AIBU to want to end this student boxing to end
I am horrified that this unregulated, uninsured and money spinning activity is allowed to go on (in the guise of charity) and it is growing due to Instagram, Twitter, YouTube live etc.
Anyone can fight to some degree but unless you've been trained in boxing you can't have the sort of responses that keep you safe and this is where the risk lies.
Students and their parents (if they are told) believe this is a great thing to do and is 'safe' as it is being peddled for charity and as white collar boxing (which is entirely different)
They claim to be 'affiliated' to a few charities and 'give' to charity. This charity element serves as a sort of smoke screen to mask that there is actually something quiet violent or dangerous going on and in some way legitimises it.
There have been deaths, there are injuries and it is glorified by the 'event' runners. Of course it is... they are brainwashing and pimping these university kids (yes I know they are adults) and those who own the 'many companies at companies house' are selling over 1,000 tickets a time at £35-£95 a ticket. PLUS coach, plus food packages, plus drinks packages and then entry into local clubs also owned by their mates.
How it works --> you get access to a local gym for FREE. Then when you are there you get 'boxercise classes'. These morph over about a 4 month period into boxing/sparring lessons. All run by a coach for FREE! students are in awe and delighted at the attention, the FREE gym and FREE personal training.
Then they strike. Offering a FREE 7 week boxing course with a live fight at the end --> big arena, ring girls, referee, live streaming, black tie event for your friends, ring side tables at a premium and the other bit is it is being run in the guise of a charity but at the expense of dangerous fighting.
The 7 week course is ONE hour per week sparring and defence lessons, but the actual event is REAL fighting...real boxing. Pitting university colleges against each other, pitting university sports teams against each other.
Then they RINSE AND REPEAT at other university cities in the UK each time walking away with hundreds of thousands of pounds.
I can only liken this to a large supermarket claiming they gave 100,000 tons of food to charity last year when it is in fact the shoppers who are giving to charity. The students each have to raise minimum of £500 each to give to charity and to date I can't find any evidence of charitable giving. they claim last year to have raised £40K for charity but this appears to be students raising money (each fight has 30 students).
I do realise that all sport is dangerous but having 2 girls and 2 boys fighting against each other with swinging hooks and the referee wanting to keep it going for entertainment it is horrifying to watch.
The medical check at the end is a flashlight in your eyes as you leave the ring. The fight I saw last night the headgear and gloves were shared and many times the headgear game off upon impact.
I want to put a stop to this but don't even know where to begin..