A report by the BMA on boxing injuries. Contains some interesting info. I didn't know that the inside of the skull isn't smooth - there are protrusions that can damage the brain. Sadly, the BMA (and a number of other medical associations) want boxing banned. Any thoughts/comments? EDIT: A detailed article on boxing death statistics. List of known boxing deaths.
Yes, it really should be banned. Even for armatures, there's no way hitting each other in the head is good. The only reasonable reason against the BMA's claim seems to be for self defense reasons(for the time the police gets to the scene, and countries where defense weapons are banned) However, for this to happen without political tyranny there are obvious things that the middle class population holds that won't let this happen. ; -boxing's long history and current popularity, no one would fear brain trauma because everyone else is doing it. The awareness of boxing brain trauma would slim down. -people who have already damaged their brain would rationalize that information (ex, the BMA is bias) -most people prepare for a average life time, we will die anyways. Minor brain trauma won't do much to our over all happiness in our life time. (this justification will be used only for people that don't care to live extra long)
IMO, yes, this is disturbing, but if consenting and sane adults know the risks, I think it's their right.
Exactly. Also, what makes anyone think it would stop at boxing.. Goodbye Muay Thai, UFC, etc etc. Hell, lets ban all high risk contact sports while were at it!
The ban boxing brigade have been around for as long as I can remember. I bet a quick search would show more people die of bicycle related injuries each year. No-one is calling for the bike to be banned though, especially in the green world in which we are all supposed to be living. Ban boxing or any other contact sport and the deaths will increase. The governing bodies will be disbanded, matches will not have medical supervision, weight classes will go out of the window and so on.
Sorry im a little confused...are you refering to under ground fighting taking place if it was banned? I think if it was banned, it would still be done anyway...i wouldn't ban it at all...everything like simon said, have risk of injury riding a bike...ect the arguement is probs going to always be on going, but i have a feeling it wont be banned, boxing and full contact sports are all over the world, i just dont think it would work
From a medical point of view Boxing is untenable - the main intent in boxing is to render your opponent unconscious. Being unconscious is bad, being rendered unconscious by a blow to the head causes brain damage (not, sometimes, it causes brain damage EVERY time). It is generally 'not too bad' but there have been instances of people dying or being rendered 'brain damaged' (Can't think of the proper term) in a single fight. The long term dangers of cumulative shock to the brain are also well known. Should boxing be banned? As a martial artist I would say NO to amateur boxing but I am not so sure about professional matches.
There are of course underground fights now, however I feel it would be worse if boxing was banned. Boxing has seriously improved as years have gone by, with the medical attendance and aftercare, the licensing of boxers, managers and promoters. Banning boxing, or any other contact sport would take us back to the dark ages. The ban fox hunting brigade say the sport is cruel, the farmers say it is managing the land. Some say boxing is violent, but check out february's thread about Rashid Evans and Bernard Hopkins and tell be boxing is not a sweet science. I think as long as the dangers are pointed out to newcomers, then it is their decision to participate.
The problem is that head contact is not simply limited to pugilistic sports. I have seen reports of similar brain damage in football (soccer) players from doing headers.. now will everyone be willing to ban headers from football as well?? If you only pick on pugilistic sports it seems unfair IMO. LFD
The argument against boxing is that hitting the head is a PRIMARY part of the sport - I suppose if you changed 'football' so that it was 'headball' - only contact between head and ball allowed (Hey I think I just invented a new game - I want the royalties) then it would be a fairer comparison.
Why no to amateur boxing? Three short rounds, headguards, gumshields, fights scored on points with few knockouts. It seems well managed to me. Ban amateur boxing and you must ban TKD, Karate, Kung Fu etc. Then if you go down that road, what about the self defence guys? Guys who pad up and go for it, they would have to be banned. Geoff Thompson. JWT Tony Blauer I think leave boxing alone. It is doing just fine, ask some former amateur boxers. Muhammad Ali Sugar Ray Leonard Amir Khan Thomas Hearns
You've only got to look at the underground circuit mma had during the 90s to see what would happen if boxing was made illegal. I'm firmly in the "they know the risks" camp although I have wondered now and again if they should get rid of the gloves. Imagine the sport would get a lot less popular if they did that though, I can't see 12 rounds going on as often with bare knuckle.
A 1996 National Safety Council accident report ranked amateur boxing 23rd on its list of injury-producing sports and rated it the safest of all contact sports. http://maroonclimb.com/evansvilleboxingclub/id7.html
I think they do. I found these stats on another site and the football refered to is American Football. How does boxing compare to other sports in amount of fatality rates? Fatality rates per 100,000 participants Horse-racing...........128 Sky-diving...............123 Hang gliding.............55 Mountaineering........51 Scuba diving............11 Motorcycle racing......7 College football..........3 Boxing...................1.5
Hi Simon, sorry if my reply was not clear - I think AMATEUR boxing should remain (although there is a an issue about the dangers of headguards) and possibly ban professional boxing.
That would mean that the height of boxing would be a championship fought over three rounds, with the emphasis on point scoring. Are you therefore saying professional MMA fights should be banned, in addition to Muay Thai? What about the guys I mentioned such as Tony Blauer and Geoff Thompson? I totally accept that with boxing (professional) the idea is to knock the other person out, but statistics show it is far from the most dangerous sport out there.
You ban striking the head = you ban striking the head. Boxing would not the the only one to go if that was the case.. It might start there, but it would not stop there, think about it!
I'd think grappling arts would eventually make their way to the list too. If they rule out head shots in striking arts, then being slammed to the floor where your head might get basketballed would have to logically follow.
