By Tom Donelson
The Vatican has condemned boxing, but then who hasn’t? I must admit that I lose my patience with critics of the sports since they seem to use the same arguments year after year. Boxing, legalized murder? No more than car racing. Let face it, telling a group of good ole boys to drive in a circle as fast as they can is just asking for trouble. NASCAR is a sport that has its roots in illegal activities- most of their early stars spent their weeks driving bootleg booze through many southern back roads.
How about Hockey? Canada's contribution to sports is based on a group of guys skating as fast as they can while chasing a small black puck. Of course, we can’t forget that hockey players often smash into each other as fast at they can while chasing that black puck.
It is soccer on ice and hockey players relish the physical play. While we are at it, watch a soccer game and notice how many players hit the soccer ball with their heads. That can’t be good for one's brain.
Then there is America’s passion, football. Here is a sport that is militaristic in every sense of the word. You have the blitz, the bomb, and battle in the trenches. It is a sport predicated on violence with every play and it is America’s most watched sport. Oh yes, there have been deaths recorded from the sport's very inception. For those who argue that boxers suffer residual damage after they retire don’t seem to have the same concern about football players. Football takes a toll on its players as many football players have long term disabilities after their playing days are over.
Personally, I love football and have no problems with those who run the sport or participate in it. Football players chose to participate and they understand the risk. They understand that they could even die, though the odds are against that happening. Finally, when one covers the risk and benefits, the benefits still outweigh the risk. Most football players are proud of the time spent on the gridiron and for many professional athletes, the monetary benefits last a lifetime.
Boxing is a sport full of risks. Boxers understand the risk and they know their life is at risk when they step in the ring. While much ink has been written on the deaths that have occurred, the odds still favor the boxer on surviving just as it favors the football player. What is missing in the debate is how infrequent injuries occur over the thousands of fights happening every year.
This is not to diminish the potential of injuries or the long-term risk to a boxer's health. There is no doubt that boxers have long-term risks and that compared to most sports, they are considerable. Most boxers have managed to have a life after boxing. A year ago, I interviewed Pete Rademacher and here was a fighter who had very successful post boxing career. He went on to become a successful businessman after his days in the ring and is now enjoying retirement in Ohio. Or how about the story of former middleweight champion Billy Soose? Soose retired from boxing and like Rademacher, had a very successful business career after he retired. Many of these boxers are as typical as the punch-drunk boxers that we read about.
The one area that was targeted by the Vatican's criticism is the deals with those who run the sport. Boxing's transformation into the red light district of sports can be laid directly on those who run the sport, from the various sanctioning bodies to the promoters and various boxing commissions that have been willing to sacrifice the warriors in the ring for short-term gains. The risks in boxing has been increased by the callous nature of those in charge of the sport.
Is boxing dangerous? Yes, but there are other sports just as dangerous but don’t get anywhere near the criticism that boxing receives. Boxing is a blue-collar sport covered by sports reporters, who have long since deserted their blue-collar roots. Boxing suffers from a snobbish attitude within the newsroom. This is not to say that boxing doesn’t have problems but somehow, the artistry of the sport is dismissed and boxing is often viewed as mindless entanglements of violence. Violence in football is considered heroic, but is pointless in boxing. Boxing may be red light district of sports but for over a century, it has provided a forum for heroism that few sports can match.