FOOTBALLER-turned-boxer Matty Mainwaring has praised the British Boxing Board of Control for their methods in educating boxers about the risk of brain injuries.
It’s an issue that has once again been thrust into the spotlight in the sport after the horrific injury and subsequent retirement of Nick Blackwell after his fight with Chris Eubank Jr on March 26.
Michael Watson once sued the British Boxing Board of Control for damages reported to be £1 million after spending 40 days in a coma after his fight with Chris Eubank in 1991.
However Mainwaring believes the governing bodies do a good job in making their licensees aware of the risks.
“They take it very seriously,” he said. “When you go for a licence hearing, they explain all the possible things that could go wrong. Basically they just lay out the reality of it for you. They give you examples of people that have bleeds on the brain and got brain damage.
“Nobody then can turn around and say ‘I wasn’t aware of this’, they make you fully aware of everything.
“Obviously, you’ve got the good sides. You can make a lot of money, you can have a great career but they really did focus on the downsides of it.
“They’re good at that; I suppose that’s what they are there to do, to keep everyone safe.”
The middleweight has won his two professional bouts so far and claims boxing was “his real passion” even when playing football.
“When I was a full-time footballer I used to go home every day, watch fights and just love to learn. Tyson, Mayweather, Tommy Hearn people like that, I’m a student to the game and I have to say boxing is my passion.”
“All I used to do in my spare time was watch fights, I used to look for an excuse to hit a bag or talk about boxing.”
In recent years the BBBofC have introduced compulsory MRI/MRA brain scans for all boxers upon application for a boxers licence and an annual MRI scan as part of their renewal process.
Mainwaring, who played for Hull City and Stockport County during his football career, says the recent Blackwell incident did “open his eyes” a little.
“There’s nothing more serious than your health really. I mean it’s a dangerous sport, it can be a dangerous sport and there have been accidents in the past.
“But I think the most important part is both participants health. It’s important that they both come out of every fight healthy.
“Most of the time that is the case but there is the odd exception. I think with all the work they do, it all contributes to keeping everyone safe.”
Matty, who trains with ex-Olympic boxer Matthew Hatton, has beat Italian Victor Edagha and fellow Brit Tommy Carter on points in his first two bouts.
“I clashed heads in the first round of my first bout and split my eye wide open. I had to have 11 stitches in the changing room straight after the fight.
“It wasn’t nice, I had the stitches in for about 10 days and I had to let the scar heal, it was quite a deep gash. It put me out for a couple of months.
“My trainer asked me if I thought it was the right thing for me to be doing after the fight. But I didn’t even hesitate.
“Once I got the cut, I felt the blood pouring out, I knew I was bleeding. But I wasn’t bothered, all I wanted to do was win. Now, I’m still just bothered about winning.
“I’m not daft; I knew going into sport, things like that could happen. Law of averages says that I’m not going to come out completely unscathed every single time. I was aware that was a possibility, you’ve just got to get on with it.
“It hasn’t changed my viewpoint at all; I still want what I wanted from the sport. That’s the case as far as I’m concerned.”
The current BBBofC rules state the minimum suspension period for boxers knocked out or stopped by punches to the head will be between 28 and 45 days at the discretion of the Board’s Medical Officers at ringside.
Hope you was watching grandad ?
A photo posted by Matt Mainwaring (@mattymain90) on
The 26-year-old believes “anyone within half a brain” knows and accepts the risks associated with being a boxer.
“I can’t turn around and say I wasn’t fully aware of this and that. I knew everything that could go right and everything that could go wrong, I’m totally aware.
“The most important part from a boxer’s point of view, it sounds obvious, but keep your hands in front of yourself and always protect yourself. That’s what you always get told before you fight; protect yourself at all times and it’s really important that you do that.
“That’s why you have to be in top physical shape, a lot of knockouts happen when people start tiring and get fatigued and can’t concentrate anymore. That’s why you have to be as fit as you can in boxing.”
Although he’s been training for over a year now and won his first professional bout, he accepts he’s still learning.
“Everything is brand new to me in boxing, all you really seen is tunnel vision so success.
“If you look at the other British boxers or all your world class boxers, you think ‘I can be that, I want to be that’.
“Obviously I was aware that it was a dangerous sport, but because I’d had no amateur experience I wasn’t aware of what it felt like to take a punch off a seasoned professional.
“Once you start sparring, you realise that it is no joke and they do a good job of bringing it to the forefront of your mind.
“It can happen in any sport. It can even happen in everyday life, but it hasn’t changed my mind and what I want,” a determined and calm Matty finished.
It is obvious that Matty is aware of the risks. But he’s fully prepared to accept them in order to achieve his goals.
By Callum Matthews
@matthews1818
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