Should death of Towell spell the end for sport?
The death of boxer Mike Towell stunned sporting fans around the world last week and saw renewed calls for the sport to be banned.
Towell, 25, had to be stretchered from the ring after a fifth-round loss to Dale Evans in a fight in Glasgow last Thursday, September 29.
We took to the streets of Burnside to ask if this latest tragedy should force a ban, or more stringent checks to be introduced.
Bill Kelly from Cambuslang said: “Fifty per cent of me says yes and 50 per cent says no.
“It’s a hard old game. When I was a kid a guy I knew who won a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games, John McDermott, he will be 75 now.
“There are people that go into it to keep fit and it gives them discipline, etc. But when it goes to the money games it’s different. That’s the danger of it - it’s kill or be killed.”
David McCarthy, also from Cambuslang, said banning the sport could cause more harm than good.
He said: “It has been proven that more fatalities happen in horse racing and motor car racing than boxing. The health checks are probably as strict and stringent as they can be.
“Ultimately if you were to ban it you would drive it underground. There wouldn’t be nearly as many health and safety checks if that were to happen. It is more controlled when it is out in the open.”
Sheila Baxendale, from Burnside, said: “I think it’s barbaric. If they are going to keep the sport then they should be wearing head guards.
“There is no point giving them MRI scans before because it’s the impact of the punches that causes the damage, whether you start off OK or not.”
James McLaughlin from Burnside, admitted he loved watching boxing, but added: “Maybe they should wear head guards, maybe all boxing should stay like that... it’s better than somebody ending up dead.”
Ultimately if you were to ban it, you would drive it underground David McCarthy