Is this a unique way of entertainment
Boxing is nice sport but it becomes brutal if treated with reckless abandon.
This week, shocking news transpired in Lilongwe where a female boxer Chimwemwe Banda was battling for her life at Kamuzu Central Hospital after suffering a head injury following a third round technical knockout on Sunday.
This news dominated the headline in the Wednesday’s edition of our sister paper The Daily Times.
It was reported that the boxer fainted four times on Monday after being defeated by Felister Modestol in a super featherweight contest at M1 Centre Point.
She, however, recovered after receiving treatment at a private hospital.
This should serve as a lesson to all boxing stakeholders who take things for granted when sanctioning fights.
It is mandatory for boxers to undergo rigorous medical scrutiny before any bout to avert what happened to Chimwemwe.
Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board (MPBC) and Malawi Amateur Boxing Association (Maba) need to do a lot of soul-searching.
According to World Boxing Federation, to optimise the medical and safety standards of boxing fights all over the world and minimise the risk of a serious injury during bouts, the board strongly recommends yearly medical examinations of all licensed fighters.
Among others, they must undergo blood test for HIV, Hepatitis “B” and Hepatitis “C”.
In any fight, a boxer must provide an acceptable negative HIV test and an acceptable negative HBC test dated within 30 days of the fight.
The tests must be performed by a physician, hospital or clinic recognised by the local commission.
No HIV testing shall be performed on any boxer without his consent. Boxers who test positive for HIV or HBC tests or have an active Hepatitis B will not be permitted to box.
They are also required to look at family medical history of the boxer like hereditary or familial diseases such as a history of epilepsy, tuberculosis, diabetes mellitus and blood disorders. All these should be medically assessed.
These are just a few medical tests a boxer is supposed to undergo before a fight. I doubt if Malawian boxers undergo these tests because their body language speaks that they are usually not on the required marks.
Let us hope the boxing fraternity has learnt a lesson from what happened to Chimwemwe because the damage this news has inflicted on the sport is so huge and irreparable.
It is a sport which is managed by people who are opposed to light and progress and needs a massive cleansing exercise to avoid such catastrophes in future.
It is unfortunate that all this mess happens in boxing, a sport that has a unique way of providing us with maximum entertainment
