Legal Liability in pro boxing in South Africa

By Ron Jackson

The legal liability of the various role players in professional boxing for an injury or death suffered by a boxer during a bout held in South Africa has never been documented to my knowledge.

However, Gerald Ramsden a local attorney from Fairland in Johannesburg has rectified this with his dissertation submitted in conformity with the requirements for the Degree of LLM (Research) Postgrad.

On page two Ramsden quotes Sugar Ray Leonard “You don’t play boxing, You really don’t. You play golf, you play tennis, but you don’t play boxing.”

Boxing has been described as a sport in which two competitors fight by hitting each other with their hands while trying to avoid each other’s blows.

However, several doctors believe that boxing is a dangerous sport and should be banned.

These sentiments have been expressed from the early years and as a result, a number of safety measures have been put in place like limiting the number of rounds and establishing more weight divisions and closer medical control.

Boxing gloves have also been improved since the early horsehair padded gloves but has there been an in-depth look at the legal liability in the game.

As Ramsden writes, in a sport like professional boxing, it is not surprising that the risk of serious bodily harm and even death is omnipresent within the square ring that these modern-day gladiators ply their fistic trade.

Boxing came to South Africa during the first British occupation of the Cape in 1795. Bouts were conducted under the London Prize Ring Rules for nearly a century.

Prior to 1923 boxing in South Africa boxing was illegal before a bill was drafted and accepted through Parliament and is still governed by an Act to this day.

There is no legal guidance currently available to the various role players in South African professional boxing regarding the legal liability for injuries or death that may arise in a professional boxing bout in which they are involved in their respective capacities.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Can legal liability be attributed to any of the following role players in professional boxing for an injury or death suffered by a boxer during a professional bout held in South Africa:

• The controlling authority of professional boxing, namely Boxing SA.
• The international sanctioning organization that sanctions the bout as an international championship bout.
• The promoter and matchmaker of the bout.
• The officials of the bout.
• The supervisors of the bout.
• The medical personnel at the bout.
• The boxers participating in the bout.
• The boxer’s managers, trainers, and seconds?

The research study done by the author relates only to professional boxing in South Africa which is unique as it is the only sporting code governed by a Government Act.

The in-depth research has been outstanding and covers the health risk of boxing, facial cuts, head trauma and other injuries.

Among the books referred to by the author are Grays Anatomy for Students, Comprehensive Radiographic Pathology, The Law of Delict 2015, and Champions – An Illustrated Encyclopedia of South African Boxing.

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