Around 40,000 boxing fans watched Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh earlier this month.
Millions tuned in on legal and illegal streams around the world to witness Usyk defend his title against Fury in a thrilling contest that is said to have earned the boxer an estimated $191m in earnings.
Earlier this year, nearly 60 million households watched the fight between aging boxing legend Mike Tyson and YouTube star Jake Paul. That was in addition to the 72,000 people inside the Texas arena who paid $18.1m to see the fight in person, according to promoters.
Boxing: It's a knockout
In 2024, the incredible number of eyes, internet searches and audience figures on all viewing platforms confirmed that boxing is one of the most popular and followed sports in the world.
But because of the brutality of boxing, should it be considered a sport?
Although some sports work hard to protect the participants, especially injuries related to conflicts, the sport of boxing encourages the very opposite: to hurt your opponent as much as possible, which leads to submission or knockdown as much as possible, all on purpose, celebrated and praised by fame and monetary rewards.
“Compared to other sports, boxing is known to be more controversial,” Dr Ejaz Shamim, a neurosurgeon and chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Kaiser Permanente Research Institute, told Al Jazeera.
“Concussions occur when the brain vibrates and hits the inside of the skull. This causes brain damage and occurs every time a football player takes a hit to the head. Any concussion event is similar to a traumatic brain injury (TBI). With any TBI, there is irreversible brain damage.
“It is estimated that in boxing, a man only gets hit every 12.5 minutes of a fight alone. Protective clothing does not help much with concussions. Internal trauma to the brain occurs any time a boxer is hit in the head, without the external protection of the head.”
According to the Manuel Velazquez Collection, which records boxing fatalities, an average of 13 boxers are killed in the ring each year. A separate study by the Association of Ringside Physicians reported that there were at least 339 deaths from 1950 to 2007, with “a high percentage in the lowest category”.
The sight of 58-year-old Tyson back in the ring thrilled millions of his fans. But should the fame, popularity and money the sport brings outweigh the dangers and threats? And what is more than the other?
“People can come to boxing to vent their anger and frustration, but they quickly realize that these things have no place in the gym or the ring,” said Philip O'Connor, a sports journalist.
“Very few people have what it takes to step into the ring to fight someone using a low order that is aimed at knocking your opponent unconscious or hurting them more than they hurt you.
“After a lifetime of watching boxing and various martial arts and practicing as much as I can, I can say that as far as I can see, the mental and physical benefits outweigh the risks, but we must always try to improve safety and eliminate or reduce risk. to the greatest extent possible.”
There is nothing surprising about boxing injuries
Research shows that up to 20 percent of boxers experience concussions in their career, although many go unreported, especially among untrained boxers.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where boxing is classified as a non-educational sport, there were many injuries, according to the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM). At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, it was second to BMX. Overall, it ranks fifth on the list of Olympic sports with the highest injury rates.
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons states that 90 percent of boxers sustain traumatic brain injuries during their careers. Alzheimer's Research and Therapy reported that former boxers remain at risk of natural brain aging and brain diseases.
Although the World Boxing Federation (WBF) and the International Boxing Federation (IBF) did not respond to Al Jazeera's questions about violence in the sport and safety, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said “to provide the athletes and spectators with the best sports and spectators. The safest environment is what is important.” especially for the IOC and the entire Olympic Movement”, adding that “Olympic boxing has no goals, and knockouts have no scoring value”.
A WBF spokesman previously said that “boxing does a lot of good for young people, it keeps them off the streets, away from drugs, it teaches them self-control, self-confidence, that the good outweighs the bad”.
The popularity of boxing
Given the history of the sport, the number of participants around the world and the money involved, boxing cannot be considered a sport.
In the United States alone, the number of people participating in boxing will reach 6.7 million in 2021, according to the market research company Statista, which added that the growth of the boxing equipment industry worldwide reached $1.6bn in the same year .
The total revenue of the World Boxing Council (WBC) from 2011 to 2020 was more than $32m.
Forbes reports that boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr earned $275m from his fight against MMA-turned-boxer Conor McGregor in 2017, with the latter taking nearly $100m for the biggest payout in sports history.
“In terms of global popularity, boxing in 2024 will be the fifth sport in the world and the most popular fighting sport,” said Kamilla Swart-Arries, associate professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar.
“It has attracted famous people who have won the sport to become culturally famous around the world. Many boxers are famous all over the world. Combined with images and role models, boxing also has barriers to entry, is easily accessible and encourages the building of people with a place for boxing to be. important in areas where young people may opt out of physical activity as an alternative coping mechanism.”
The way forward
So instead of banning boxing, should increased security, stricter rules and bans on other practices ensure that the sport remains safe?
“Major changes in safety have been made in the sport of boxing over the years in order to strengthen the protection of fighters and reduce the risk of serious injury. Although the nature of the sport makes it a high risk, these advances aim to create a safer environment for the fighters, reducing the chance of serious injuries and fatalities,” added Swart-Arries.
“I don't think that (boxing) should be abandoned because there are many other sports that are also considered dangerous. All of these games will continue to attract attention around the world so they should not be discarded so it is important that they continue to improve to keep them safe. “
A study published by BJSM said there are about six to eight injuries per 1,000 boxing matches. About 10 to 20 percent of boxing injuries are serious or life-threatening, according to BJSM research.
O'Connor, who is also a martial arts instructor, said “one boxer dead and one boxer too many”, adding that the sport “still has a long way to go when it comes to protecting fighters”.
“Boxing has always been with us and will always be with us. The goal should be to ensure that this is done in a fair, transparent and safe manner that ensures the health of the students. Any changes must be considered and implemented to keep the game safe. “
Head injuries, including concussions, brain hemorrhages and skull fractures, are among the most common and dangerous injuries in boxing. Other injuries include cuts, broken noses and eye damage, all of which result in sports brutality.
As research continues, some studies have shown that up to 50 percent of former professional boxers may show symptoms of traumatic brain injury – a chronic brain disease – after their career ends.
“Preventing concussions is very important in preventing permanent brain damage in the future,” said Shamim, a neurosurgeon. “Every conflict has an escalation and with every shock you risk triggering the next conflict.
“One-man combat as a spectacle like boxing has been around for thousands of years and is unlikely to go away. But boxing carries a high risk of concussion and serious brain injury. With fighting games, the risk of conflicts and other dangers is always there. “