Boxing

If they want to box, why not. If you don't like it, you don't have to participate or watch.

I have always had a problem with boxing, why 2 people with no grudge against each other would want to stand in a ring and attempt to knock seven bells out of each other, risking serious injury and possible brain damage is beyond me.

BUT, having read several interviews with some of those who have made a career from it, many have implied that the discipline of it has managed to keep them away from gang culture and possible crime, so, who am I to judge?

Phoenix, yet again sitting on the fence to the extent that her bottom will have more splinters than you can shake your tweezers at.

Never watch it but it's legal so their choice , both male and female

Perhaps compulsory head gear, such as used in the Olympics, applied to all matches/bouts/fights?

hate boxing- whomever is involved

Do they get their boobs punched? That can't be right.No,I don't think it's good for women,or men either.

I was going to mention being punched in the boob area Marmark1. I think it is far from good for a woman to take any punches there - however many sports women tend to have very small or no boobs so I suppose it is maybe not such an issue for them. But I don't like the idea of woman boxing at all.

www.boxfituk.com/womens-protection-womens-boxing-chest-protectors.irc

Horrible sport.

I have always hated boxing and wish it didn't exist. I hope that one day people will see it for the barbaric practice I believe it is.

On the question of making boxing "safer" by enforcing head gear, I think the BMA says that head gear provides no real defence against injury. I believe it is the often huge impact to the head, causing the brain to move around inside the skull, that, over time, leads to brain damage. And, according to a doctor I heard talking the other day on the subject, a "knock-out" is a significant brain injury and continued "knock-outs" run the risk of serious, irreversible brain damage.

Why anyone should get enjoyment from watching two people trying to hurt each other mystifies me and I find the baying crowds at boxing tournaments sickening.

What about wrestling then? My grandma used to sit there, chewing her dentures and imperial mints, egging them on on a Saturday afternoon, Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, one of my fondest childhood memories. I loved her to bits. She lived in the street next to mine, very strange I have ended up living so near to her marital home.

I realise that the people who box – whether men or women – generally make a choice to do so themselves, but whether that is a fully informed choice is a moot point. What really horrifies me is the spectators who pay [quite a lot of] money and get pleasure out of watching two people who, as phoenix has already pointed out, "try to knock seven bells out of each other and risk brain damage". Should we resurrect gladiators and the Colosseum or, maybe, public hanging? You can bet your sweet life that there would be a huge number of spectators.

rubylady Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks were as fake as the Tooth Fairy. Boxers bash each other seriously – some suffer permanent brain damage and some die.

boxing to me is a form of self abuse !

I can't think of it as a "Sport", and can see no fun in either hitting someone/being hit for the enjoyment of it, or being paid to hurt or get hurt. As for young girls and women taking up the sport I despair, and I am grateful that my daughter and grand-daughter show no inclination to do so. It surely cannot do anyone's body any good at all to be battered in such a way.
Wrestling of course is another matter, and I personally think that a lot of that is showmanship.

To suggest that boxers aren't fully informed is doing them an educational injustice, they are not all neolithic thugs.
Many sports are also dangerous and deaths are not uncommon, football, rugby, equine, motor sport, cycling etc etc

Horse riding is the top of the list for serious injury and death, and how many very young children ride ponies ? (some even bought for them by their GP's)
Boxing is quite a way down the list.

I understand the argument that the object of boxing is to injure, but it is the participants choice to accept the risks.

Many kids from poor background are lured into boxing when they are far too young to understand the health issues. Of course other sports are dangerous and can result in brain damage- but at least that is not the aim to injure.

If they are that young, it is the parents that are at fault.

Most sports will carry a risk of bodily harm - we can stumble whilst running, take a toss from a horse, come off our bikes, crash whilst skiing, fall when roller-skating, clash heads and bodies in football and rugby, and most dangerous of all motor-racing where drivers can have fatal accidents. But none of these involve hurting someone else in the name of sport.

Thanks GandTea the voice of reason.My DD is a boxer and she is not a thug.just a very intelligent kind caring Mum who loves her sport ,her life her choice.

Just saying it as I see it. When someone says I have to box, then I would object. I like amateur boxing, not so keen on professional.
Judo was my sport and my children also, judo is not the friendly sport it may seem, get into groundwork and things get rough.

Again, judo's aim is not to maim...

I do wonder how many grand-parents here would be happy for they GC to take up boxing, boys or girls? I certainly wouldn't.

If any of my Grandchildren wished to box, I would support them, and make sure they got professional coaching and took all precautions. I would be less willing to buy my granddaughter a pony as the chance of serious injury is high. As a St. John member, I attended many horse events and treated some serious accidents to small children.
The only incident I witnessed in the Dojo was to myself when I was knocked out.

The nation’s largest group of paediatricians has urged its members to 'vigorously oppose boxing for any child or adolescent'.

In a statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said thousands of boys and girls participate in the sport in North America, despite risks of serious brain and facial injuries.

The group’s position mirrors the stance at many other medical organisations and was applauded by some experts.
Harmful: Because boxing's aim is to knock the opponent out, paediatricians say it should be vigorously discouraged in those under the age of 19

Harmful: Because boxing's aim is to knock the opponent out, paediatricians say it should be vigorously discouraged in those under the age of 19

'There is very little one can reasonably do in order to increase the chance of having a healthy brain when you get old,' said Doctor Hans Forstl at the Technische Universitat Munchen in Munich, who has studied boxing injuries.

'One of the best things you can do is avoid boxing,' he said.

Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2031517/Children-avoid-boxing-Doctors-cite-rising-injury-rates-launch-fresh-attack-sport.html#ixzz4AGAdVfqj

In my opinion it's legalised GBH and encourages one person to inflict brain damage on another by knocking them out.
It's barbaric and makes me feel sick. I can't for the life of me understand why women participate.

At least wrestling was largely stage-managed; my dad was/is a huge fan and like rubylady I have fond memories of Saturday afternoons....