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Johnson loses battle,
after getting injured in ring
September 22, 2005
(SEPT 22)
Today, Leavander Johnson passed away after suffering a head injury when
he fought Jesus Chavez on September 17th, at the MGM Hotel, in Las
Vegas, Nevada.
“All of my prayers are with Leavander Johnson and his family in this
difficult time,” said Chavez. “He was a true warrior with a tremendous
heart, and every day I will think of him and say a prayer for him. He
will never be forgotten.”
“Leavander Johnson epitomized what all boxers should want to be, a
courageous and skilled boxer who always gave his best every time he
stepped through the ropes,” said Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar
De La Hoya. “His loss is a tremendous blow to the boxing community and
to me personally. He was a class act and a good man. Leavander will be
missed.”
Chavez, who visited Johnson in the hospital before his passing, plans to
honor him, not only with words, but actions.
“The best way I can do justice to the title Leavander and I both proudly
held is to defend it well and to be a true champion in and out of the
ring, like he was,” said Chavez, who vows to donate a portion of each
purse he makes as long as he is the IBF lightweight champion of the
world to a fund being set up for Leavander’s children.
Adds Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, “We, and all of the
promoters, together with the state athletic commissions, need to work
together to see if there's anything we can do to help prevent tragedies
such as this. If there are additional tests or improvements in
technology that could be used to foresee these types of injuries, then
we have a responsibility to the fighters and their families to use them,
because in the end, saving lives is more important than anything else.
