Boxing Should Be Banned in Civilized Countries—Round 3

The organized brutality of boxing has become widely recognized for what it is since we published our pioneering articles on Jan 14, 1983.1-3Most noteworthy have been the changes in the policies of organized medicine. Four years ago, the American Medical Association (AMA) had no policy on boxing. As the new information became widely known, the AMA went from calling for many safety measures recommended by its Council on Scientific Affairs and expert panel in December 19824to a much more aggressive posture in June 1983.5Data from four research groups in three countries2,6-8have documented the high frequency of chronic brain damage in boxers who have had many fights, and a series of strong editorials has argued that boxing is wrong medically and morally.2,3,5,9We have seen the development of a broad international medical consensus that boxing should be abolished. Among the many medical