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2018/01: Should boxing be banned?





Introduction to the media issue

Video clip at right: On February 27, 2018, the British Wright Stuff panel interviewed Headway chief executive, Peter McCabe, on what action should be taken following the death of British lightweight boxer, Scott Westgarth.


What they said...
'It is unacceptable anywhere else in life to try and belt someone in the head, and yet we have tens of thousands of people glued to TV screens to see who can get hurt the most'
Dr Michael Gannon, President of the Australian Medical Association

'I cannot get out of my mind the last words Scott spoke to me: Boxing is about taking risks and I will take them'
Sporting commentator Bob Westerdale, referring to the recent death of British light-heavyweight Scott Westgarth

The issue at a glance
On February 27, 2018, British brain injury charity, Headway, called for boxing to be banned following the death of British light-heavyweight boxer Scott Westgarth.
Westgarth died on February 25, 2018, after winning a light-heavyweight bout in Doncaster, England, on a points decision.
Headway noted that this was the third boxing death in Britain since 2013 and that this direct loss of life did not take account of the head injuries that inevitably result from what the organisation termed 'this so-called sport'.
The World Medical Association and the British Medical Association have both consistently called for boxing to be banned.
On July 3, 2017, Michael Morgan, professor of cerebrovascular neurosurgery at Macquarie University, called for boxing to be banned in Australia in the wake of the Jeff Horn-Manny Pacquiao contest staged in Brisbane on July 2. Morgan argued that the potentially permanent brain injuries sustained by both fighters made the continuation of the sport unacceptable.
The move to ban boxing in Australia was first reignited in March, 2015, after the death of Queensland professional boxer, Braydon Smith, who collapsed 90 minutes after completing a featherweight bout and did not regain consciousness. The Australian Medical Association has long stated its opposition to boxing and other combat sports.
However, boxing associations, exponents and fans of the sport worldwide have defended boxing, arguing that it is no more dangerous than many other sporting competitions.