Based upon a BBC radio documentary on the phenomena called ‘white collar boxing’ in the UK.
For a UK audience, click the link at the foot of this post to listen before in disappears, as things tend to with the BBC.
Wikipedia definition: “White-collar boxing is a form of boxing in which people in white-collar professions train to fight at special events. Most have had no prior boxing experience”.
The name alone gives us a clue where this idea originated – in the UK we never use the phrases ‘white collar’ or ‘blue collar’, it’s a US thing.
Over this side of the pond white collar boxing has been around since the early 2000’s and has become a lucrative cash cow for some UK companies and self-styled promotors. But it has its problems.
I heard this documentary while I was out driving and found myself becoming more and more shocked and saddened by what I heard.
Just to be clear; I have been involved in fight training within my field for close to fifty years now, I even dabbled with boxing, and even though the traditional sport of boxing tends to have its feet firmly on the ground and is largely immune to the flights of fantasy that bedevil the oriental martial arts, that doesn’t mean that things can’t come seriously unstuck.
We are well aware of the tragedies that beset even the best prepared boxing athletes (think of Michael Watson or Johnny Owen and numerous other professional boxers who suffered catastrophic brain injuries in the ring) and those who engage in organised bouts, at whatever level, must surely know what they are letting themselves in for? Or maybe not.
Deaths and risks.
The documentary presented the facts that in the UK, over the last six years there have been three deaths. You can haggle over statistics and risks and match them off with other sports for ever1 but for me it was the circumstances that were the most telling; particularly when you run a comparison between the regulated and governed boxing organisations and the less regulated.
The most shocking facts.
It was revealed that the average preparation time in white collar boxing (‘from Rookie to Rocky’) is eight to ten weeks of training. Yes, ten weeks maximum from complete clueless novice to appearing in front of a packed arena.
For balance the documentary interviewed an established boxing coach who said that for anyone to consider stepping into the amateur ring then perhaps a year of dedication and preparation, as well as medical checks and a full and total assessment should take place before even thinking about a competitive fight. The coach said that for him it was about bringing the athlete on to develop the sport and the individual in the longer term.
This was a stark contrast with the white collar world. In that area prospective fighters have to sell twenty tickets at £20 each as part of the overall deal. I can see the logic of that as venues and officials don’t come cheap, but it seems that rather too much of the responsibility rests of the shoulders of the competitors. To get to the truth of that you would need to see a fuller financial balance sheet.
One guy from Leeds was interviewed. It was apparent to him that this was not for him but he was leaned on to continue. He liked the pad work (don’t they all) but the idea of hitting someone and being hit was not for him. He did it anyway, only to find out after the fight (which he ‘won’) that his opponent had later suffered a catastrophic brain bleed and died in the night. How do you live with that on your conscience?
The women’s view.
Yes, there is a women’s section, but what was revealing from one of the female competitors was the tactical difference between the women’s fights and the men’s. She was of the opinion that the women were more shrewd and technical and aimed to win on points; while the men just threw relentless haymakers at each other’s heads hoping to damage the other guy enough to win – to hell with the consequences. This pretty much lined up with the views of a friend of mine who did it for a lark, ‘no defence, no technique, just lots of game guys and wild punching’.
Equal opportunities.
In the documentary there was a brief mention of ‘democratising’ the sport. The idea that everyone can do it, even without bothering to climb the competency hierarchy. Imagine having a kick about in the park with footballing mates and then suddenly you are catapulted into playing for Manchester United at Wembley. But, in the interests of giving ‘equal access’ to everyone the doors should be open wide… or should they?
And what about pad work?
As mentioned above, everyone likes the idea of pad work; a set of pads is in every personal trainer’s kit bag and gives their clients the impression that they are actually ‘doing it’, irrespective of technique and associated skills. Add to that the various ‘combat fitness’ aerobics classes and there are legions of people who are trying to convince themselves they are Rocky Balboa punching along to an ‘Eye of the Tiger’ soundtrack.
In research for this piece, I spent rather too long googling photographs of the damaged faces of MMA fighters, (particularly the women) and although I am not squeamish I really wished I hadn’t gone down that particular rabbit hole. It’s worth listening to the medical experts on this subject.
I am reminded of my days in competition karate. We used to go to an open competition in South Wales and there I watched a particular guy who seemed to progress through all his fights by having his opponent disqualified through excessive face contact. In contest karate there is a penalty for having no regard for your own safety, a reckless or non-existent guard would result in points against you. It wasn’t that this guy had no guard, it was that his attempts to protect his own face were inept. His opponents were also to blame, as he must have shown them a target they couldn’t resist.
As the rounds went on his face became more and more damaged; black eyes and paper stuffed up his nose to staunch the bleeding. He went all the way through and I can still picture him collecting his trophy with a face like chopped liver and a big smile on his swollen lips. Was it worth it?
To me, fighting is both an art and a science and should be treated as such. Discipline sits at the heart of it and it really shouldn’t be left to the money men and the Neanderthals.
As a footnote; unregulated boxing is a thing in the UK. Currently it seems as if it’s up to the venue owners to be the gatekeepers. This exists as a separate entity outside of the rather excellent British Boxing Control (for professionals) and England Boxing (for the amateurs).
However; quite a lot of these white collar organisations in the UK cynically seem to attach themselves to well-known charities, as if to rubber stamp their activities. Recently, the charities have started to recognise this and have since created distance between themselves and the white collar promotors.
Acknowledgement: The title of this piece is a phrase used by a psychologist from Nottingham University, who examined the phenomena and contributed to the documentary.
BBC Sounds; ‘The Deadly Ring’, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001tbh3
Photo by Attentie Attentie on Unsplash
You can tease people with this question; which sports have the most deaths associated with them? You might go for base jumping or cave diving, but no… the real answer is golf. More people die while playing golf than any other sports. This is based on the age of the average golfer.