10/07/2023
I just heard of a 16 year old kid in Arizona had died from sparring in a boxing gym. This is sad and tragic. If anyone has been to my gym when I was training, you have heard me say it over and over again, “Sparring has to be monitored and it is a tool to teach and to help with conditioning. It’s not to try to hurt the other person.” But coaches feel this is the only way to break someone in, to see if they have what it takes. Or they need to spar everyday to get ready for a fight. If that’s all he has, then that boxing coach has no other tools in his box, I recommend to find another coach! He will burn you out in gym and the long term effects, you will have to live with, not him! People especially kids need to be taught the right way and get a feel for it, get down the basics, then, maybe after a few months they can start having contact. I don’t know this poor kid or the boxing coaches. It could have been a fluke incident, but I have seen out of control sparring and it’s dangerous!
