Purists call it sweet science but nothing is really sweet with this violent sport more popularly known as boxing.
image from pixabay
At its best, boxing is nothing but a brutal sport that needs to be subjected to further studies to protect boxers from brain damage and death. It is not surprising at all that some people are actually calling for banning the sport.
Contrary to what some other people say that MMA is a tougher and a more violent competition, boxing is in fact more brutal than any other sanctioned combat sport.
In fact, a scientific study published in 2015 revealed that boxers are more likely to lose brain volume and processing speed due to head trauma compared to MMA fighters.
The chart below compares the reduction of thalamus volume between MMA fighters and boxers.
image from NCBI
How is it possible then that a sport involving strictly punches and occassional clinches can be more damaging and more fatal than a one that uses punches, kicks, elbows and all possible assaults except biting?
Let's look at how a fight is won in both sports.
Basically, in both boxing and MMA, you need to beat your opponent physically to knock him out or outpoint him in the scorecards. In boxing, most knockouts are achieved by delivering heavy blows to the head. This is where the brain damage is coming from.
In MMA, a fighter can win via stoppage with a knockout or submission. While there are really cases of vicious knockouts in UFC, most stoppages are coming from tapouts where serious damages are averted when a fighter yields to his opponent.
Not in boxing. Boxing has this unique and very dangerous rule of allowing a fighter to get up after suffering from a knockdown. As long as you are able to stand up and 'come forward' before the ref count you out, then you are good to go. You can cover, clinch, run, or get knock down again.
There are boxing bodies that actually allow a boxer to get up more than 3 times in a round as long as the referee decides that the boxer can still fight. This is really dangerous because most of the times, these fighters are no longer in the fight. Their brains are shaken really hard and their mind is wondering somewhere. Apart from their shaking legs and glassy eyes, all that is left to them is their instinct to fight and carry on. Resuming the fight will only expose them to unneccessary punishment and brain trauma. That is inhumanely brutal.
You will never see that in MMA.
In UFC for example, when a fighter got hit by a devastating blow and went down, the referee will rush between them to stop the fight preventing the other guy from delivering more blows. No more counting. No "are you OK?" BS because obviously, when someone hits you with a flying knee, you will never be okay, at least for the next few minutes.
And that makes MMA a lot more safer for its athletes.
Sure there are lot of bloody knockouts, breaking bones, and even accidental shitting in MMA bouts, but I have not yet heard of a dead fighter coming out of the octagon.
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