The primary duty of those who oversee boxing is to protect the fighters. They failed Miranda Adkins on Friday.
Adkins is a 42-year-old who took up boxing at 39 and had only five fights, all of them against opponents with less experience than she had. Four were making their pro debuts. Her opponent on the Vergil Ortiz Jr.-Samuel Vargas card was Seniesa Estrada, a talented, seasoned boxer coming off a victory over Olympian Marlen Esparza.
The result was as predictable as it was gruesome: Estrada rendered Adkins unconscious in seven seconds.
How did this happen? How was a novice like Adkins allowed into the ring to face a seasoned pro like Estrada?
Estrada had a more-experienced opponent fall out and, according to her, a subsequent search for a suitable replacement produced few options. Adkins obviously wasn’t ready but she was willing, which seems to have been good enough for California State Athletic Commission officials and promoter Golden Boy.
In other words, they pushed Adkins in front of a moving train.
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Someone with common sense should’ve yelled at the top of his or her lungs beforehand: “Wait a second! We’re placing this woman in a situation that is unreasonably dangerous. We can’t do this.”
No one did. And Adkins paid the price. She was fortunate to be able to walk out of the ring.
State officials and others involved in the promotion can point out that she had stopped each of her five previous opponents, an indication that she had some ability. They can say that she passed all medical tests required of every fighter. They can say every fighter faces a degree of danger in the ring. And they can say she agreed to exchange punches with Estrada. It’s a free country, after all.
All that is true. And it’s still not good enough.
Those who made the decision to allow Adkins to step through the ropes have a great deal of experience in the sport. They know a gross mismatch when they see one. If they don’t, they shouldn’t be in a position to oversee the safety of boxers.
This was a gross mismatch, one in which the gap in skill combined with experience was too large to sanction the “fight.” The fact it happened anyway should be an enormous red flag.
No one involved in the decision will face punishment, although they probably should. Only Adkins will have suffered.
However, I can tell you what I’d like to see. I’d like to see CSAC Executive Director Andy Foster call an emergency meeting of everyone who played a role in the debacle and ask the question I asked at the beginning of this column, “How did this happen?”
I’d like to see the same thing at Golden Boy. Oscar De La Hoya should gather his troops and ask, “How can we avoid such horrible mismatches going forward?”
Indeed, something like this should never happen again.