Should Boxing Be Banned?

What do Boxing, Sky Diving, Horseback Riding, and have in common? All of these sports can be very dangerous to perform some more than others but dangerous all the same, yet thousands of people continue to attempt these sports and many more dangerous activities evry day. An obvious question somebody might ask is why doesn’t anyone stop these people from doing these sports if their so dangerous? The simple answer is, its nobody else’s business what other people do.

You can not tell someone else what they can and can not do, that’s a violation any persons rights. For example, many people think boxing should be banned because it imposes danger to a body’s health, but I on the other hand do not think it should be banned at all, merely reformed in some rules and other components in boxing such as safety and fighting techniques. Many boxing regulations are designed to keep the boxers as safe as possible. Although the main objective is to basically harm your opponent, it is actually more complicated than that.

There are many rules about gear, safety, injuries and fouls. For instance, boxing gloves and headgear are designed to cushion impact when you hit somebody or get hit. Grease is also used because it helps punches slide off wherever you have gotten hit. Matches are no longer a minimum of 15 rounds, they can be stopped at any time during the fight if a referee deems a boxer unable to fight any longer. Also, all coaches and referees must attend 2 yearly meetings to take exams and learn more about the safety guidelines of boxing.

If they do not pass these exams then they can not participate in boxing or be involved in any way except for being a spectator to this sport. (Canadian Boxing Association 1) Many people also believe that amateur boxing is the same as professional boxing, but people involved in boxing would know that that’s not true. Amateur boxing is one of the worlds most regulated sports ever, therefore there are less severe injuries. Studies have shown that 30% of kids ages5 to 14 have been seriously injured at least once in their lifetime due to sports, but less than 1. 7% of those injuries were from amateur boxing.

Also less than 4. 2% of children diagnosed with Mild Traumic Brain Injury receive these injuries because of either football, soccer or baseball but not boxing. Now professional boxing is slightly different from amateur in that once a match has begun it can not be ended unless a boxer to T. K. O or has forfeited. Moreover, professional boxing is seen as more of a business and concerns for bigger paychecks are very high. It is for these reason and many more that some people think or say that amateur boxing should be the only kind of legal boxing allowed in any country. Pena 1) As indicated earlier, there are other dangerous sports in this world and boxing isn’t nearly the most dangerous one, so why is only boxing being proposed for banning? The answer to this question no one is really sure about, but one thing we are sure of is out of 100,000 deaths or fatal injuries due to sports boxing is only responsible for about 1. 3% of that 100,000. The British Medical Association, however, states that the harm inflicted by boxing in caused purposefully, well it generally is , and that the harm inflicted by other dangerous sports are only accidental, which may or may not be true, nobody knows for sure.

But, in the long run, its really nobody else’s business what you do for a living or what you do in your spare time, if you love doing something nothing can stop you from doing it every day if you wanted. Not even the government or state can have a say in which sports you choose to participate in, the only thing they can do really is alter or change the rules and safety guidelines of the sport. In boxing there have already been major changes over the past decades. For example, ringside medical care has been more actively enforced ten-fold just over the past 3 years.

Also, a licensed doctor and several paramedics are kept on sight at all boxing matches with a ready ambulance and any tools or instruments that are needed for a surgery, if one is required immediately. The more radical ideas about changing boxing are less admired by the public eye. For instance, there have been rumors about professional boxers being required to wear headgear, much like amateur boxers do at every match, and restricting blows to your opponents head or face area.

These rules if actually enforced would indeed help protect the boxers way more, but in a way would reduce the appeal of the sport to many people. Wither way though, with or without headgear and the banning of blows to the head or not, injuries are bound to happen in any way shape or form. Many of these injuries like Parkinsons, Chronic Brain Damage or Mild Traumic Brain Injuries are not caused by just one match of boxing. These injuries are only accumulated over a boxers career or lifetime. So realistically it would be a long time before a boxer would get any serious or fatal injuries.

Still there are people who believe that banning boxing would be a good thing to do. There are many groups, associations and even countries who campaign to end boxing for good. Some of the countries that actually banned boxing are Norway and Sweden. One of the more bold associations, the British Medical Association, have been campaigning against boxing since 1982, which is over 25 years. The BMA has been against boxing for so long because they think that the sport is very dangerous and makes violence look like an OK thing to do.

The BMA proposes that the first step to getting rid of boxing for good is to first ban boxing At amateur level, which would be banning it for children ages 7 to 16, because they believe that boxing at this young an age is also very dangerous more than boxing at a professional age and that iut exploits children by placing them in rings and allowing them to fight one another. (Laurance 1) Likewise there are many doctors’ who agree that boxing should be banned due to the serious nature of the injuries.

They believe that there is absolutely no safe level of boxing, that any hit or blow can contribute to complications of the brain and other main organs or even death. These doctors conclude that putting an end to this degrading spectacle as they call it would put an end to deaths, injuries, and brain damage caused by boxing. It could also end hundreds of young men and boys putting their lives at risk every day just for some sport. (Laurance 2) With all these reasons to ban boxing, some people would think that there are no positive outcomes or pros of this sport, yet there is.

There are also many reasons why banning boxing would be a bad thing to do. One of the many motives for keeping boxing around is tat if boxing were made illegal it would only send the sport underground much like dogfights and chicken fights. I’m not saying that dogfights and chicken fights should be made legal because that’s just wrong, but I am saying that once boxing goes underground its going to be very hard to keep safety rules and regulations a part of the sport like they are now.

There would also be no licensed or legal doctors on sight to help fighter as soon as possible when they get injured. It was also proven that 70 years ago, when boxing was taught in school, that society was less violent and people were less aggressive against each other. Boxing teaches people self control over their aggression and tempers in bad situations, which is very helpful for everyone. There are many benefits to boxing, as well,