THE death of a young boxer in Queensland has sparked renewed calls for the sport to be banned in Australia.
TOOWOOMBA boxer Braydon Smith died when his life support was turned off in a Brisbane hospital on Monday, less than two days after he lost a 10-round featherweight bout.
The 23-year-old collapsed 90 minutes after a WBC Asian Boxing Council continental title bout with Filipino John Moralde on Saturday night. Australian Medical Association Queensland president Shaun Rudd says boxing is a sport that can never be made safe, and it should be banned nationally. “It’s particularly sad when somebody dies playing a so-called sport when the whole idea of the sport is to try and knock the opponent out, or at least try and do enough damage to the head as you possibly can,” Dr Rudd has told the ABC. Smith lost the fight in a unanimous points decision and later praised and congratulated Moralde before returning to his dressing room. The young boxer, who was studying law, had been determined to revamp the image of his beloved sport. “He really wanted to change the image of boxing,” Smith family representative James O’Shea told AAP on Monday. “A lot of times in this country the sport gets a bad rap.” “A big goal of his in life was to show people it’s not (a bad sport).” Sports lawyer Tim Fuller says subsequent Queensland governments have done nothing to regulate combat sports in the state, leaving them to regulate themselves. “I think it’s disgraceful. It’s bordering in negligence,” he told the ABC. He said there had been injuries and deaths in the state, but authorities were not taking responsibility to ensure the safety of athletes.