Mcclellan Outlook Better

As Gerald McClellan’s chances of survival improved, British boxing officials dismissed appeals for the sport to be banned and called for a world body to supervise safety in boxing.

McClellan remained in critical but stable condition on a life support machine at Royal London Hospital, where he had a large blood clot removed from his brain after being stopped by Nigel Benn in a WBC super-middleweight title fight Saturday night.

John Sutcliffe, the neurosurgeon who performed the operation early Sunday, said “his chance of survival improves with every hour that passes.”

The surgeon said it was too early to determine whether McClellan would suffer long-term brain damage or disabilities.

The tragedy triggered fresh demands for boxing to be banned, a campaign that has been led for years by the British Medical Association.

But the British boxing community called a news conference to defend the sport and its safety procedures.

“You’ll never silence the critics,” said John Morris, general secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control. “I think the sport has to go on the front foot … I just want boxing to be treated as another risk sport.”