Would you watch professional boxing if the fighters wore headgear?

[$Bullsfam$]

Id watch it but it wouldn't be as big of a deal to me as the sport is to me today. I'd watch it if theirs nothing else on like I usually watch amateur boxing on the comcast channels.

[JAB5239]

Yes, but with a lot less enthusiasm. I don't want to see someone taking too much punishment, but some of the more brutal aspects of the sport are part of what made me a fan.

Also



while I appreciate skills, I enjoy a good toe-to-toe war. Skills are great and there have of course been many, many fantastic fights involving skillful fighters. But (and this is just a matter of personal taste, of course) I prefer to see a skillful guy against a stronger, tougher, less skillful guy. I think that's a great matchup. But two skillful guys can sometimes be a bit underwhelming.

I've read that headgear may actually increase the risk of long-term brain injury to boxers, because it provides an added 'shell' for the brain to move around inside, meaning that you get shaken up worse than you would do without headgear. I'm not sure if that has any weight to it, perhaps it's BS and perhaps not, but I do think that one problem is that it would allow boxers to take more punches, meaning more incidents of head trauma per fight. Sometimes a boxer is better off being knocked out.

Good post. Nice to see you posting more often in this section Clegg. Keep em coming.

[nick_shela318]

i really dont care what they wear as long as the fight is entertaining

That's how i feel. Just the whole thing behind the sweet science is they don't wear head gear. lol

[McGoorty]

I put this in the History section as I thought I'd get more serious, more thought-out answers. Someone on SportsCenter this morning stated that if boxers wore headgear, people would lose interest in the sport. (This was used as an analogy to the shift in NFL rules to prevent helmet-to-helmet hits.)

Of course, it likely mean fewer knockouts, longer fights, more decisions. A few of us like that; most of you don't.

It would also mean that pro boxing would have more emphasis on skills other than punching power; it would be harder for a fighter who was getting out-boxed to end the fight with one well-placed punch or combination.

It would also mean fewer injuries, far fewer deaths, and likely fewer legendary fighters who slur their words and can't recognize their own children in their later years.

I know you are hoping to get a nice, mild, big pros with pro's and cons. But I can't, I would never watch another fight, except for old fights on film. Man, it would suck so, so, so, so, bad. I would become GAY..... and the pay-per-view channels would dry up on paying viewers,.... It would be dryer than a dead Dingoes Donger. Please, drop the whole idea, it would be the final nail in the coffin of boxing.......... Boxing without knockouts.... It'd be a whole world of TOTAL AMATEUR BOXING,.... because Boxing competitions with headgear, ARE CALLED........ WIBFk'd......... AMATEUR BOXING....... What you propose is the end of professionalism.

[McGoorty]

I put this in the History section as I thought I'd get more serious, more thought-out answers. Someone on SportsCenter this morning stated that if boxers wore headgear, people would lose interest in the sport. (This was used as an analogy to the shift in NFL rules to prevent helmet-to-helmet hits.)

Of course, it likely mean fewer knockouts, longer fights, more decisions. A few of us like that; most of you don't.

It would also mean that pro boxing would have more emphasis on skills other than punching power; it would be harder for a fighter who was getting out-boxed to end the fight with one well-placed punch or combination.

It would also mean fewer injuries, far fewer deaths, and likely fewer legendary fighters who slur their words and can't recognize their own children in their later years.

Why don't we just tie two pillows over 55 ounce gloves and give the boxers medieaval armour to wear,... and have them on different continents, just to make sure that there is no physical damage,... and not even the chance that anyone's feelings would get hurt, as they can't hear each other........ I think watching paint drying would have equal interest with boxing with head gear.

[Jeff Da Maori]

It would be dryer than a dead Dingoes Donger

As much as I enjoy watching a good technical fighter, it's the blood and guts of boxing that really made me a fan. I'd still watch if the fighters wore headgear, but I think the fights would lack intensity and the atmosphere in the crowd would drop as a result.

[Mugwump]

It would also mean fewer injuries, far fewer deaths, and likely fewer legendary fighters who slur their words and can't recognize their own children in their later years.

Whilst headgear would certainly reduce the number of cuts (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) I think we have to be very careful with the assumption that they would make boxing safer in terms of reducing serious injuries.

There were a lot of tests done over here by leading experts in neurology a few years ago following the Watson and McClellan tragedies. They looked at all sorts of safety precautions such as headgear, glove weights etc.

IIRC, they found little evidence to suggest headgear would significantly reduce the number of serious brain injuries. I mean, if you think about it it makes sense. The human skull is remarkably tough and more than capable of withstanding blows far harder than anything a human being can deliver with his fist. The problem stems from the fact that the brain is not firmly fixed within the skull. It freely sloshes about inside a soft protective sac which dampens the force of any blow to the head. Millions of years of evolution have refined this into a remarkably robust form of protection (far safer than anything we could ever hope to improve upon). But it is not perfect. To illustrate the problem - drop a g**** into a glass of water and then shake it from side to side. Like the brain, the g**** floats freely. When you move the glass there is not enough friction between the water and the surface of the g**** for it to be dragged along at the same rate. So it ends up rebounding from one wall to the other. The same thing happens to the brain but substitute the skull cavity for the walls of the tumbler. Even more serious is the whiplash effect where the head is knocked horizontally and the brain is sent spinning inside the skull like a top.

With the above in mind it soon becomes obvious that no amount of head protection can prevent the brain from being violently shaken about inside the skull. Sure, you can limit damage to the surface tissues but unless you can keep the neck from pivoting freely (which would render boxing as we know it impossible) the brain must ultimately move freely in response to any blow.

Moreover, headgear could well exacerbate the problem. Let's not forget that amateurs are forever re-adjusting their protection because it is prone to sliding across their field of vision. Over three or four rounds an amateur might eat a similar number of punches because of diminished viewing. Extrapolate that figure through twelve rounds - against a murderous puncher such as Gerald McClellan or Nigel Benn and you're ratcheting up the risk even further.

On the other hand, there have been tests which have appeared to show an improvement with lighter gloves. For years perceived wisdom has said heavier gloves reduce the force of impact but it seems as though they simply allow fighters to hit even harder.

[New England]

mismatches would still end in knockouts.

hand injuries woud be much less frequent
same with clashes of heads resulting in cuts

you'd see more body punching, too. a lot more.


amateurs are usually young men or boys
pros are almost always fully grown men who can hurt each other, headgear or otherwise.

the amateur point system is based on blows registering and scoring a single point
the pro scoring would still be based on a ten point must.

there wouldn't be standing 8 counts, which are very frequent in amateur boxing, especially if the guys can punch.

pro fights can be as many as 12 rounds. even with headgear, thats plenty of time to get your ears ringing and for damage to pile up

if you get hit with big shots late in the fight you're going to go down


so yes, it would water it down quite a bit
but it would still contain some of the same drama
and ihave no doubt that there would still be some great fights, though they may be much more infrequent