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Is amateur boxing safer than pro boxing?
Amateur boxing is safer than pro boxing. Amateur boxing goes to great lengths to protect its athletes. Amateur boxers
must wear a mouthpiece at all times, force-absorbent headgear, and a shirt to absorb sweat and dirt. Amateur boxing
gloves are designed to absorb not transmit shock. Finally, amateur boxing referees exercise more control by using eight counts
and evaluating the boxers throughout the competitive bout. In addition to these things, both pre-and post-bout physicals are
required of all amateur boxers.
How does amateur
boxing safety rank with other contact sports?
Amateur boxing ranks as the safest sport among contact
sports such as football and wrestling and among other events such as equestrian events and motorcycle racing.
How does boxing compare to other sports
in amount of fatality rates? Fatality Rates per 100,000 participants: Horse-racing...........128
Sky-diving...............123
Hang gliding..............55
Mountaineering.........51
Scuba diving.............11
Motorcycle racing......7
College football..........3
Boxing....................1.5
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Doesn't
boxing rank as the sport with the most injuries?
No, according to the National Safety Council's
1996 accident report, amateur boxing ranked 23rd on its list of injuries. Boxing ranks lower in number of injuries when compared
to hockey, soccer, gymnastics, and in-line skating.
What is USA Boxing Doing to Protect Amateur Boxers?
In
April 1986, after concerns were raised by the America Medical Association and other medical societies, the United States Olympic
Committee, at the request of USA Boxing, approved and funded a proposal by the John Hopkins
Medical Institutes to initiate a prospective study of active amateur boxers. The study compared USA boxers
with little or no experience boxing and compared them to active amateur boxers found no evidence of brain dysfunction or central
nervous system defect. The term brain dysfunction refers to the "punch drunk" syndrome which indicates an impairment
of motor skills, loss of coordination and memory, and slurred speech.
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