Top level boxing produces some of the most entertaining events of any spectator sport. Watching two elite athletes battle for one round, or up to twelve, in front of huge crowds at spectacular venues around the world is what many sport fans look forward to all year. It is the modern day version of the Ancient Romans day out at the Colosseum where they saw Gladiators contest.
Unlike the Gladiators, boxing is not about fighting to the death. Yet, the nature of the sport means it can lead to death or injuries that considerably speed up death. In this article I will outline some of the criminal law rules on everyday physical assaults. I will show how there are exceptions to the criminal law, including boxing. Finally, I’ll explain why boxing, despite the high potential for serious injury, is a sport worthy of exemption from the criminal law.
General Criminal Law
In criminal law there are a range of different offences that punish an individual who uses physical force on another. The offences punishment increases in line with the level of severity. At the top end is murder which carries a mandatory life sentence and at the bottom end is a battery which carries a maximum of six months’ imprisonment (per, Section 39 Criminal Justice Act 1988).
Most boxing fights entail each fighter throwing powerful punches at one another’s head and body. The aim is to either knock the other fighter out unconscious or rack up more judge’s points than the other fighter.
If a similar incident to a normal boxing fight took place in everyday life, then s.20 or s.18 Offences Against the Person Act 1861 would probably be used. For instance, if Tom punched Tim in the street, without any lawful justification (such as self- defence) and Tim suffered serious injury that amounted to grievous bodily harm (such as a fractured eye socket, per DPP v Smith), Tom would likely be found guilty and could face time in prison.
There have been numerous cases of ‘one punch killers’, where a single punch has caused death. In these cases, if the defendant is found to be guilty it will most likely be for manslaughter rather than murder as the intent is not usually to kill or even to cause serious harm. One punch killer cases often have devastating consequences for everyone involved as it is an incident that could happen between friends who have a single falling out. In some instances, the killer could be someone who does not usually resort to violence but the one time they did, the result was death.
Exceptions
Like most areas of law, there are exceptions to causing injury in criminal law. The defence of consent operates in sport and organised games (A-G’s Reference (No.6 of 1980)). If you cause injury in sport, then you may not face criminal charges as player’s consent to the risk of injury by taking part. However, this is not an absolute rule and each case will depend on its facts.
Rugby is another very physical sport, but rugby players are not exempt from criminal prosecution should a player go too far in using physical force. In the case of Billlinghurst a player punched another player when the ball was out of play, fracturing his jaw in two places. The court said Rugby players consent to force that is reasonable and can expect injuries. However, if an attack is outside the rules of the game then the attacker is not exempt from criminal law.
Boxing is an organised sport. This means that as long as the rules are abided to, the nature of the sport means that even if a fighter died instantly in the ring from a punch, the one who caused his/her death is not guilty of any criminal offence as both fighters are consenting to potentially being seriously injured by taking part.
Justifying Boxing’s Exemption
The criminal law operates to punish those who physically attack others. So for some, the sport of boxing could be reasonably seen as barbaric due to it promoting violence that would be illegal in normal life. But boxing is renowned for being a sport many, often younger people, can use as a way to change their life. Along with the physical benefits from the high intensity training, boxing brings discipline into people’s lives that they can apply to other areas. It can give youngsters that are going down the wrong sort of paths purpose and be something useful to focus on.
Boxing is a sport famous for social mobility. Numerous examples can be seen from reading about many famous fighter’s childhoods. Tyson Fury dropped out of school aged 11 and worked on roads with his father and brothers. Fury is now worth over $40 million and is one the sport’s greatest ever heavy weights.
Many of the fighters are role models outside of the ring. Whilst Tyson Fury always loves to get under the skin of his opponents in the build-up to fights, he has also been open in talking about his mental health problems. Having someone such as Fury, who is the typical ‘manly man’, talk openly about his challenges helps to break the stigma surrounding talking about mental health, particularly for men.
Also, many of the finest fighters throughout the sports history have been from an ethnic minority such as today’s British superstar Anthony Joshua and notable others such as Muhammad Ali. So Boxing has created role models for people in all walks of life to aspire to.
Furthermore, the sport is regulated properly so that there is less chance of a fighter being seriously injured. A quick glance at the rules of boxing shows the regulator’s clear intention to ensure safety.
Finally, in Watson v British Boxing Board of Control, the Court of Appeal held that boxing authorities have a duty of care towards fighters in ensuring that both the risk of injury is minimised and treated efficiently when injury occurs. So, the common law has stepped in to boxing to ensure fighters have access to legal remedies should negligence from the relevant boxing authority cause fighters to be more severely injured.
Conclusion
Law students studying criminal law will, at some point, do a problem question where a defendant has punched the victim causing serious injury. This is usually a nice enough question to work through and would normally return a guilty verdict. However, should the punch be in the course of a boxing match then the rules are different. It is unlikely a guilty verdict would be found. Boxing is a special exemption from the criminal law and rightly so. It is a sport that has the power to change lives for the better and is without doubt one of the most gripping forms of entertainment.
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