Boxers must be protected - Azumah on recent deaths

Ghanaian boxing hall of famer, Azumah Nelson, has lamented the recent deaths in boxing which happens as a result of perils associated with lurking in the ring.

Speaking on Happy FM’s ‘Anopa Bosuo Sports’ with Ohene Brenya Bampoe, the legendary Ghanaian boxer said, “We must do everything necessary to protect boxers in the ring because the rate at which boxers are losing their lives is alarming. It is a game so we should protect human lives so necessary measures must be put in place.”

Azumah Nelson’s assertion comes on the heels of a series of death in the sector. Barely a few days after Russian boxer Maxim Dadashev died after a brutal bout, another life was claimed in the ring. Argentine boxer Hugo Alfredo Santillan died on Thursday in Buenos Aires after suffering injuries against Uruguayan fighter Eduardo Javier Abreu. The late Santillan was 23-years old at the time of his passing.

He also added that it is unnecessary and inappropriate for boxing authorities to abolish wearing of headgears. “I don’t know why the authorities are even asking amateurs boxers to remove the headgears. Maybe they need the blood for something when these boxers die.”

The International Boxing Association, ditched boxing headgear for the first time since 1984, making it look a lot more like professional boxing.

The decision, according to statements from amateur boxing’s governing organization, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) came down to safety.

Counterintuitively, referees had to stop matches for head injuries ( concussions) more often when boxers were wearing headgear, according to an AIBA study. But whether ditching headgear actually makes boxers safer—especially from non-concussion injuries is more complicated.

This rule change was rather surprising for a lot of people who assert there is still a lot of research that needs to be done.