Can you make boxing safe?

[powerpuncher]

Yes I hate those fights in which one fighter is really taking a beating and yet he is still game enough to throw back two or three punches every 10 or 12 that he gets hit. It's kind of a heartbreaking thing to watch. Seeing the gameness of the losing fighter. Fighting valiantly without fear. But taking a terrible battering. It's a tough one for the ref to stop sometimes

I just thought of something that can make the sport a lot safer and that would be for the corner people of the losing fighter to throw in the towel a lot sooner. We always like to blame the ref for not stopping it in time but hey wait a minute THE CORNER HAS A PERSONAL STAKE WITH THAT FIGHTER SO SHOULDN'T THEY BE THE ONES WHO THROW THE TOWEL IN BEFORE ANYBODY ELSE?

There needs to be a mercy rule in place. It would take some getting used to, but right now the tough fighters feel like it’s a huge hit to their pride to quit or get stopped. If it just became normal to stop some of these fights, that attitude would change and it would just become part of boxing.

[Master]

Would any of our suggestions have saved Patrick Day?

[Fatboxingfan]

Would any of our suggestions have saved Patrick Day?

After he got hit behind the left ear you could see that he lost his equilibrium and could not get his footing. He sort of stumbled to his right and just barely avoided a gigantic overhand right that just grazed the tip of his chin. He was still stumbling away to his right. I would have given him a standing 8-count at that point. The tragedy happened when he tried to square himself up to his opponent and got caught with a picture perfect left hook right on the button. A ref could have stepped in there and given a standing 8-count.

[smashup]

Handheld brain scanners used between rounds would be a huge step forward as I've been saying for years.
The technology has been around for years now so there's no excuse.
The Nigel Benn v Sakio Bika fight next month claims to be using them, a few MMA and some Irish boxing fights have already used these scanners.
Mandatory brain scans before and after every fight and then monthly should be law too.
No one dies of from body shots, this is all about the brain being smashed about. 😉

https://news.sky.com/story/handheld-...lives-10621785

[Ron Swanson]

If we were honest about how little head trauma causes life long damage the sport would surely be gone. There isn’t a fighter in the sport that has the brain they started with.

While I love standing 8s and wish they were used they are yet another way for a hurt fighter to recover. But, you don’t recover after you are concussed. Each blow after a concussion is far far more damaging.

We have to be honest, we know it’s dangerous, fighters know it’s dangerous. The real question is should we allow people to take such risks. I say their body their choice.

Most attempts to be safer would probably backfire. They’d probably go to bigger gloves and get more people hurt. Forcing people to fight at their actual weight by weighing them all through camp is a fantastic idea but promoters would never allow it. The last thing promoters want is fights canceled.

[Ron Swanson]

You have to question if fans care because this

https://www.mma-core.com/videos/Tyso...loves/10327964

Has been out for at least a day and not a peep here.

[Spicoli]

You have to question if fans care because this

https://www.mma-core.com/videos/Tyso...loves/10327964

Has been out for at least a day and not a peep here.

Isn't that from November of last year? Seems a little iffy random worn gloves laying around and is he actually sparring now with that eye.

[Gandalf]

If we were honest about how little head trauma causes life long damage the sport would surely be gone. There isn’t a fighter in the sport that has the brain they started with.

While I love standing 8s and wish they were used they are yet another way for a hurt fighter to recover. But, you don’t recover after you are concussed. Each blow after a concussion is far far more damaging.

We have to be honest, we know it’s dangerous, fighters know it’s dangerous. The real question is should we allow people to take such risks. I say their body their choice.

Most attempts to be safer would probably backfire. They’d probably go to bigger gloves and get more people hurt. Forcing people to fight at their actual weight by weighing them all through camp is a fantastic idea but promoters would never allow it. The last thing promoters want is fights canceled.

I don't know. Some fighters like Calzaghe or Froch or Eubank seem just as lucid as they have always been. I am sure boxing takes its toll on many, but plenty seem fine and live long productive lives. If you didn't know Calzaghe was a fighter you wouldn't think of him as damaged in any way.

[THE THIRD MAN]

The most dangerous sports in the world and the ones that cause most deaths are :

• Base Jumping.
• Swimming.
• Cycling. .
• Running.
• Skydiving.

What can boxing do?

90 seconds between rounds?
More standing 8 counts after solid blows, (not necessarily making that a 10- 8 round)
2 min break at half way point in all 10 - 12 round fights?
It's a very difficult road we travel with boxing considering one of the main aims of the sport is to hit the other person in the head intentionally!

I think Boxing is as safe as it could be...

[ykdadamaja]

Perhaps Day had problems BEFORE he got into the ring? But really, i don't see us making Deontay Wilder "safe"... lol... the thought of it is laughable.

[Fatboxingfan]

then you have the guys like George Foreman and Mike Tyson who used to literally say that they were trying to kill the other person

[TitoFan]

ESPN just ran a piece asking this same question (can boxing be made safe?)

They mentioned 4 deaths in the ring since July... and there was at least one voice questioning the sport itself.

I think something should be done, not only to safeguard the sport of boxing, but to improve the safety aspect of the sport.

Brain scans is a big one, the more I think about it. The whole problem is the rattling of the brain inside the cranial cavity. The very nature of the sport is going to lead to some effects on the brain.

NFL football got scrutinized (and still is) big time regarding concussions, CTE, and what to do about it. The sport being as huge as it is, is constantly attempting to deal with the situation.

But in boxing, knocking people out is the actual intent of the sport. It's tough to implement safety rules when the object of the sport is to knock people out.

I sure hope the brilliant minds in boxing can come up with something. Every ring death starts the "should we abolish boxing" conversation all over again.