Boxing was banned from the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 because the sport was considered to be too violent. Only until 1920 did the sport gain international recognition, followed by a wave of immense popularity due to the likes of boxing heroes like Cassius Clay (Mohammad Ali) and George Foreman. Undoubtedly boxing is one of the most blatantly violent sports. Only recently has one-on-one fighting superceded boxing's intensity on television with the anything-goes rules of "ultimate fighting" competitions. Boxing usually results in at least a little blood spill, and involves intense blows to the head that can cause brain damage or even death. In extreme cases, the violence of boxing bleeds outside of the ring, as when Mike Tyson brutally bit the ear of opponent Evander Holyfield. Because of the intensity of boxing's violence, many individuals and groups have called for a ban of boxing, at least on television. The British Medical Association has been particularly vocal in its disapproval of the sport, based on a series of deaths and severe injuries. There is no doubt that boxing glorifies fighting and violence: that is the purpose and the glamour of the sport. However, banning boxing from television is a ridiculous response to what is essentially an athletically respectable, profitable, and culturally-integral sport.
Boxing, like any other sport, demands a high level of athletic integrity and physical training. Anyone who has even dabbled in the training required for boxing knows that the fighters that make it to the championship level are among the elite...
Boxing's continued appeal around the world and its continued presence in the Olympic Games proves that boxing is a sport of integrity and athleticism, not of brute violence. Incidents like Mike Tyson's are not indicative of the generally high character of the sport itself. Furthermore, like other fighting sports like the martial arts, boxing "teaches kids discipline and helps keep them off the street," ("Should Boxing Be Banned?).
Boxing should not be banned because it is a natural athletic competition that is no more violent than any other sport. "Between 1986 and 1992, boxing accounted for three deaths in England and Wales compared with 77 deaths from motor sports, 69 from air sports, 54 from mountaineering, 40 from ball games and 28 from horse riding," ("BMA Renews Call for Boxing Ban."). While many boxing injuries and mishaps have made the news, such as the Mike Tyson/Evander Holyfield incident as well as Gerald McClellan's injury in 1995, boxing remains as safe if not safer than other sports. Popular team sports like ice hockey are equally as violent, if not more so, as players repeatedly fight bare fisted on the ice while they wear metal blades on their feet.
Furthermore, although many gambling and financial scandals have plagued the boxing industry over the years, boxing remains one of the most profitable sports in the United States. To ban boxing would severely damage the sports broadcasting industry and the sports media. Boxing draws millions of spectators, especially the heavyweight championships.…
