, Choi’s 65-year-old mother, as saying. “I hope he has gone to a peaceful place.” She could not immediately be reached for comment.

Choi was the WBC light flyweight world champion from Oct. 1999 to July 2002, and fought for the WBA light flyweight world title in Sept. 2004.

South Korea’s boxing commission had no immediate comment.

In 1982, a South Korean boxer died after a match in the United States.

Choi was declared brain dead at 1 p.m. (0400 GMT), said Ko Seung-kwan, a spokesman at Asan Medical Center in Seoul. Choi had been in a coma since shortly after winning the fight against Indonesian challenger Heri Amol in Seoul on Dec. 25.The 33-year-old South Korean was knocked down in the 12th and final round of the bout but got back up and was declared the winner on points before collapsing.

Doctors were scheduled to remove Choi’s organs for transplantation later Wednesday after getting approval from the prosecutors’ office – a legal requirement before organs can be removed – said Ko.

South Korean media reported that Choi said he would donate his organs.

“He has lived a hard life,” South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted Oh Soon-hui, Choi’s 65-year-old mother, as saying. “I hope he has gone to a peaceful place.” She could not immediately be reached for comment.

Choi was the WBC light flyweight world champion from Oct. 1999 to July 2002, and fought for the WBA light flyweight world title in Sept. 2004.

South Korea’s boxing commission had no immediate comment.

In 1982, a South Korean boxer died after a match in the United States.