On the Sport of Boxing – Parade

I dislike the sport of boxing. I don’t like to see people punching each other with the goal of knocking their opponents out or down to the floor. Boxing often results in injuries, and it sometimes has adverse long-term effects, such as brain damage from repeated concussions. What do you think of boxing? Why do some people find it entertaining?

—Charita Poe in Burke, Virginia

I don’t like boxing, either, but I feel similarly about aspects of other sports, too. For example, I find heading the ball in soccer repulsive. How can we encourage any youngster (players start when they’re young) to believe that his or her precious head is so unimportant that it may be used to hit a ball? Anyway, I think that some people enjoy boxing because they think the sport is manly, and they assume that if the fighters themselves aren’t bothered by the injuries, spectators shouldn’t be bothered. I have no idea why people find women’s boxing entertaining!