No Plan to Ban Boxing, Says Sports Minister
May 5, 1998 - 0:0
LONDON - The British government has no intention of banning boxing in the wake of injuries suffered by Spencer Oliver in a European title fight, Sports Minister Tony Banks said Monday. Oliver was fighting for his life after undergoing emergency brain surgery following his European championship bout against Ukrainian Sergei Devakov. The 22-year-old was knocked out in the 10th round of their clash at the royal Albert Hall on Saturday night.
Banks said that he did not regard calls from the British medical association for the sport to be prohibited as a realistic option although he did suggest that there was a case for another re-examination of safety procedures surrounding boxing. Going for a ban is not the answer to this situation and it certainly isn't one that the government is contemplating, Banks told the British Broadcasting Corporation. But he said he was not trying to dismiss lightly concerns about the sport being expressed by the BMA and others.
I do believe that there is a case yet again to look at the way that boxing is organised, he said. The sort of things that are now in place with regards to safeguards in boxing arose out of the Eubank-Watson fight, which was a tragic fight, so boxing is continually improving its measures. It was important that the boxing board of control examined what happened to see if further safety improvements were required.
Banks rejected a suggestion that Saturday night's fight was sheer savagery. It wasn't a grotesque spectacle, I watched the fight as well, he (Spencer Oliver) wasn't battered nearly to death. The referee stepped in fairly speedily, he said. He took a number of blows to the head, which clearly have given him tragic circumstances now. But the fact is it wasn't some brutal fight in that sense.
And one has to keep this in proportion. Thousands of young men are involved in boxing ... most fights take place in total safety. What we have got to be careful of is actually moving fast with regards to a reaction on incidents that are in themselves isolated, however tragic. (AFP)
Banks said that he did not regard calls from the British medical association for the sport to be prohibited as a realistic option although he did suggest that there was a case for another re-examination of safety procedures surrounding boxing. Going for a ban is not the answer to this situation and it certainly isn't one that the government is contemplating, Banks told the British Broadcasting Corporation. But he said he was not trying to dismiss lightly concerns about the sport being expressed by the BMA and others.
I do believe that there is a case yet again to look at the way that boxing is organised, he said. The sort of things that are now in place with regards to safeguards in boxing arose out of the Eubank-Watson fight, which was a tragic fight, so boxing is continually improving its measures. It was important that the boxing board of control examined what happened to see if further safety improvements were required.
Banks rejected a suggestion that Saturday night's fight was sheer savagery. It wasn't a grotesque spectacle, I watched the fight as well, he (Spencer Oliver) wasn't battered nearly to death. The referee stepped in fairly speedily, he said. He took a number of blows to the head, which clearly have given him tragic circumstances now. But the fact is it wasn't some brutal fight in that sense.
And one has to keep this in proportion. Thousands of young men are involved in boxing ... most fights take place in total safety. What we have got to be careful of is actually moving fast with regards to a reaction on incidents that are in themselves isolated, however tragic. (AFP)