It is a sport that can mean the difference between life and death. According to a survey conducted by Manuel Velazquez, 1,604 boxers died as a direct result of injuries received in the ring between 1890 and 2011. That equates to 13 deaths every year on average.
Patrick Day, a 27-year-old American boxer, died four days after suffering brain injuries in a battle with his fellow countryman Charles Conwell.
Day is boxing’s fourth recorded death in 2019 as a direct result of injuries incurred in the ring.
Boris Stanchov, a 21-y
In July, two boxers died within days of one other. Maxim Dadashev, 28, of Russia, died on July 23, four days after his light welterweight fight in Maryland, while Hugo Alfredo Santillán, 23, of Argentina, died on July 25, five days after collapsing at the conclusion of a lightweight battle in Buenos Aires.
Aside from the four fatalities, five other boxers were transported to the hospital after being injured in the ring and had surgery to remove blood clots in their brains, according to a BoxRec representative.
Boxing deaths and catastrophic injuries frequently spark calls for the sport to be abolished.
ear-old Bulgarian, died in September while fighting in Albania under his cousin’s license.
“Boxing is certainly an easy and obvious target, and of course the criticism is understandable, if not completely fair,” a WBF representative told CNN Sport in reaction to the calls.
“Boxing does so much good for young people, keeps them off the streets, away from drugs, teachs them discipline, self-confidence, that the good by far outweighs the bad.”
