In recent years, there have been many campaigns to try and have boxing banned

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In recent years, there have been many campaigns to try and have boxing banned.  Those in favour of banning boxing argue that it is dangerous, potentially life threatening and generally unsafe.  It can also be argued that it is immoral to give someone money for fighting with someone else.  Those who are against boxing being banned argue that it is no more dangerous than other sports. In this essay, I will critically examine each of these arguments and demonstrate to the reader that the sport of boxing should not be banned. I will provide evidence that can fully justify my comments.

Firstly, I do not think anybody can argue against my strongest point, which is that every single boxer in Britain takes part in the sport on their own accord, and are not being forced to fight by anybody else.  Everyone, if given the opportunity, has a right to take part in what ever sport he or she wishes and therefore it is a human right.  Some may say that tagging boxing a ‘voluntary’ sport is too simplistic a view.  However, I believe that this is not the case and it leads me to my next point.  Boxing, in fact, offers many young men a way out of their rundown social background and offers them with an opportunity to use what skill they possess to make a living for themselves.  If a person legitimately has a gift of strength and ability, then nobody has the right to stand in their way. If they do then they are effectively denying the person a human right.  Furthermore, straight from the moment a boxer steps into a ring, he is aware of the risks involved, but is driven by the fact that the rewards he will gain are far more superior. All boxers obviously believe that the benefits of the ancient sport outweigh its negative side. This is shown in their enthusiasm to take potentially high risks in order to gain the rewards of winning. Like all sports, there is an element of danger involved however we have the freedom to decide whether or not to take part in it.

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One of the main arguments for boxing being banned is that serious medical injury can result from boxing due to continuous blows to the head. “In boxing when the head is knocked sideways, the brain swirls in the skull, its layers shearing and sliding off one another, tearing vital nerve fibres”. Statistics show that 15-20% of boxers ending a professional career develop the 'punch-drunk syndrome'. This syndrome consists of the brain weakening, loss of memory, slowed speech and difficulty in walking. Also boxing can effect the time of death. A professional boxer dies around 10-15 years earlier than the ...

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