Today I was talking to a couple of paralympians who were fundraising outside of my local general department store and I got talking with them about the sports we do. I brought up in the conversation that I do Boxing and I have complex nerve syndrome type 2 (which is a neurological disability), and I asked if there was any chance of seeing Boxing in the Paralympics in the near future. They said 'yes', due to the increased interest in it. Which has got me really excited because there might be a chance that I could compete in Boxing. So I signed myself up as a new athlete in training with training in Boxing, also looking to get into Judo (which is a Paralympic sport). But in all seriousness, what would you guys think of seeing Boxing as a sport in the Paralympics?
How does it work - at first glance it seems not a great idea. Bring on the hate... but on't many of the Paralympians already have enough issues without adding repeated head trauma to the mix? I don't know very much about the Paralympics so my comment may not make any sense - but I'd wonder how do you categorize it and break it down? Do they pit people with like issues against one and other?
Well I mean, we have runners that are amputees, we have those in wheelchairs playing rugby and fencing. We have those that don't have full motor functions over their arms doing swimming and judo. the way how I see it, is that it would need to be split into two categories; wheel chair boxing and stand up boxing (for those that are blind, the other boxer would need to wear a bell or something similar). And the rule set might need to be changed (torso shots only?)
My bowling teacher was in a wheelchair and in his younger days I could totally see him boxing. The man was a murderball champ in the '80s, I don't see how boxing is much worse.
