Boxer Bethea sustains brain injury, suspended

Lorenzo Bethea, a lightweight who fought Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden, suffered a minor brain injury and has been suspended indefinitely by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

Bethea, 27, of Atlantic City, lost by seventh-round technical knockout to unbeaten John Murray of England.

The bout was scheduled for eight rounds, but Bethea’s corner stopped it 28 seconds into the seventh.

"It wasn’t by any means a brutal fight," said Keith Kizer, executive director of the commission. "But sometimes the corner has to do the right thing and stop the fight."

Bethea (6-5) was not knocked down in his loss to Murray (21-0). The fight was on the undercard of the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr. main event.

After the fight, Bethea volunteered for a free CT scan. The exam revealed a subdural hematoma, or a small amount of bleeding on the brain.

Bethea spent 48 hours in a hospital for observation and was released, Kizer said.

"He walked away without a problem," said Kizer, adding that it’s uncertain if Bethea will be allowed to fight again in Nevada.

"If we wouldn’t have scanned him the day of the fight … you never know what could happen in the future. We’re very conservative with brain injuries, for obvious reasons."

Bethea was suspended because a boxer who has suffered a brain injury faces increased risk of further injury, Kizer said.

NeuroLogica Corp. set up a portable CT scanner in the arena for the first time and had medical personnel on site. Free post-fight exams were offered to all fighters involved in cards Friday and Saturday at the MGM Grand.

Five of 10 fighters took the free CT scan Friday but only three of 18 did so Saturday.

"Lorenzo, to his credit, decided to take advantage of it," Kizer said. "A lot of these guys are young and they’re in great shape, and they think nothing bad can happen to them."

Kizer said the commission is seeking more funding from the state to help improve fighter-safety measures.

NeuroLogica provided the service at no cost because it was the biggest boxing event of the year, Kizer said.