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Further implications
Concerns about boxing seem to range from the symbolic, that is the sport's apparent endorsement of violence, to the immediately physical, that is the risk of injury and death that boxers face.
In terms of risk of death it would appear that boxing is no more dangerous than a range of other sports which are not campaigned against in the same way.
The question of
long-term brain injury caused by repeated head trauma is more difficult to
address. The risk is indisputable and However, the risk is not confined to professional boxers as other studies have suggested that amateur boxers also face significant likelihood of developing chronic brain injury.
In addition, similar findings have been made regarding the hazards faced by
those playing soccer and American football.The question then becomes whether state intervention, up to and including banning the sport is justified.
Boxing's defenders argue that it is a matter of free choice and that so long as competitors are aware of the risks they are facing then it is up to them to decide if they wish to begin or continue with the sport. Others claim that many boxers begin the sport when young, at a time when they are not able to assess the risks, while others are led by economic compulsion to take it up.
The extent to which economic pressure invalidates a free choice has been debated. Some argue that because someone comes from an underprivileged background, that does not mean he or she is incapable of assessing the risks involved in taking up a sport such as boxing. It has also been noted that the class differentiations that once meant that a majority of those taking up boxing came from a disadvantaged background no longer apply. Boxing has become a popular get-fit exercise regime for many among the wealthy middle classes around the world. It is no longer the preserve purely of the less-well-off, though most of those who use boxing purely for exercise do not box combatively.
There is also the concern that if boxing were banned the sport would simply be driven underground where it would continue unregulated and therefore be likely to cause greater harm to competitors.
Additionally, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), a new form of combative sport which has
become very popular and is making inroads into boxing's fan base, is likely to
gain further support if boxing were banned. The verdict is apparently still out
on which is safer boxing or MMA.
. Some opponents of boxing argue that what is required is reform of the sport rather than its abolition. Among the suggestions that have been made are fewer rounds, banning of blows to the head and to give the supervising doctor the power to call a halt to a fight mid-round.