The words are haunting, dark and terrible, ones a boxer never should utter. Fighters, from those just beginning out fighting for $100 in a four-rounder to the best of the best preparing to compete in a hotly anticipated world title fight, know the risk they take by slipping beneath the ropes.
They walk in, but in some part of their brain, they know there's a chance, however slight, they may not walk out.
I've been ringside for seven fighters who lost their lives in the ring. On Sept. 17, 2005, Leavander Johnson defended a lightweight title against Jesús Chávez at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.