Boxing is far safer than most sports including many of the so-called non-contact variety.

On boxing I agree with Tom Paine. People choose to enter the ring, and as such I don’t think you can compare it to the likes of dog fighting etc…

The way to handle the male instinct for confrontation and combat is to channel it into sport, not ban it and force it both underground and into the streets and pubs. Humans are not the only species in which males have this instinct. Whether you like it or not is beside the point.

Boxing is one of the original sports, included in the original Olympics. Of course it’s a sport. Synchronised swimming is a less certain claimant to the name.

The fact that injury is a possible outcome of an activity is not a reason to ban the activity. Where would you stop? Rugby? Motor racing? Rock climbing? Would Mohammed Ali go back in time and spend his life as a motor mechanic to avoid the brain injury he suffered? I strongly doubt it. Even when injury does result that does not necessarily suggest tragedy.

For heaven’s sake. You’re entitled to dislike boxing. Other people are entitled to like it and you are NOT entitled to prohibit their consensual activities.

The argument of injury being possible in other sports is not valid as in boxing head injury is the point and not accidental.

On that prog I mentioned, it was stated that it has been mooted that boxing is taught in schools. If some chaps are bent on violence anyway and it can be done more safely in a boxing ring then fine, but I see the danger now of glorifying this as a sport – there is no way my boy is doing this at school. And of course if I prevent him he would be bullied. I have completely changed my view Ellee and jumped off the fence – IT SHOULD BE BANNED.

I feel that there are much more effective and less harmful martial arts, Mens Sana. Actually Mixed Martial Arts (or cage fighting as it is called) use grappling gloves so thin that it virtually is bare knuckle. The rules and realism of this sport mean that boxing is rendered ineffective and the fighters more often resort to grappling rather than battering each other’s brains out. Most fights are won by submission rather than knock out – the head is no longer the principle target whereas chokes and arm bars are the desired techniques. The contests are well refereed and the contestants as disciplined and honourable as they are in boxing.

I find boxing boring and stupid by comparison to MMA which is far more intelligent and skillful in my view. It offers the very same outlets to kids as boxing too.

Kevin, you are far from thick, don’t say such silly things.

My concern about this is the terrible injuries it inflicts, I can’t imagine anyone in their right mind wanting to put themselves up for a beating – and then call it sport.