Changes needed if boxing is to regain lost ground

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32077, 27 August 1969, Page 11

Changes needed if boxing is to regain lost ground

fthe annual meeting of x the New Zealand Boxing Association, to be held in Gisborne next month, will be asked to examine means of reviving the sport in this country. The chairmen of the Wellington Boxing Association (Mr B. F. O’Brien) has made tills dear.

The Canterbury Boxing Association will not put forward one remit to the annual meeting—although

association members are just as worried about the state of boxing as Mr O'Brien.

Boxing in New Zealand is on the decUne because fewer youths are taking up the sport Few schools have boxing as a sport, and only a handful have annual boxing championships. The universities and services no longer have boxing as an official sport

The reason for this is the recognised danger of head injuries and brain damage from the cumulative effect of punches about the head.

The New Zealand Boxing Association has in recent years tightened its rules regarding medical supervision of all boxers fighting within this country—but there are still loopholes.

Mr T. Wildes, a qualified judge, and former member of the C.B.A. executive, has for years been attempting to have the rules strengthened to ensure the physical safety of the boxers.

In the main, Mr Wildes wants the rest periods recommended -for boxers who have been. out-punched, or technically knocked-out, or knocked out, made mandatory. Mr Wildes insists that minimum periods of resit from all boring by contestants who have suffered heavy punchirig be made

mandatory—longer periods being ordered by the doctors (honorary officers of the associations) at their discretion.

The New Zealand Boxing Council and associations feel that this would be taking-over the prerogative of the doctors.

Doctors at tournaments can give no more than cursory examination to boxers. As far as this writer is aware no medical research into punch-drunken-ness, the effect of blows to the head with a gloved fist, or the number of punches of varying weight a boxer can “take” has ever been done in New Zealand.

Boxing will continue to occupy a back seat ’until it is re-introduced into schools, universities and the services —and this will not occur until the N.Z.B.A. can convince everybody that the risk of brain damage has been reduced to the absolute minimum by the strictest of rules and rigid supervision.

In this respect, a qualifying examination, practical and oral, for all boxing; trainers would also be a great step forward. Judges and referees have to sit examinations. Judges cannot stop a bout, declare contestants mis-matched or save a boxer from a hiding.

Trainers are responsible for. a contestant being fit, in good health, not fighting a person too experienced and strong, and instilling in

their charges the skills of self-defence. Insisting that all new boxing trainers must meet a minimum standard of knowledge and skill by way of examination, and after five years, insisting that all licensed trainers must have sat qualification examinations, would raise both stature of boxing trainers and boring.

The N.Z.B.A. controls all boring in this country—both amateur and professional. The. rules do not

permit any person who has been a professional boxer to serve on the council or executive of any of the affiliated associations. The rules should be changed to allow retired professional boxers to be on the boxing council and on association executives, so that the administration can benefit from the experience of those who have fought in the ring for money. A limit on the number of former professionals to be allowed

on any executive or the council at any one time might be imposed to prevent a "professional takeover.” The attitude that a boxer of the ability, brains and temperament of, for example, B. Maunsell, who was an amateur champion for many years before his short career as a professional, had his character so ruined by professional boxing that he is unfit to be an administrator, is demonstrably ludicrous. The Boring Council should also allow the pro- , motion of professional bouts by private promoters, provided the council retains administrative control—the right to approve, or refuse approval, of matchings, appoint the referee, judges, and insist that the bouts be in accordance with the rules.

. It is obvious that both the W.BA. and CJJ.A. and many other associations would find it difficult to promote a big professional bout because they do net have the necessary finance. If the associations, or the council, were paid by the promoters for the services of referees, judges, officials and amateurs used in preliminaries, and possibly a fee by the private promoters, amateur boring would benefit—because the money

so gained would be used to foster amateurs. The proposal of Mr Wflde that in the next two years, the New Zealand amateur championships be conducted on the basis of having North Island and South Island championships, tiie winners to meet in, the national championships, to be held in North and -South centres alternatively, is well worth examining; ’ Mr WMdes points out that host associations for the national championships are finding it difficult to finance the tournaments (which seldom make' money), and, rightly, adds that many of tiie contestants chosen to box in the national championships find it hard to get off work for a week—many of them losing a week's wages to do so. Under Mr Wildes’ trial scheme, the contests would be held on Saturdays—which would attract bigger audiences, and would mean that contestants would need to be absent from work only on the Friday (probably only the afternoon). The three big tournaments a season would mean that the centres would not have to wait so long between staging national championships. It would also mean less of a financial burden in staging them. This would be preferable to staging the present national championships in the main centres only. Leaving the smaller centres I oqt will not encourage boxing there. The fact that the Canterbury Boring Association's delegates will be going to the annual meeting of the New Zealand association next month without any remiits—presumably because members of their association have no ideas—does not augur well for the future of boring.