Listen Now:
It’s time to banish all ring advertisements from the canvas of a boxing ring. The Andre Dirrell-Arthur Abraham match in Detroit is the latest example that showed the world that those ads become dangerously slippery when they become wet from blood, sweat and water. Dirrell slipped and fell awkwardly in round eleven when his boxing shoe slid out because of a slippery corner ad, leaving himself vulnerable to suffer a foul punch by Abraham which not only knocked him out but left him dazed and confused for at least 20 minutes after the fight. Dirrell was taken to a hospital for observation and treatment and it is not known for certain if he will make a full recovery or what the extent of the injuries are.
One thing is for sure though and that is that all ring ads affixed to the canvas surface of the ring are potentially extremely dangerous and must be modified or eliminated immediately.
Boxing is a dangerous enough sport as it is, when both combatants are at full health and dexterity. Inserting slippery ring ads as additional pitfalls to the dangers of the boxing ring in order to generate extra revenues at the expense of the boxers safety can no longer be tolerated or accepted. Boxing decision-makers must consider different options and make the change. I recommend either changing the materials of the paint in the advertisement or, if that does not work, going back to those padded triangulars which were previously used to surround the ring with ads under the ropes.
BoxingInsider.com will be contacting several boxers to talk about their dangerous experiences with slippery canvas adertisements this week. Stay tuned…
