A PEACE of Boxing

By: Psychologist Diana Sosa, member of the World Boxing Council Medical Committee.

It is well known that boxing is a combat sport, so both fighters are going to take blows from each other.

In boxing slang, it is said that the boxer “receives physical punishment”, although boxers also say that “boxing is the art of hitting without being hit.”

It is also true that for many years, it has been branded as a “violent” sport (just because of the blows), however boxing, as well as other combat sports (mixed martial arts or jiu jitsu), shares a series of rules that contrary to what many think, promote many values, including respect and PEACE.

When two opponents get into the ring, the first thing they do, before starting a fight, is to touch gloves, as a sign of camaraderie and of having accepted all the rules that the referee indicated to them.

Rivals usually fight in a similar level of circumstances: same weight class, similar fight record, and very often a similar age. The foregoing, to promote equality in fights, equal opportunities and protection for the fighter. At the end of each fight, the boxers usually hug each other and then salute the opposite corner, a sign of respect between them and also for the opposing team.

No boxer gets into the ring without having previously received prior instruction, which generally takes a long time. Before turning professional, they often go through a long amateur career that sometimes lasts for years (many of them start their careers as children or teenagers). In addition, the coaches teach them little by little, so that when they start to sparring, they can do it without fear, gradually and bolstered by confidence.

In sparring, the head and chest (in women) are duly protected with a mask and bibs, and both must wear a genital protector. So this encourages that within everything, in boxing there is security and to demonstrate that for many years it has been a sport with well-established rules, that it does not encourage wanton violence, where they hit each other “just for the sake of it”, but that it is also science and that all the guidelines dictated by Organizations (such as the WBC), have their raison: to protect the boxer.

In fact, all coaches by tradition have the indication to encourage their students that boxing is not used outside the ring because this would be illegal and an unethical practice, out of place and violent, since if a street fight occurred, the boxer would have an advantage and it is always best to keep boxing where it belongs: inside the gyms.

All the above tells us about peaceable behavior within a sport where a strong personality is required, and boxing is one of the best sports to channel aggressive behavior and therefore promote peace among human beings.