By Ted Sares – Benjamin Flores (1984-2009) – Benjamin Flores was a super bantamweight out of Morelia, Mexico and was making Houston his home. Since losing to tough Bernabe Concepcion (29-1-1) in April 2007, he had run up five wins in a row against stiff opposition and he accomplished this in four different states. His last win was a TD over Vernie Torres in July 2008 due to an accidental headbutt. It was on the Margarito-Cotto undercard in Las Vegas.
On April 4, 2009, he met Al Seeger in Dallas with the vacant NABF super bantamweight title at stake. Seeger (27-4 coming in) had lost three in a row to Yuriorkis Gamboa, Mike Oliver and Daniel Ponce de Leon and was no slouch despite the fact he had done much of his work in Georgia. Going into the de leon bout, he was 27-1.
Sometime prior to this fight, Benjamine’s father, Miguel, had expressed concerns about what his son did for a living by stating.”
“After, when he’s 30 years old, when his career’s over, I don’t want him to have any scars or anything like that. I want him to be like when God brought him to the earth,” says Miguel, through an interpreter. “That’s why I push him so hard. “This [boxing] is not a joke. This is serious — that’s why I push so hard, so that won’t happen. Yeah, I’m worried about my son forgetting things or having mental problems because of those kind of injuries” R.I.P., Benjamin Flores, by Richard Connelly, May 5, 2009, in the Houston Press Blogs, http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/ 2009/05/benjamin_flores_dies.php
During the Seeger fight, Flores was outclassed throughout but he never really seemed to be hurt. After being unable to react properly to Seeger’s stepped-up attack in the eighth round, referee Laurence Cole stopped the action, though some thought Cole had acted prematurely. Cole then astutely noted that something unusual was wrong and held Flores up until a stool could be place under him. Flores was unable to sit upright under his own power and asked those around him to allow him to lie down. In an all-too-familiar scenario, he then lost consciousness. He was quickly given oxygen, placed on a stretcher, and rushed to Parkland Hospital where he underwent surgery for swelling on his brain.
Five days later, Benjamin Flores died just three weeks short of his 25th birthday. His professional record was 19-4 with six knockouts. More importantly, he was a gritty kid who was on the way to working his way out of poverty through his ring skills.
R.I.P.
Andras Nagy (1986-2009)
He was a very talented boxer. His death is a terrible tragedy
–Hungarian Boxing Federation president Sandor Csotonyi
Hungarian light-heavyweight boxer Andras Nagy (a native of the city of Gyor) died after suffering a brain injury while training in Melbourne, Australia. He was 23.
“He was a very talented boxer. His death is a terrible tragedy,” Hungarian Boxing Federation president Sandor Csotonyi said.”…He who took part in the senior World Amateur Boxing championships when he was 19 years of age. He turned professional because of financial problems, which I am very sorry about…” Csotonyi continued.
He had only fought professionally three times, winning all of his bouts. As well, he was on a 6-month stay in Australia, boxing with a Croatian license. He had gone to Australia in late January for financial reasons and in order to learn English.
After butting heads with a smaller opponent during a training bout on May 1 (his birthday), he was hospitalized with brain swelling. He then underwent two operations and was placed in a medically-induced coma. Sadly, he passed away on May 7
During his amateur career, he competed in the 165-pound class, and won a silver medal at the 2002 World Cadet Championship in Kecskemet, Hungary. He also participated in the 2005 World Senior Boxing Championships in China, winning his first match and losing the second.
His last win, a TKO, came against Gabor “Rocco” Balogh, now 1-48-5 and winless in his last 52 fights. Maybe, just maybe, Nagy’s tragedy will cause Rocco to rethink what is going on around him. Maybe, just maybe, some good might come out of this terrible tragedy
R.I.P.