Boxing equals brain damage

I've never understood boxing.

Watching people beating each other to a pulp never made sense to me as a "sport". Rocky movies? Forget it - I never went near them.

I remember when one of those world boxing championships was on and my colleague just couldn't understand why I wasn't interested in waiting up all night to watch it.

According to a BBC Health article (which is no longer available),

...as boxing involves powerful people hitting each other repeatedly, often around the head, there are other risks - most serious of all being permanent severe brain damage.

While other injuries repair relatively easily, brain tissue, once damaged, remains damaged.

The symptoms of such brain damage - commonly known as being "punch drunk" - include slurred speech, slow reactions and even occasional blackouts.

And you can imagine the effect that repeated damage from long-term boxing has on the brain's ability to learn.

I'm very happy that:

For the moment [the British Medical Association] continues to lobby for a total ban on boxing for men or women.

I liked this suggestion from Professor Hugh Bayne:

He wrote in the British Medical Journal that doctors could make boxing illegal in the UK simply by withdrawing their support and refusing to attend bouts.

He pointed out medical cover is a legal requirement at all boxing promotions.

Just ban it. Period.

See the 30 Comments below.