Anyone hear the phone in white collar boxing on 5live this morning? Robert Smith was on there arguing it wasn't safe based on the fact that people involved don't have the minimum skill levels required to protect themselves. Someone then jumped in and said 'What about Freddie Flintoff Robert? You gave him a license?' Did he have the necessary skill level?' Queue a sheepish Smith saying not much else from that point on. Walked into that one.
I think most white collar boxers would be a level or two above Flintoff. Any contact sport is dangerous but you make the decision to play it because you love it. I think the argument should be whether people are getting juiced up and boxing, which is seriously wrong/dangerous at any level. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if people are. I play rugby at a very casual amateur level and believe it or not people get juiced up for that!
I have boxed amateur 8 times winning 6, white collar 3x winning 1. I have seen some appaulingly poor boxers in white collar and amateur. I myself am not a steroid user but I gave never been tested in either. I know Jon-Lewis Dickinson and he told me the first time he was tested as a pro was when he fought for the British title. I think these stuck up sad acts in the pro game and the amateur game have finally got the moment they have been waiting for. Someone has died doing white collar and they are secretly loving it. Robert Smith seems to forget it has happend recently in pro boxing.
Nobody has died doing white collar boxing. White collar boxing and unlicensed boxing are not the same thing.
Who? I assumed people were talking about unlicensed boxer Lance Prayogg. Who was the white collar boxer that died?
They are the same thing actually. There is no national licensing body for white collar so it is unlicensed and as for the lad who died I was told from the promoter of that show there were paramedics, doctors presant, no vicous ko or brutal war just a freak occurance.
No. White collar boxing is novice v novice, headguards, big squashy gloves, usually a bit of fun for charity. Participants are new to boxing. Unlicensed boxing is an unregulated facsimile of professional boxing, no headguards, no vests and usually a little bit of pay via ticket deal. The standard of shows and fighters varies hugely, some good, some bad. Participants are a mixture of former pros, people who have been declined a BBBoC license, local tough men, kick boxers etc. Those involved often like to call this semi-pro boxing. The term white collar boxing is often misused, sometimes by mistake, sometimes just to avoid saying the word 'unlicensed'. Then there is the really grey area of professional boxing with contests between boxers who have licenses from Luxembourg or Malta, sanctioned by GBA or similar. These shows are on the rise in England.
Well like it or not white collar has no licensing body so it is still unlicensed as far as I am concerned and believe me when I say the guys who put on white collar shows don't do it for charity.
Correct, all white collar boxing is unlicensed. HOWEVER all unlicensed boxing is not white collar, including the event on which Lance Pryogg was competing when he collapsed. No the organisers of white collar shows run them as a business, the competitors are the ones trying to do a charitable deed.
