The boxing community is currently united in a time of trouble for one of it’s bravest young warriors, but naysayers against the sport as a whole are using a very rare occurrence to highlight their negative agendas.
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Last weekend the boxing world and indeed sports world was hurt, deeply, when UK middleweight Nick Blackwell was taken out of a boxing arena on a stretcher following a brutal fight with Chris Eubank Jr, that then saw Blackwell rushed to hospital with a bleed on his brain.
A tragic, sad and terribly unfortunate night for one of boxing’s well liked fighting sons in the UK and a young man by all accounts who is believed to be a very good person outside of the ring.
It’s times like this over the years that I’ve seen the boxing community unite, come together and stand firm, in situations like this that simply no one wants to see.
There has been an outpouring of opinions, social media posts, comments and videos from people both involved within the boxing industry, fight fans and general sports fans alike.
But it is the unneeded, overly negative sentiment expressed from people who just in general that do not like the sport of boxing, that gripes me.
Sure, I understand that not everyone will enjoy a sport like boxing, just the same way I’m not particularly fond of sports like cricket or baseball. It’s a free country.
But does that mean other people should not watch sports like cricket or baseball? Of course not.
Yet the anti-boxing movement has been out in force since Nick’s tragic injury last weekend, labeling boxing “barbaric” while some in other quarters even calling for a ban on boxing entirely.
It is nothing new, in a sense, and these are the same people that you’ll often find muttering the old saying: “Boxing is dead.”
People who’ve probably given boxing more black eyes outside the ring than the proud warriors within it have ever sustained.
But to jump on such a sensitive and unfortunate incident such as Nick Blackwell’s injury after his fight with Chris Eubank Jr, to simply use this moment to propel their negative drivel, is just down right wrong and uncalled for in my opinion.
The fact is, a young man has been badly injured and empathy towards him is what is needed – not opportunistic pessimism towards a sport as a whole.
Boxing has done far more good than people ever give it credit for, whether it be providing opportunities for working class men and women, giving people discipline and self-confidence or providing a positive outlet for young people the world over who have come from underprivileged backgrounds over the years.
Everyone at Boxing News and Views would like to send our thoughts and best wishes to Nick Blackwell, his friends and family at this difficult time.
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