RIO DE JANEIRO–I was only halfway joking about Pretty Bad Back Boy Floyd Mayweather?s attending physicians being the Three Stooges, Doctors Moe, Larry and Curley.
Now I am wondering if the American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians (AAPRP) is headed by the marvelous comedians of days of yore.
Physician heal thyself or, in this case, I guess we must say physicians plural because it is a group.
How can boxing doctors in the US know that the physical condition of Ruslan Chagaev, who has a history of hepatitis, is a medical threat to heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and others in their fight in Germany Saturday night?
None of these doctors have ever examined Chagaev, have they? I assume none of them have the complete and updated medical file of the Russian fighter whose nickname is `White Tyson?in front of them, do they?
This is pure insanity, this group diagnosing Chagaev from such a distance and calling for the fight to be stopped.
On the other hand, maybe medical safety is not really the Americans concern. Maybe they just want to see the moribund heavyweight division completely abolished.
Now that is not such a terrible idea but it doesn?t take any expert on internal medicine or the various strains and types of hepatitis to come up with that.
Here is what Chagaev?s promoter~s doctor and a well know hepatitis expert have to say:
Universum-Physician Michael Ehnert: ?The American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians states that there is a ?low hepatitis B viral load? in the case of Ruslan Chagaev. The facts are there has never been a proof of viruses or HBV-DNA in high sensitive PCR-tests since 2003. After achieving Hepatitis B many years ago Ruslan Chagaev has never been sick due to hepatitis B. He is just a healthy carrier of hepatitis antigen with constantly normal liver enzymes. Infection doesn?t mean illness. According to international expert opinions Ruslan Chagaev is regarded as non-infectious.?
Dr. Heiner Wedemeyer, the Secretary General of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), involved in several activities of the German Liver Foundation and the German network of Excellence on Viral Hepatitis (Hep-Net), had contacted Universum independently and stated the following: ?Ruslan Chagaev is completely healthy according to the documents. I don?t follow the interpretation of my colleague from the Finnish lab. It was probably done more for legal protection rather than scientific facts. There is no infectivity and Ruslan Chagaev would have without a doubt boxed for the third time without danger. Mr. Chagaev has a completely normal liver function and is not considered to be ill, he is just a bearer of the hepatitis B antigen.?
Does anyone think these two doctors would risk their careers, their credibility and the risk of huge lawsuits by greenlighting this one particular fight?
That makes zero sense to me.
Even Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder can really see what the American `Fright Doctors?are really up to.
I have diagnosed THEIR particular problem all the way from Brazil. Please do no refer to me as a Brazil nut because all these white coats want is some ink, some publicity, some media attention.
There, I have just given them some.
Now, please go away quietly before the AFLAC duck begins quacking like crazy.
You all should take two aspirin and call me on Sunday morning after WKlit knocks out Mr. Chagaev.
Chagaev will wind up catching punches in Ukrainian bunches but no one, not the fighters or the cornermen or anyone else in the vicinity of ringside, will catch hepatitis.
If this group wants to investigate the origin of swine flu, may I suggest they look into the sure to be piggish demands of Mayweather to fight Manny Pacquiao?
Probe that, you medicine men and women, probe that.
Make sure to wear your protective mask.
I?ve given the AARP the needle but they asked for it.
If these characters are America?s best professional ringside physicians, then perhaps we should bring on the amateur ones.
