Sly Stallone As Rocky Balboa
Charlotte, NC– Little did I know that when I wrote “Bare Knuckle Boxing: The Number of Deaths Speak For Themselves” how big a proverbial “can of worms” I was actually opening! Of course this Professor is about the roots and history of boxing, and humans have been throwing hands at each other since the invention of the fist (see Genesis chapter 4). And through the decades, varying amounts of protection and support have been used for the eight Carpal bones, five Metacarpals, and 14 Phalanges that up the hand , wrist and fingers. According to the World Boxing Organizationregulations “In all weight classes, hand bandages shall be restricted to 12 yards of soft gauze bandage per hand not more than two inches in width, held in place by not more than eight feet of surgical tape of one inch in width. The surgical tape shall not be applied within one inch of the knuckles of the contestant’s hand’s” (Section 29, WBO regulations ). The point is, the human hand or fist is not the best weapon. The bones will break. The wraps are used to protect the hands.
STATS SAY THE SMALLER THE GLOVES, THE LESS OVERALL DAMAGE
Gloves, however, are another matter altogether. Again, according to the WBO regulations, “The weight of the gloves to be used in World Championship contests shall be as follows: (1) From Mini Flyweight (105 lbs.) to Welterweight (147), eight ounce gloves shall be used. (2) From Jr. Middleweight (154) to Heavyweight (200+), ten ounce ounce gloves shall be used.” (Section 30, WBO regulations). Gloves were introduced to shorten bare knuckle bouts by enabling combatants to punch harder and more frequently to the head, thus increasing the “exciting knockout.”
SOME PEOPLE (SQUARES?) JUST CAN’T COMPREHEND THE NUMBERS & FACTS!
I have been besieged this past week by people who do not understand that last point. (And by many who do, thank you!) Now, please don’t get me wrong, the Professor loves boxing, but I am convinced that smaller or no gloves is indeed safer! Think about it. If you have ever been in a fight, if you have ever purposely hit anyone in the head, you might not feel the full effect while your adrenaline is pumping, but believe me, you will feel it. The human head is much harder than the human hand. Even a season pro, who trains and fights for a living often has chronic hand problems, wraps, gloves and all. Remove the padded gloves, or reduce the padding, you save the head. The point: bare knuckle boxing would break more hands but injure fewer brains.
THE SQUARES DISGUISED AS BOXING PURISTS!
Yet, there is a rub. As I have found out, when you bring the issue up, there are those among that masquerade as something akin to “ultra-civilized” I guess, who will bemoan that removing the gloves is somehow barbaric. Yet in 2010, the highest number of sports related injuries came, not from boxing or even bare knuckle boxing, even if you pro-rate the percentages, but rather from bicycling, basketball, baseball, and running! (Scientificpsychic.com/fitness/sport_injuries.html). But you hear little or no up roar to ban bicycling!
COMPETITIVE FIGHTING IS WHAT RUNS THE RULING OF THE WORLD
So, is there something barbaric about boxing and/or bare knuckle boxing? Only to the degree that there is something inherently barbaric about competition. Competition is not only a part of life, but it makes up most of all of our lives. Whether you ever compete in a sport or not, if you just live in your office, trying to make a living; if you till the earth, trying to grow a crop, you compete.
SLY STALLONE’S FICTIONAL ROCKY QUOTED ONCE AGAIN!
And when it comes to two in the ring; gloves; small gloves; no gloves at all, International Boxing Hall of Fame member Sylvester Stallone’s character Rocky Balboa said it best, “What’s so crazy about standing toe to toe with someone saying, ‘I am’?” Good question, Mr. Balboa, good question!
Professor Chuck Marbry