Docs call for neck braces for boxers
‘AUSSIE ARE NEVER VULNERABLE’ A tragic charity fight death prompts calls for a major overhaul of the sport, writes Marvin France.
AFTER a horror week for boxing – and on the eve of last night’s clash between Joseph Parker and Russian giant Alexander Dimitrenko – the New Zealand Medical Association has come out swinging against the sport.
A week after the tragic case of Neville Knight, the 49-year-old father who collapsed against the ropes and died in the ring at a charity event in Hamilton, and a day after the death in hospital of 25-year-old Scottish boxer Mike Towell who was seriously injured in a fight on Thursday, the NZMA has now called on boxers to be fitted with neck braces during bouts.
Police have referred Knight’s death – something his trainer, Nabby’s Boxing Gym owner Dion McNabney, described as a ‘‘freak medical event’’ – to the coroner.
But theNZMA draws little distinction between professional and amateur fights.
‘‘Boxing is bad for you,’’ says Dr Stephen Child, chair of the NZMA. ‘‘Why do we need to worry about corporate boxing being worse?’’
‘‘Although it is regulated to try and minimise the harm, the primary objective is to cause harm to the opponent and there’s multiple evidence to show the damage done to the brain by multiple injuries.
‘‘We are promoting a sport, therefore, that is not only bad for your health but sends a message to society as well that such violence is acceptable when we have a major problem with domestic violence already.’’
The undercard of last night’s Parker fight featured reality TV star Naz Khanjani taking on Paul Henry’s daughter Bella. It was Khanjani’s second attempt to step into the ring after promoters Duco cancelled her July bout with DJ Lily Taurau when The Bachelor runner-up was hospitalised with a kidney infection.
She said she had no concerns about her safety this time around. ‘‘Judging by how Duco approached me with my health last time, I know how seriously they take it and I know I’m in good hands with these guys.’’
Corporate bouts typically consist of three two-minute rounds and are held under the regulations of either Boxing NZ, which governs the amateur side of the sport, and the New Zealand Professional Boxing Association.
Fighters must pass a full medical check and get signed off by a doctor at the weigh-in or on the day of the bout. A doctor or St John’s officer must also be present at ringside.
Such precautions are missing the point, according to Dr Child.
‘‘Putting a doctor in the ring isn’t going to do much after the injury has occurred, is it? They’re only there to try a minimise the harm that does occur. It’s like saying, ‘I’m going to crash the plane but it’s OK because people had seatbelts on’. No that’s not OK.’’
He says 16 ounce gloves, twice the size of amateurs or professionals, mouthguards and headgear is not enough and fighter should have to wear neck support.
‘‘While it may be softening the concussion impact on the brain sloshing within the skull, you’re not necessarily going to have any impact on the torsion affect on the neck and the whiplash injury component on the neck.’’ Boxing enthusiast and Parker’s former manager Sir Bob Jones says the idea of using a neck brace reflected an ignorance about the sport and any comparisons between corporate and amateur boxing is ‘‘ludicrous’’.
‘‘It’s like including playing ‘Snap’ or ‘Happy Family’ in a Vegas poker tournament. Boxing requires intensely disciplined training over many years, the opposite of people jumping into the ring with large gloves and whaling away at one another.
‘‘Untrained people not knowing how punch properly can’t do much damage to one another.’’
Waikato Boxing Association president Rick Ellis, who has been involved in the sport for more than 40 years and regularly trains people for corporate events, said banning corporate boxing would call into question all contact sports.
‘‘Boxing is often misinterpreted but it is a contact sport and I think if you’re going to talk about banning any sport you have to look across the board at all contact sport – and that’s just not feasible.’’