I earlier reported that a Catholic magazine was criticizing boxing. Link. The sport has responded. Link. Excerpts:
A Jesuit magazine closely associated with the Vatican will publish an article called “The Immorality of Professional Boxing” in an upcoming edition. They call the sport a “legalized form of attempted murder.” They compared boxing to the gladiator battles of ancient Rome, and called individual fighters “machine(s) to make money.” The magazine, Civilta Cattolica (or Catholic Civilization), often echoes the views of the Vatican.
And it's 100 percent hogwash.
Riccardo De Girolami, the secretary-general of the Italian Boxing Federation, said, “They don't really know the sport.” That much is easily inferred from what is said in the article. Comparing boxing to attempted murder and gladiatorial contests? Gladiators were forced into these battles. They fought for their lives. Every boxer that steps into the ring knowingly puts his health on the line, and never will you hear a fighter say that he wants to literally take the life of his opponent. This much is obvious. The Vatican needs to lighten up, if this is actually their view. A boxer is a boxer because it is his calling. It is his passion - it's in his blood. It's what drives he, or she, for that matter, out of bed and into the gym, onto the road. A boxer fights for a championship, not for the chance to kill another person. How can the Catholic Civilization make such a misguided proclamation?
Thanks, NCR.
