Boxing and consent
| July 3, 2011 | Posted by Joe Towse under lifestyle, sport |
Since when has getting one’s jollies from seeing two human beings attempting to savage each other been acceptable? In case that opening sentence didn’t proffer enough information to guess what this is going to be about, I logged onto Facebook this morning, and all I saw was “David Haye this”; “David Haye that”; “what a shame he lost the fight”; “no it’s not, he’s a c**t”. The last two of those are quotes.
In our modern civilisation, do we really need to fight? Is it appropriate that we do so? Although certain Darwinian principles may have existed in the past, meaning that at times it was necessary for human beings to lock into combat with one another, both for their own survival and for the continuation of evolution, those necessities, I believe, were gone even by the time that the Romans introduced gladiatorial combat.
Now, normally, I’m not one to see myself as a moral compass for others to follow, but I just feel that it is unnecessary in this day and age for people to pit themselves against one another, and to attempt to hurt one another. One may argue that they have consented to this, but I beg to differ – although some consent can exist in that they agree to fight, neither one believes that they will be badly hurt (and if they do, they’re in such a poor state of mind that their consent is worthless anyway), and there lies the difference between that and other consensual practices.
One of these other consensual practices is the murky realm of BDSM (which stands for bondage and discipline, domination and submission, sadism and masochism). This sort of practice, I am fine with. The reason I am fine with this and not with some other practice of ‘consent’ like boxing? Because when someone enters into BDSM, they know, at least to a certain degree, what is going to happen. They can pre-empt the exact consequences of their consent upon their body, and even if something does go slightly astray from their initial plans and expectations, then in any sensible practice along these lines there exists a ‘safeword’ (or a safe action, if it is not possible to speak).
In boxing, when one enters into the ring, they cannot be sure of what to expect. Also, I don’t believe (correct me if I’m wrong) that there is any equivalent to a safeword, aside from the existence of a referee figure who is there to step in when he deems that things have gone too far. This is not the boxer deeming that he is too badly hurt, but rather a third party, who does not in fact share the same sentience as the boxer, deeming so.
Finally, the use of such actions for sport is wrong. Just like one would think it wrong to watch a pornographic film in which two consensual minors had sex, it is wrong to take advantage of the situation which the two boxers, as I argue above, have not consented to. It is impossible to consent to the unknown.
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Boxers have a good picture of what will happen in the ring. They study their opponents fights in great detail and they know how badly a fight could end up. A boxer can always throw in the towel if a fight has become too much and this can act as a sort of ‘safeword’. To be honest your entire argument is flawed; all sportsmen consent to taking part in a sport yet in reality they have no idea of what could happen. In most sports serious injuries can easily occur, rugby players can break their necks, racing drivers can burn to death, football players can run into each other and die instantly, basketball players can have their skulls fractured if another player land on them. In any physical activity no one can “be sure of what to expect”.
On a final note boxing fatalities very rarely occur and if they do it only ever happens in the flyweight divisions. Boxers like David Haye are simply too big and tough to be killed in a regulated boxing match.
The difference between boxing and the other sports you named is that in boxing, hurting the other person is the intention, rather than an unfortunate by-product of the sport. By the time a boxer would consider ‘throwing the towel in’, chances are it is too late and the damage has been done, whereas the idea of a safeword is to prevent it beforehand (in addition to the fact that guidelines will generally be laid out beforehand in any consensual sadomasochistic activity).
I wasn’t aware that actual deaths did happen in boxing, although I suppose it is inevitable that they do from time to time. As far as I’m aware, only one footballer has ever died as a result of playing football, and even fewer for absolute non-contact sports. However, what about lasting brain damage which could be caused by boxing, with the possibility of increasing the chance of death and reducing the quality of life?
You’re very wrong, there are various high profile cases of footballers dying on the field. Even though I’m not a fan, I can acknowledge boxing as another sport because the sportsmen that play it are geared to fit in with the trials and tribulations of that particular sport.
It’s a strange world we live in when arguably twisted past times (there is a reason they’re called fetishes, meaning an abnormal arousal), are somehow presented to be on a higher pedestal than a sport which people choose to enter into, and which doesn’t even have the same notability for cheating as say, wrestling (except of course the terrible case of Panama Lewis which I would recommend reading if you haven’t).
Although I understand your points, I think there are far more dangerous things out there we need to be concerned about.. perhaps even the raised sexual awareness of children with things such as BDSM.
Amateur Boxing is a safe, healthy and exciting combat sport which must at all times be distinguished from the big business and public entertainment of professional boxing.
Amateurs compete for the honour of their club and the respect of their peers. The first student Boxing Club in England was established at the University of Manchester in 1850 and the Cambridge v Oxford ‘Varsity boxing match has taken place every year, in peacetime, since 1897! Boxing as a hobby and boxing for a living are very different tings!
How incredibly ignorant, though very typical of left-wing students these days. Georgie hit the nail on the head when they mentioned that BDSM is somehow more respectable than boxing. In answer to your question, why must people fight? Because we always have done, and always will, and if you don’t believe that, you’re a bigger fool than I already think you are. Furthermore, boxing teaches discipline, technique and gives its practitioners a sense of self-confidence and the ability to defend themselves…perhaps against chavvy types whose favourite prey is people like you. Personally I believe everyone should partake in some kind of physical challenge which includes an element of danger; its character-building, because God knows what the future will throw at us in years to come. What, do you think that the men who enlisted in the Army were brave enough to go to war because their lives had been risk-free and indulged in BDSM perversions on the weekend instead of manly sport?
You have obviously never boxed yourself. If you had, you’d know that the difference between professional boxing and the amateur game is vast, and the risk of harm in amateur boxing is minimal, especially in student boxing like your friends will do when one clueless ‘combatant’ swings at another and hopes for the best. Besides, if you got paid millions like David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko, would you risk a concussion? Of course you would.
I love professional boxing because of the role models it produces that don’t come from thuggish footballers and bland cricketers. You only have to look at the Klitschko brothers, Sergio Martinez, Carl Froch or Manny Pacquiao to see intelligent gentlemen. These kinds of characters only appear in boxing. They have nothing to prove, they know how tough they are; unlike footballers who visit prostitutes, abuse women and whose sport manages to incite riots amongst their fans.
‘Why must we fight in this day and age?’ you ask. Go and research the atrocity that is football violence, where thousands of uneducated thugs batter each other because they like different colours…is that worse than two well-trained professionals or amateurs competing against each other within the noble tradition of the fist? You’ll come back with some liberal lefty retort…I don’t know why I’m writing all this. I won’t convince you, anyway. You types never listen or even try to understand the value of tradition and nobility of boxing. If you don’t like our sport, don’t watch it, don’t talk about it, and leave it alone.