Fight or Flight: The Benefits and Dangers of Boxing

By Joshua Bray

While back-to-back deaths of professional boxers have focused on the dangers of the sport, a Lubbock gym is highlighting the importance of responsible coaching and fighter safety.

Photo from Lubbock Boxing Club Facebook page

On July 23, professional boxer Maxim Dadashev died due to a brain injury sustained during his Maryland boxing match four days prior, according to the Associated Press. Two days later, Hugo Santillan died due to injuries from a boxing match in Argentina, bringing risks that come with the sport to the forefront of the boxing community.

Joshua Lara, competition coach at Lubbock Boxing Club, opened up about his experience with the life-changing effects brain trauma has on boxers. Lara’s family friend, someone he associates as a brother, suffered from brain trauma. This deterioration happened slowly over time, Lara said, and not from any specific knockout or punch.

“He was never knocked out as far as I know, it was just progressive to the point where everyone started noticing,” Lara said. “He’d repeat something, then 15 seconds later, repeat the exact same thing and have no realization he had just said that.”

Lara said these injuries were from a combination of both sparring and competing. Lara attributed his friend’s trauma to the way he was coached.

Lubbock Boxing Club, 419 Frankford Ave. (Photo by: Joshua Bray)

“That’s what it comes down to, bad coaching,” he said. “When you let your guys get beat up. Train to the point where you want their heads to be smashed in – that’s bad coaching. You’re not protecting your fighter. Now he has some short-term memory loss and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) also.”

 Lara said witnessing the deterioration of his friend was a major reason why he became involved with coaching at the Lubbock Boxing Club gym.

“There’s an old-school method in the fight world, where you have to bang it out to prove how tough you are, and in my eyes that’s stupid,” Lara said. “The old method is sink or swim. But if you don’t know how to swim, then of course you’re going to drown.”

For Lara’s competition team, fighters are eligible to compete by eight years old. Isaiah Velasquez, 13, wanted to join boxing after watching it with his dad and has been training at Lubbock Boxing Club for about four years. Velasquez started sparring two years ago and has been in 11 amateur fights, with a winning record. Velasquez, who also plays football for his middle school, says he prefers boxing because it hurts less.

Lubbock Boxing Club, 419 Frankford Ave. (Photo by: Joshua Bray)

“When you get tackled it hurts real bad. Like I got tackled today, and my tailbone hurts,” Velasquez said. “I would say that’s a reason why. Like when you get tackled on your legs it hurts even worse.”

Velasquez said his parents support his pursuit of boxing and attend all his fights. Velasquez also said while his parents are supportive, they do worry about him sustaining injuries during a match. 

Rosie Barker, owner of the Lubbock Boxing Club, said she believes the biggest injuries she’s seen in boxing are concussions and went on to explain how in amateur boxing, there are more restrictions in place to prevent head injuries. These restrictions range from headgear, special equipment, added weight classes, and separation by age.

“It’s not like old school [boxing],” Barker said. “When I started the coaches were like after two weeks, ‘Ok let’s get you in the ring, see what you can do’. Now, since I’m a sanctioned gym, I have requirements.”

Barker explained a person needs to attend 50 classes before they are allowed to spar in the gym. But sparring isn’t a big focus for all members of the gym. Barker said she sees people walk in her gym wanting to learn boxing for a variety of reasons.

“[Some] members want to work out,” Barker said. “They want to relieve stress. They want to learn a skill, compete. They want a social environment, since I get a lot of college students. It just depends on what your goal is.”

Lara urges anyone interested in giving boxing to do their research on any potential gym. Lara stressed the dangers of a gym that will throw new members directly into sparring.

“Find a coach who cares about your safety,” Lara said. “Check your ego at the door, for sure. In the fight world, there’s people who can humble you easily. Be willing to learn. If you go to an environment, and the coach wants to [immediately] put you in and see what you have, run away. There’s a process, there’s a progression to this.”

More information about Lubbock Boxing Club can be found on their website. The establishment is located at 419 Frankford Ave. and can be reached by telephone at 708-2699.

About Reece Nations: Undergraduate Managing Editor