THW ban boxing

I know his power in debating, and so I look forward to a great debate. Arguments:My arguments will be the following:1. Boxing is a barbaric sport, and it should not be a part of any 21st century society.2. The celebrity status that societies award to boxers glamorizes and legitimizes violence in society.3. Boxing causes many deaths, and medical officials have continually called for it to be banned.4. Boxing is famously exploitative, but a ban could prevent youth from falling into the sport’s economic trap. Now please let me explain my points.1. Boxing is a barbaric sport, and it should not be a part of any 21st century society. Unlike in any other sport, boxers intend to physically injure their opponents by knockout. Allowing people to intentionally inflict injuries upon others for public entertainment and private profit is barbaric. Children especially are trained in these ways. When boxers turn professional, they have often already fought in at least 50 fights in their youth, which does not include the countless rounds of sparring during training sessions. Boxers are essentially being trained in violent ways, often at a young age. The Australian Medical Association actively opposes boxing for this reason, calling it, “a public demonstration of interpersonal violence which is unique among sporting activities. ” While there are other rough sports, boxing is different because its intent is harmful. The World Medical Association, which also opposes the sport, justifies this position by noting, “its basic intent is to produce bodily harm in the opponent. ” Boxing is a violent sport, in which youth are taught to try to hurt their peers. It has no place in modern society.2. The celebrity status that societies award to boxers glamorizes and legitimizes violence in society. Boxers are presented as beacons of success for young people, but they are not good role models. Children should not idolize people who make a living by injuring other people. In addition to the violence in the ring, brawls often break out at press conferences and even inside boxing venues. The marketing of boxing exalts this mindless violence and those who perpetrate it. Mike Tyson is a particularly harmful example. Tyson was one of the most popular and successful boxers in history, when he faced Evander Holyfield in the most hyped fight of the year. Tyson cruelly bit off a portion of Holyfield’s ear in the fight, on live television. These are not role models of which we should be proud.3. Boxing causes many deaths, and medical officials have continually called for it to be banned. The British Medical Association has repeatedly called for a ban on boxing or a removal of the head from the permitted target areas. The body of medical evidence is growing that suggests even if a boxer survives individual bouts relatively unmarked, the cumulative effect of a career in boxing can lead to a greater susceptibility to chronic neurological injury. A doctor who has studied the effect of boxing on Parkinson’s specifically says that boxing causes unnecessary harm. He writes, “Unlike most degenerative neurologic diseases, this disorder can be prevented. ”Although the incidence of injury is much higher in sports such as basketball, rugby or riding, the risk of serious injury in boxing is far greater. That risk is so great that boxing should be banned. A ban, quite simply, would mean fewer people dead, injured or permanently brain damaged.4. Boxing is famously exploitative, but a ban could prevent youth from falling into the sport’s economic trap. To be successful, boxers have to train for 8 hours a day 6 days a week, spending the best years of their lives in the gym. Because most boxers lack a formal education and spend all their time in the gym they employ managers to handle their business affairs; very often the boxer’s entourage control the fighter’s destiny. This relationship can be exploitative given the inequality of bargaining power and the fact that most boxers need to make as much money as they can before they are worn out. An average boxer will have about 30-40 top-level professional bouts in them before their health and skills will dramatically deteriorate. Whilst it may well be in the fighter’s interest to hang-up his gloves, those around him have a financial incentive to push fighters into more and more title defences or comebacks. The decisions that older boxers make provide further proof that they feel they have been exploited: over 80% of older boxers surveyed in Chicago said that they did not want their children to be boxers. The truth is that boxers are only treated as money-making devices by their promoters and the boxing industry. When American boxer Leavander Johnson died after a fight in 2005, his promoter told the press, “I don’t think there’s anyone to blame here other than the circumstances. He’s a victim of his own courage. ” This shows promoters’ desire to exploit boxers’ “courage” and willingness to put themselves at risk, without having any regret for such a dangerous system. Oftentimes the promoters actively make it more dangerous, exploiting their clients for criminal ends. In his exploration of boxing deaths throughout history, Joseph Svinth finds that in addition to health reasons, many deaths were criminal, with the promoter playing the dual role of “gangster. ” It’s time to break up this industry before any more young athletes get taken advantage of in a bad way. Sources:1. Australian Medical Association, “Boxing,” 1997, reaffirmed 2007, accessed July 8, 2011, . http://ama.com.au.......2. World Medical Association, “WMA Statement on Boxing,” (adopted by the 35th World Medical Assembly, Venice, Italy, October 1983 and editorially revised by the 170th WMA Council Session, Divonne-les-Bains, France, May 2005), accessed July 8, 2011, . http://www.wma.net.......3. BBC, “Tyson: ‘I’d bite again,’” October 4, 1999, . http://news.bbc.co.uk.......4. Friedman, “Progressive Parkinsonism,” 545.5. Loïc Wacquant, “The pugilistic point of view: How boxers think and feel about their trade,” Theory and Society, Vol. 24, No. 4 (August 1995), 489-535, . http://sociology.berkeley.edu......, 523.6. John Mehaffey, “Fighter’s death renews abolition call,” The Sun-Herald, September 25, 2005, . http://www.smh.com.au..........7. Svinth, “Death under the Spotlight. ”