Just weeks after charity fighter Kain Parsons was fatally injured in a Christchurch, New Zealand, boxing ring, sports promoter Duco Events has announced it’s implementing obligatory pre-fight MRIs for all of its boxers.
This is a step up from Duco’s previous policy, director David Higgins said at a press conference, which mandated CT imaging ahead of matches.
“Safety has been a very topical issue lately, and it’s kind of a topic that, in boxing, people don’t really want to talk about,” Higgins said. “There’s been some recent tragic events and you’d have to have a heart of stone not to care or feel for the people affected by that.”
Parson’s death wasn’t linked to Duco—the charity fight, approved by the New Zealand Professional Boxing Association, was organized by Walco Events. But Higgins said Duco wanted to take charge since they’ve “always taken safety incredibly seriously.” He likened the company’s policies to those of international best practice and challenged anyone to find a more safety-oriented promoter in the country.
“They’re also far more expensive, but given our role in boxing in New Zealand I thought we had no choice,” he said, noting a single MRI can cost upwards of $1,000 in New Zealand currency, or around $700 USD. With 20 boxers to a card, that’s tens of thousands of dollars out of Duco’s pocket.
“It’s an investment,” Higgins said, but confirmed Duco would be picking up the bill. He said the fact that boxing is one sport that doesn’t receive government funding limits organizations’ abilities to ensure top-notch safety and medical practices.
“For the sport to be sustainable, it has to have credibility with the public,” he said. “And if safety is not paramount, public credibility erodes and then people are going to call for the sport to be banned. So rather than complaining about it, I think the people in the sport need to just get on board with making it as safe as possible and then boxing can continue into the future and grow.”
Duco boxer Junior Fa, also present at the conference, agreed.
“I think it’s a great thing for everyone here, putting safety first,” he said. “You know, at the end of the day we all want to fight, but we also want to go home to our families.”
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.