Boxing: Board's greatest challenge is to protect boxers from themselves

If it has long been a rule in this corner to draw back from conclusions about boxing contests based purely on television coverage, no such difficulty existed last weekend when Scott Harrison so completely dominated his first defence of the World Boxing Organisation featherweight championship that the Las Vegas-based Irish challenger, Wayne McCullough, failed to win a round on one of the three official scorecards, and spent three nights in hospital.

That in itself was disturbing enough. More so was the decision not to pull McCullough out after taking a beating in the eighth round and the quite extraordinary behaviour of his wife and manager, Cheryl, who chose to ignore pleas entered on her man's behalf. "By the end of the eighth it was so clear that McCullough wasn't going anywhere, that he had no chance of winning the fight, that I told her to end it," the promoter Frank Warren said. "She just smiled and said: 'He's a warrior'. I couldn't believe I was hearing that from a woman watching her husband being taken apart."

It all emphasised that no bigger problem exists for the British Boxing Board of Control than that of protecting fighters from themselves. Sent into administration by the substantial damages awarded to Michael Watson for the crippling injuries he sustained in a loss to Chris Eubank, forced to relocate in Cardiff, the Board's responsibility for the welfare of fighters continues to meet obstacles.

As Warren points out, last Saturday's contest did not fall into the category of a mismatch until it became patently obvious that McCullough, who held a world title seven years ago, was seen, at 32, as a fighter who should now seriously consider ending his ring career. "Harrison looked so drawn at the weigh-in that plenty of people gave McCullough a real chance," Warren said, "but it was clear after five or six rounds that Harrison was much the stronger man and that McCullough didn't have enough to keep him off."

Watching the contest at his home in Cardiff, the Board chairman, Lord Brooks of Tremorfa, winced. When McCullough's boxing licence was withdrawn two years ago on the evidence of an MRI scan, the Ulsterman produced a body of specialist opinion to prove that he was running no greater risk than any other professional fighter. "Because it left us again with the threat of legal action we had no option but to let McCullough fight," Brooks said. "McCullough is an extremely brave man, but if he chooses to continue boxing in this country he'll be required to take another medical examination."

The Board had a similar problem when it withdrew the licence of Barry Jones, who held the WBO super-featherweight title in 1997 and 1998. Subsequently reinstated, Jones was stopped from boxing after an eight-round loss to Acelino Freitas in 2000. "The issues raised are always complex," Brooks added. "For fighters at championship level there is a lot of money involved and we have to think seriously before imposing restrictions that take away a fighter's livelihood. On the other hand safety is of paramount importance."

Last week's event raises other worrying issues. The Board's assistant general secretary, Robert Smith, told me yesterday that a number of calls have been received questioning the performance of the referee, John Coyle, who had opportunities to end the bout when it became clear that McCullough was getting into serious trouble. "It's easy to conclude that Coyle should have stepped in," Smith said, "but whenever Harrison stepped up the pressure McCullough rallied."

A personal point of view is that McCullough's sporadic attempts to get back into the fight were never sufficiently significant to persuade Coyle that the challenger should be allowed to continue.

Most perplexing of all was the attitude adopted by McCullough's trainer, Kenny Croom, a disciple of Eddie Futch, who set a benchmark in compassion when refusing to let Joe Frazier go out for the 15th and final round against Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight championship in 1975. "I knew Ali was exhausted, but Joe had nothing left. Joe protested but the decision was made. I cut his gloves off," Futch famously said.

Croom's explanation for not acting on his man's battered condition at the end of the eighth round and the obvious hopelessness of his cause was McCullough's determination to control his own destiny. "If I'd pulled Wayne out he would never have forgiven me," Croom said.

This doesn't get us away from the fact that the raising of Harrison's star in Glasgow was accompanied by the possibility of a grim conclusion. McCullough got away with it. But his battered features prompted only one thought. Retirement. Now.