Review into Edmonton boxer’s death calls for new safety protocols

An independent review into the death of Edmonton fighter Tim Hague has not only recommended better record keeping of previous results and head injuries – information that would have kept Hague under a medical suspension – it calls for an anonymous tip line so people can voice concerns, such as whether a fighter is healthy enough to be allowed to compete.

The review, conducted by MNP, an accounting and business-consulting firm, examined the events leading up to and during Hague's June 16 boxing match against former Edmonton Eskimo Adam Braidwood, a Canadian heavyweight. Hague was knocked down five times before the fight was waved off in the second round.

Two days later, Hague died in an Edmonton hospital. He was 34.

MNP made its findings and recommendations public on Thursday. Before that, the City of Edmonton issued a temporary one-year ban on event permits and licenses for combative sports. In mid-January, Edmonton's city council will examine the 18 recommendations put forward by MNP.

MNP's review found that some of the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission policies were not followed in the Hague-Braidwood match. According to the commission's regulations, a boxer who has suffered two knockouts or technical knockouts from blows to the head within a six-month period will be suspended for at least six months. If a boxer has suffered three KO or TKOs from blows to the head within a one-year period, he will be suspended for at least one year.

Hague's fight record showed a KO loss to Michal Andryszak in just 33 seconds of the first round of a mixed-martial-arts bout in Sochi, Russia, on July 15, 2016. That was followed by a KO loss to Mladen Miljas in a boxing match in Edmonton on Dec. 2, 2016. Then, on April 7 of this year, Hague lost by TKO to Jared Kilkenny in just 40 seconds of the first round of an MMA Super Boxing bout in Lethbridge, Alta.

Fight data from the Lethbridge event was not passed along. And despite his loss to Kilkeeny, Hague was allowed to fight Braidwood two months later. MNP has recommended stringent records be kept on how fighters do in the ring or octagon and include their suspension details. It must also ensure that the medical suspensions are the same in both MMA and in boxing.

There are calls, too, for ringside physicians to implement indefinite suspensions "on all fighters who sustain head injuries until they can provide medical evidence that they have not sustained brain trauma due to repetitive head blows."

The review noted that the current practices are not working as desired. A fighter's history and if he has been knocked out two or three times or suffered a TKO "within a prescribed time period, and the imposition of extended medical suspensions, does not appear to be occurring following a bout."

To best monitor the combative-sports scene, it has been proposed that a provincial commission be assembled to handle all details, from granting a promoter a permit to stage a fight card to dealing with health and suspension issues.

Alberta is the only province that has multiple fight commissions, which can create communication issues and reports not being exchanged in a timely manner.

Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson issued a statement on Thursday saying, "We take the recommendations of this report very seriously, especially the strong call for a provincial combative-sports commission. Safety is our No. 1 priority and will remain at the heart of any decision we make."

In June, just nine days before Hague died, Iveson and Red Deer Mayor Tara Veer sent a co-signed letter to their Alberta colleagues saying it was time the province took legislative control of all combative sports. The idea has yet to gain any traction.

"My office has received the letter," Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said in an e-mail before the October civic election. "We are always open to having a discussion about how we can improve safety of combative sports in Alberta. However, I am supportive of the Calgary Combative Sports Commission and the work they do. The current regulatory system within Calgary seems to work well for Calgarians."

Edmonton's city council will go over the MNP review on Jan. 17.