Will the sport now suffer?

I am a massive boxing fan, i watch any show i can find and love the sport. It worries me that as a result of what happened to Nick Blackwell(hope he makes a quick and full recovery), you will have people jumping up and down getting hysterical saying 'boxing should be banned' and its 'cruel'.

Do you think the negative publicity around the Blackwell fight will stop the great momentum which the sport has built up in the UK in the last couple of years?

I dont think it will affect its popularity, but these incidents provide fuel for the lobby to ban the sport on medical grounds or at least to sanitize it and make it safer. The sport occupies a kind of paradoxical position where people want action, violence and knockouts without any lasting consequences. Kind of wishful thinking. Medically it cannot really be justified (leaving aside the moral or ethical standpoints). I have given up long ago trying to justify enjoying boxing to myself for various reasons. I just enjoy it for what it is rightly or wrongly. My point of view is that boxing is what it is. Its dangerous, its violent and medically likely to harm long term practitioners to varying degrees.

It probably sounds insensitive, but whenever these incidents occur I generally hope it doesnt lead to a rush of early stoppages and spoiled contests. Cases like Blackwell are very difficult to prevent. A fighter taking a lot of punishment but still in the contest. Some will argue the corner or the ref needed to stop it but its a very difficult judgement call to make and in any case at what point of stopping it would have prevented the injury? Round 6? 7? 8? Nobody can say for sure. Its just one of those unfortunate incidents that is part of the sport and extremelly difficult to prevent.

I think the points you raise are good ones, i don't feel guilty watching or enjoying boxing, i feel uneasy when i see guys like RJJ fighting and taking big shots at his age

Yeah cases like Jones are more high profile, because of his status. So he tends to get a lot of attention. But equally there are any number of boxers of all abilities that carry on too long. James Toney for example wqs never the most coherent of speakers but he sounds now like his brain has been punched to mush. Barley legible at all. Hes still boxing heavyweights. One thing that I think is extremelly dangerous, but is par for the course in boxing, is having talented upcoming prospects woefully undermatched on their way up. If you take a huge punching unit like Joshua and see some of the absolute mismatches he is put in with early on, I mean this kind of thing is totally unsafe and totally pointless. The overmatched opponent is taking a paid beating from one of the biggest punchers in the world. They can go in there and fold at the first sign of danger, rendering an already suspect contest a total waste of time. Or if they have a but more pride that that, they can take their lumps and hope to get out with just a minor concussion.

Not sure if anyone has discussdd it, but Eubank Sr's words to Jr in his corner were so genuinely incredible. He was bang on - the fight was clearly only going one way. But to tell Jr to only use body shots was very astute, and shows that beyond all the bluster, Sr is a great man.

His advice was purely tactical. Eubank does not have ESP. This story that seems to be gaining traction, that snr told Chris to go to the body as he could see Blackwell was injured is at best pure speculation, at worst absolute drivel.

Rowley wrote:His advice was purely tactical. Eubank does not have ESP. This story that seems to be gaining traction, that snr told Chris to go to the body as he could see Blackwell was injured is at best pure speculation, at worst absolute drivel.

Rowls; his advice was clearly picked up. It is fairly obvious that he said that he didn't know why the ref hadn't stopped it, that he instructed him not to go headhunting as he was going to hurt him.

Quote

"I don't know what to tell you but I will tell you this... If he doesn't stop it and you keep on beating him like this... he's going to get hurt."

That quote hasn't been meddled with any way. And isn't speculation. Not sure how or why you've come to have a rather warped opinion on the matter.

Fair enough Cody, had not seen that quote previously. Do still think to an extent Snr's advice was more a tactical thing and his sage like qualities are being overstated to some extent. Having only watched the fight once I don't recall it being a sufficient beating for anyone to genuinely know Blackwell was in danger at the time Snr told him to go downstairs.

It's also as much to do with Eubank Snr feeling that Blackwell's chin wouldn't crack and body shots might get the job done. However there was also a genuine concern as he was instructed to get off the ring apron whilst telling the ref to stop the fight. As for banning the sport, given another cyclist has just died and seven celebrities were injured during "The Jump" maybe people need to calm the f*ck down

More people die through vending machines falling on them than through boxing, the witch hunt is ridiculous.

Azzy wrote:More people die through vending machines falling on them than through boxing, the witch hunt is ridiculous.

Even more will die from stuffing their faces at the vending machine!

The difference is although vending machines are designed to withstand people giving them a kicking... They should be called venting machines... They aren't designed with the intention of inflicting physical damage. Just as cyclists, generally don't crash deliberately.

We watch a bloodlust sport and catchy summed up it up pretty well I thought in his first reply. I used to struggle with my conscience a bit, especially after screaming for Benn at the McClellan fight... But I'm clearly shallow enough to put my concerns to one side and enjoy a good tear-up.

I came across this over the weekend:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/28/sports/boxing-youngstown-anthony-taylor-hamzah-aljahmi.html?_r=0

Utterly heart-breaking.

Azzy wrote:More people die through vending machines falling on them than through boxing, the witch hunt is ridiculous.

But the aim of a vending machine isn't to hurt someone, so that is a bit of a moot point.

You have to look at long term damage too, not just deaths.

Scottrf wrote:

Azzy wrote:More people die through vending machines falling on them than through boxing, the witch hunt is ridiculous.

But the aim of a vending machine isn't to hurt someone, so that is a bit of a moot point.

You have to look at long term damage too, not just deaths.

You have to also look at the long term good it has done though surely to get a balanced view.

How many boxers were saved by taking up boxing...

Look, risks in everything. If the medical practitioners had their way, we'd all play virtual tag in the safe confines of our homes. At the end of the day the key in being human is autonomy. These are grown men deciding to go hammer and tongs I'm sure as hell not gonna stop watching.

As for Eubanks, I thought he was genuinely concerned, but at the same time realized the fight was still close enough for his son to lose. Chose the path most likely to result in a win without completely destroying Blackwell. Think he deserves some credit at least

kingraf wrote:Look, risks in everything. If the medical practitioners had their way, we'd all play virtual tag in the safe confines of our homes. At the end of the day the key in being human is autonomy. These are grown men deciding to go hammer and tongs I'm sure as hell not gonna stop watching.

As for Eubanks, I thought he was genuinely concerned, but at the same time realized the fight was still close enough for his son to lose. Chose the path most likely to result in a win without completely destroying Blackwell. Think he deserves some credit at least

What fight were you watching? I gave Blackwell two rounds and they were the ones where Eubank took a breather. Not surprised Robert Smith has come out in support of the ref who should have stopped it earlier but given Blackwell was still throwing shots (albeit one to even eight Eubank Jr landed) he'd have been criticized for not giving the lad a chance to land a haymaker. however, his corner should have known their man had no chance of winning and the onus was on them to pull him out of the fight.

I get why people always want boxing banned after something like this but where were the calls for F1 to be banned after that crash the other week. These tw*ts hurtle around a track at speeds in excess of 200mph and we're rewarding the idiots with millions of pounds and the SPOTY award afterwards. Rubgy players, footballers etc all suffering career ending injuries but no-one calls for them to be banned. American Football is going through a real media nightmare with the concussion injuries issue yet no-one is calling for that to be banned either. Horses killed during the jump season, jockeys, breaking bones every week...horse racing banned? Nope!


Anyway, my overriding sentiment is that Blackwell makes a full recovery even if it means his boxing career is effectively over now.

DAVE667 wrote:

kingraf wrote:Look, risks in everything. If the medical practitioners had their way, we'd all play virtual tag in the safe confines of our homes. At the end of the day the key in being human is autonomy. These are grown men deciding to go hammer and tongs I'm sure as hell not gonna stop watching.

As for Eubanks, I thought he was genuinely concerned, but at the same time realized the fight was still close enough for his son to lose. Chose the path most likely to result in a win without completely destroying Blackwell. Think he deserves some credit at least

What fight were you watching? I gave Blackwell two rounds and they were the ones where Eubank took a breather. Not surprised Robert Smith has come out in support of the ref who should have stopped it earlier but given Blackwell was still throwing shots (albeit one to even eight Eubank Jr landed) he'd have been criticized for not giving the lad a chance to land a haymaker. however, his corner should have known their man had no chance of winning and the onus was on them to pull him out of the fight.

Probably influenced by the commentators who had the fight close, they even said after the fight was stopped that Blackwell could have made a come back had it gone on.

Slightly off topic but staying with the commentators, they seemed a little biased against Jnr, commenting a few times that Jnr is being disrespectful for taunting Average Joe but they failed to mention he was responding to Average Joe being disrespectful towards Snr by sticking the belt in his face.

you cant take risk out of sport, no matter what the sport is let alone boxing. i play rugby and i know the risks before i play. the thing being is i choose to play, its a personal choice. why should some pencil pusher say what i can and cannot do. same with boxers they know the risks. reduce the risks without impacting the sport yes thats fine, but banning etc is just stupid. it would only go under ground with a lot less safety precautions

We talk about safety precautions in boxing yet week after week we're confronted with godawful mismatches like the Kell Brook fiasco and, on the same bill as Eubank jr, I think I saw Frank Buglioni fight a guy up at LH that apparently fought Eubank Jr at MW previously (I may have misheard the commentary, I was drunk at that point). These guys who have been sanctioned by the BBBC were so inept they were in serious danger of serious injury and yet the quality of fighters being put forward on some undercards is embarrassing.

There's been less uproar about RJJ fighting a guy who won a f*cking phone-in competition and let's not forget that Joe Calzaghe defended his title against a guy who essentially won a reality tv show. We allow Freddie Flintoff to fight a headline show, we extol the virtues of white/blue collar boxing yet all these guys have been at risk of serious injury due to their lack of experience.

Will the sport suffer? Yes, but only because it insists on shooting itself in the foot.....with a cannon!

No it will not suffer

People need to realize that boxing in its present form is the safest it can be right now with all the necessary precautions in place.

Ok it can learn from last Saturday night but banning boxing will do more harm then good.

DAVE667 wrote:

kingraf wrote:Look, risks in everything. If the medical practitioners had their way, we'd all play virtual tag in the safe confines of our homes. At the end of the day the key in being human is autonomy. These are grown men deciding to go hammer and tongs I'm sure as hell not gonna stop watching.

As for Eubanks, I thought he was genuinely concerned, but at the same time realized the fight was still close enough for his son to lose. Chose the path most likely to result in a win without completely destroying Blackwell. Think he deserves some credit at least

What fight were you watching? I gave Blackwell two rounds and they were the ones where Eubank took a breather. Not surprised Robert Smith has come out in support of the ref who should have stopped it earlier but given Blackwell was still throwing shots (albeit one to even eight Eubank Jr landed) he'd have been criticized for not giving the lad a chance to land a haymaker. however, his corner should have known their man had no chance of winning and the onus was on them to pull him out of the fight.

I get why people always want boxing banned after something like this but where were the calls for F1 to be banned after that crash the other week. These tw*ts hurtle around a track at speeds in excess of 200mph and we're rewarding the idiots with millions of pounds and the SPOTY award afterwards. Rubgy players, footballers etc all suffering career ending injuries but no-one calls for them to be banned. American Football is going through a real media nightmare with the concussion injuries issue yet no-one is calling for that to be banned either. Horses killed during the jump season, jockeys, breaking bones every week...horse racing banned? Nope!


Anyway, my overriding sentiment is that Blackwell makes a full recovery even if it means his boxing career is effectively over now.

To clarify I meant more in the "Blackwell was still lucid enough for a miracle punch to not be far fetched" close than the "Chris was only up by one on my card" close

DAVE667 wrote:We talk about safety precautions in boxing yet week after week we're confronted with godawful mismatches like the Kell Brook fiasco and, on the same bill as Eubank jr, I think I saw Frank Buglioni fight a guy up at LH that apparently fought Eubank Jr at MW previously (I may have misheard the commentary, I was drunk at that point). These guys who have been sanctioned by the BBBC were so inept they were in serious danger of serious injury and yet the quality of fighters being put forward on some undercards is embarrassing.

There's been less uproar about RJJ fighting a guy who won a f*cking phone-in competition and let's not forget that Joe Calzaghe defended his title against a guy who essentially won a reality tv show. We allow Freddie Flintoff to fight a headline show, we extol the virtues of white/blue collar boxing yet all these guys have been at risk of serious injury due to their lack of experience.

Will the sport suffer? Yes, but only because it insists on shooting itself in the foot.....with a cannon!

You're dead on here. Most professional boxing matches in the UK are mismatches.

I really feel it for some of the Eastern European lads they drag over. They try desperately not to be stopped - so they aren't banned from taking another hiding immediately after the one they just caught.

Agree 100% about mismatches. It does the sport no favours and often makes for a boring spectacle anyway. The guy Buglioni was fighting the other night has already racked up 25 professional losses from 47 contests and did indeed fight Eubank jr and even more recently Callum Smith.

Guys like that are just being paid a pittance by sharks like Eddie Hearn to take a good hiding. It should be banned. Fight matching should be regulated properly. The organizations are no better to be fair, the IBF making guys like Jo Jo Dan and Kevin Bizier mandatory for their version of the 'World title', its a disgrace if we are honest.

I've said many times bore on here that the whole of boxing needs complete reform but sadly I can only see it getting worse.

I hate the mismatches but a lot of them are getting decent money from it and that's why they continue to take it

Derbymanc wrote:I hate the mismatches but a lot of them are getting decent money from it and that's why they continue to take it

Point being it shouldnt be allowed, regardless of what they are paid.  You could drag a man off the street to take a paid beating couldnt you really. Id jump into the ring with AJ on April 9th if Martin pulled out as long as the money was decent. Id let him knock me out stone cold for 100k no problem. Doesnt make it right or good to watch!

EX7EY wrote:

Derbymanc wrote:I hate the mismatches but a lot of them are getting decent money from it and that's why they continue to take it

Point being it shouldnt be allowed, regardless of what they are paid.  You could drag a man off the street to take a paid beating couldnt you really. Id jump into the ring with AJ on April 9th if Martin pulled out as long as the money was decent. Id let him knock me out stone cold for 100k no problem. Doesnt make it right or good to watch!

There's many would disagree!!!!

... No one would complain about ppv if it was you in there dave

I'd ask for it to be at Wembley in front of 80,001 people just to p!ss Froch off.

... You might need truss v wilder as a double header to get the numbers

It's completely different Ex, whilst i don't like mismatches a lot of these paid bums could be quite good if we didn't hold onto the 0 so much and just let the boxers fight it out. Never gonna happen though unfortunately

Derbymanc wrote:It's completely different Ex, whilst i don't like mismatches a lot of these paid bums could be quite good if we didn't hold onto the 0 so much and just let the boxers fight it out. Never gonna happen though unfortunately

We're on different pages on this one i'm afraid mate. I'm not talking about fighters who have losses on record. Im talking about absolute mismatches. If somebody has racked up more than 50% losses in over 40 fights as was the case with Buglionis opponent at the weekend then they shouldnt be sharing a ring. Evident with him being dusted off in a couple of rounds again.

Joshuas raft of learning fights is another example. It's ok saying up and coming fighters need experience which of course they quite rightly do. But, boxing is a dangerous sport as we saw at the weekend. You and I both know for a fact some men are put in the ring to get knocked out and pad out records. Its a dangerous game and when someone gets seriously hurt in an instance like that questions will rightly need to be answered.

In the case of Blackwell vs Eubank you couldnt really call that fight a mismatch even though in the end it was clear Eubank is a level above.

Not sure how the sport will suffer......People get hurt don't they !!......Some guy died in F1 last year it's the way it is....

Watched the fight and couldn't understand why they didn't pull Blackwell out.....Never going to win that fight..

As for feeling sorry for Eastern European prostitutes getting battered in British rings....

I'm happy to see timewasters get a good hiding.....Some of these guys are jokes and shouldn't be granted licences..

That moron commentator on Saturday..."Buglioni is making a statement"..

Leave it out pal..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Not sure how the sport will suffer......People get hurt don't they !!......Some guy died in F1 last year it's the way it is....

Watched the fight and couldn't understand why they didn't pull Blackwell out.....Never going to win that fight..

As for feeling sorry for Eastern European prostitutes getting battered in British rings....

I'm happy to see timewasters get a good hiding.....Some of these guys are jokes and shouldn't be granted licences..

That moron commentator on Saturday..."Buglioni is making a statement"..

Leave it out pal..

These "jokes" have had virtually no prep. and are routinely bullied by young prospects. Without them, the industry would be dead in the UK.

I think there's something heroic about a bloke taking a hiding (rarely do they fall over) so they can send a few bob home to a family living in abject poverty.

The complete mismatches are almost better for peoples health than the fights that are close on paper like Saturday.

More often that people end up seriously hurt taking punches for 10 or 11 rounds than those that are blew out after 2 or 3.