NEWS RELEASE
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
For immediate release
Contact:
Christa Dickey
cdickey@acsm.org
(317) 637-9200 ext. 127
ACSM CALLS FOR END TO "TOUGHMAN-TYPE" BOXING
UNLESS
SAFETY STANDARDS ARE ADOPTED
Recent death underscores inherent dangers in unregulated amateur bouts;
lawmakers urged to demand medical and safety review of such
events
INDIANAPOLIS - The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) today
urged state and national lawmakers to demand safety standards and reform
for Toughman-type boxing contests such as one that recently left a
Florida woman dead. The tragic event, in which the competitor was badly
defeated and fatally injured in a three-round "Toughman" bout,
illustrates the inherent dangers found with such events, the need for
immediate reform to ensure unprepared and under-skilled competitors are
kept out of the ring, and the vital importance that adequate medical
screening and supervision be included as an essential part of boxing at
all levels.
In the latest in a succession of fatal injuries associated with
Toughman contests, the woman, who had entered the Sarasota, Florida
boxing event on the spur of the moment with reportedly no prior boxing
experience, suffered swelling and hemorrhaging in her brain and died
soon after the match. A second competitor from the same event was
hospitalized in intensive care after suffering head injuries. Such
events sometimes require an amateur competitor to fight several matches
in one weekend.
"Because of their lack of training, with sometimes little or no
ability to defend against punches, many participants in these events
simply are not properly prepared for the rigors and dangers of boxing,"
said Robert C. Cantu, M.D., FACSM, a head and neck injury specialist and
Chair of ACSM's Task Force on Health and Safety in Boxing and the
Martial Arts. "Professional fighters must pass a pre-fight physical
examination, are matched for skill and experience and comparable weight,
and have seasoned referees and ringside medical care in attendance.
Olympic and other such amateur boxers also participate with safety rules
in place. Allowing mismatched people-off-the-street to fight with no
such safe guards is deplorable. Boxing is not something to be entered
into lightly, under any circumstance. The risks go up massively when
these events allow mismatched people to enter the ring with little or no
preparation and without a complete system in place to try to avoid the
very type of injuries and fatalities we are seeing. In some ways, it's
like trying to legitimize and make a sport out of bar- or
street-fighting."
Cantu stressed the need for proper and established pre-, intra-, and
post-fight medical screenings to be administered by a trained ringside
physician. ACSM experts on boxing safety contend that a proper safety
plan must include coordinated teamwork among the ringside physician,
promoter, emergency medical technicians, and the referee. News reports
have indicated that no physician was present at ringside in Sarasota,
and that pre-fight screenings were performed by a physician's assistant
who also doubled as the event's official photographer. Deaths have
occurred at at least one other Toughman event where medical doctors were
reportedly not present.
Major safety improvements need to be taken immediately by the event
organizers and promoters, and states and communities need to suspend or
ban such events until it is abundantly clear that such adequate safety
measures are in place to lower the risk of serious injuries and deaths.
Typically, such tragedies are followed by local or statewide bans or
major reforms in the areas where they occur. In fact, a handful of
states and many municipalities already ban such events.
As part of a national strategy to improve medical coverage in boxing
and the martial arts, Cantu noted that ACSM will stage a Ringside
Physicians Course in February of 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the
course, the essential levels of medical care for boxing events and
screenings to determine if an athlete is fit to participate will be
discussed. The Ringside Course will immediately precede ACSM's Team
Physician Course, which is part of an annual series of conferences
devoted to excellence in medical care and safety for athletes across the
breadth of sport.
The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports
medicine and exercise science organization in the world. More than
20,000 International, National, and Regional members are dedicated to
advancing and integrating scientific research to provide educational and
practical applications of exercise science and sports medicine.
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