Why is boxing still a sport?

Amazing, especially when you consider that there are over three hundred million athletes in MMA.

Proper form can make striking with a closed fist and no glove fairly safe for the hand, but thereā€™s the rub, proper form often falls away in a match.

Iā€™ve always seen the MMA gloves as for minor protection of hand, while still allowing grips, which is impossible with boxing gloves. Boxing gloves protect face and hands, but I dunno about head. Brain still gets rattled about even with the cushiest gloves.

edit - wrapping your hands probably does more for protecting them than anything else. Takes part of the onus of form off of you

The motive for legalised euthanasia / medically assisted suicide might be compassion and mercy, but the Dutch experience suggests that doctors so empowered expand the scope of the practice outside the scope of the legislation. I donā€™t want that power, it corrupts. You would have cause to be legitimately concerned if I ask for it.

We agree that we both find people hitting each other just because they want to is difficult to understand. But we shouldnā€™t have the power to stop them ā€”if they really want to do itā€” for exactly that same reason. And I can be legitimately concerned that youā€™d want that power ā€¦ :wink: :smile:

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My doctor is a geologist, and he said it doesnā€™t matter much in the long term.

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Only for the spectators. And once the pace car gets out of the way, itā€™s traffic in motion!

I donā€™t see how gloves can possibly protect the brain at all. In fact, they probably make matters at least a bit worse. Nice soft (relatively speaking) gloves would hurt the face less, therefore causing less blood and potentially prolonging the fight, enabling more brain buffeting.

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Yep, and there is also a constant debate similar to the constant bicycle helmet debate (though it isnā€™t as vicious as the bicycle helmet debate) with regards to the diffusion of the blows etc. It may (or may not) be that cushioning causes serious/more serious/just differently serrious problems as being struck with something less cushiony

edit - see above lol

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Oh for sure, the breaking of the hand is a determining factor as well. Even MMA gloves allow you to hit harder, small as the cushioning is.

As @FunkDaddy says, nothing compares to proper form when it comes to striking. The first thing I learned in MMA was how you think you should throw a punch, and how you should actually throw a punch are likely to be two very different things.

Cuts are a major factor though, even with boxing gloves.

ā€˜Stitchā€™ Duran is widely regarded as one of the best ā€˜cut menā€™ in the business and his proficiency and skill has allowed competitive fights to go on, even when the cut is in a place where, if unchecked, it could impair the fighterā€™s ability to protect themselves. Above the eye or even particularly bad cuts along the cheek bone; blood flowing into the eye or swelling closing the eye are reason enough to stop a fight.

Thinking about it, the aspects of fighting, safety and violence, often go hand in hand. So to speak.

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Honestly, Iā€™m a fan of bloodsport, but I donā€™t like the ethical implications. I like the spectacle and not the consequences. Thatā€™s why I watch a lot of Esports of certain kinds. Nobody actually is getting shot in the dick. Nobodyā€™s actually catching a 250kg bomb to the face. But it still takes effort, skill, planning and tactics and luck to play some of these kinds of games and win.

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I love to watch it and so long as Iā€™m sparring with competent people, who donā€™t have a tough guy complex, people who I can trust not to try and hurt me for their own egoistic pleasure, Iā€™m happy to strike.

However, Iā€™m thinking of taking up Jiu-jitsu, competitions like Meta Moris and seeing the effectiveness of it in MMA since the first days, coupled with the extreme unlikelihood of concussion (itā€™s a grappling sport) really appeals to me.

The science of concussion is undeniable though, I think we blood-sport fans should probably get used to the idea of seeing our favourite fighters compete way less. Even now, the athletic commissions are assigning 6 -12 month lay-offs for fighters who have been through particularly bad KOs (or heaven forbid, not getting KOd because they just have those crazy genetics and keep going where others would be unconscious). Someone has to protect the fighters from themselves. Warriors donā€™t always make the healthiest decisions.

The new trend in training camps (at least for MMA) is to not do any stand up training where your training buddy hits you in the head. No need for that shit. Get staggered or KOd in practice and you are far more likely to sustain a more injurious KO in the fight.

It would be literally impossible to stop people from fighting, betting on fights, attending fights etc. But as the research becomes more and more undeniable, the sport is going to change.

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Thatā€™s some good proof there, Iā€™m impressed! Iā€™ll take that as your agreeing that such proof doesnā€™t exist.

It was hyperbole because the ones who say boxing should stay are a small enough group as to be considered statistically irrelevant. Itā€™s like the ā€œscientistsā€ who deny humanityā€™s impact on the changing climate. Iā€™m attacking you because youā€™re promoting what the vast majority of doctors say should be banned, or at least changed to not make punching a guy in the head the aim of the game.

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Homer Simpson Syndrome is real?

In any case, if they showed two guys fighting with busted 40oz bottles and motorcycle chains on ESPN 2, Iā€™d probably watch that, because I like seeing people do violence to each other. I know itā€™s stupid, and not ethically responsible, and pretty much runs completely against my humanist philosophy. Itā€™s just, Iā€™m a shaved ape, and most of us like to see people kill each other.

I donā€™t feel good about it. Iā€™m just willing to admit that Iā€™m blood thirsty, and would watch. Iā€™m still glad thereā€™s alternatives. Iā€™d expect in the future, motion control gaming and better and better simulation and AI tech could make bloodless-bloodsport as enticing to watch as real killing.

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I only own one Boxing movie. It has Robots and Wolverine in it.

Best Boxing Movie Evar!

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Uh, maybe most guys, that is? Not most women. And last I heard, more people are women than menā€¦

At least you shave!

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Women donā€™t commit violence? Women never like bloodsport? Because the next Seahawks game, Iā€™ll show you half a stadium of women super excited about seeing behemoths destroy each otherā€™s knees and brains.

You wrote ā€œmost,ā€ not ā€œsome.ā€

How about: enough to make multiple industries rich? Is that good accurate enough?

Me, and ā€œI donā€™t know, but I know it when I see it.ā€ I probably donā€™t want to ban boxing (although under certain conditions I might), but I have no problem saying it has no place in civilized society or judging people who are fans of it.

On the other hand, with wars of aggression, internment camps, jihaddists, brutal dictators secular and theocratic, rampant sexism, child abuse, homophobia, marginialization of the poor, epidemics of diseases cured decades ago, and a neverending list of horrible problems, civilized society is really more of a goal, and boxing is pretty far down on the list of things I am concerned about. The main attraction is that of the problems that need fixing, boxing can be ā€œfixedā€ by a simple law. Of course, as people righty point out, banning boxing may give some people momentary satisfaction, but in the long run isnā€™t going to do a lot of good ā€“ whether boxing moves underground, or is replaced by other equally brutal ā€œsportsā€, as long as rich people think it is OK to pay poor people to hurt each other, it will find an outlet.

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