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There's no way that those other sports are more dangerous than boxing. That's ludicrous. About 5-10 people die per year from boxing [1], while about 1 in 1.06 m

There's no way that those other sports are more dangerous than boxing. That's ludicrous. About 5-10 people die per year from boxing [1], while about 1 in 1.06 million people die per day of skiing [2]. That same source estimates that 1 in 1.2 million boxers die per minute in the ring. 1. http://ejmas.com/jcs/jcsart_svinth_a_0700.htm http://ejmas.com/jcs/jcsart_svinth_a_0700.htm 2. https://www.nsaa.org/media/68045/NSAA-Facts-About-Skiing-Snowboarding-Safety-10-1-12.pdf https://www.nsaa.org/media/68045/NSAA-Facts-About-Skiing-Sno...

CydeWeys 11y ago
I've been downhill skiing most of my life and in all that time on the slopes I've never once sustained an injury as severe as getting punched in the face. You could very easily get hurt more in a minute of boxing than in a lifetime of skiing. It seems crazy to me too to state that the former is less dangerous than the latter. The statistics bear it out, too.
- ggreer 11y ago
  > I've been downhill skiing most of my life and in all that time on the slopes I've never once sustained an injury as severe as getting punched in the face. I think you're right about injury rates of skiing vs boxing, but I don't find your anecdote convincing. One could just as easily say, "I've been free-solo rock climbing for a decade and I've never gotten more than a blister." Different sports have different distributions of injuries. In some, you're perfectly fine until you're dead. In others, you slowly accumulate damage. Because of this, it's better to ignore anecdotes (even ones involving lifetime experience) and look at stats.
fdanconia 11y ago
I've read that bare knucke boxing has lower death rates compared to traditional boxing due to the addition of gloves. FORCE = MASS X ACCELERATION. The extra mass is something the skull and brain cannot take. Also, the protection of the weapon (hands) assures fights go on linger than in bare knucke boxing. There is conflicting evidence however.
- CydeWeys 11y ago
  The point of boxing gloves is to protect your hands, not your opponent's brain. Hands aren't meant for punching, and repeatedly smacking them with great force into the hard skull of your opponent can easily damage them. I suspect bare knuckle boxing is less satisfying (and thus less popular) because fights can end merely because one person can no longer effectively attack, rather than when one person is conclusively defeated by being knocked out. The KO is always the most widely satisfying finish in boxing and MMA.
  - 13of40 11y ago
    > Hands aren't meant for punching Actually... http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-human-fist-punching-evolution-males--20151021-story.html http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-human-fi...
    - CydeWeys 11y ago
      Very interesting. That's a hypothesis from just last year that doesn't yet have widespread scientific support though, so the jury's now out.
  - thenomad 11y ago
    They are less satisfying, but not for that reason so much. Bare-knuckle fights can go on for a long, long time. I can't find the source just now, but I recall some fights went on for up to 24 hours. That doesn't televise well.
- Someone 11y ago
  The explanation I heard for that is that a bare knuckle boxer would be a fool to aim for his opponent's skull, as it would more likely break their hand than knock out their opponent (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer's_fracture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer's_fracture)
  - cafard 11y ago
thenomad 11y ago
Not disputing the basic thesis here, but it's worth noting that comparing days skiing to time spent in the ring is somewhat specious. As I understand it (boxing's not my martial art of choice but I know a bit about it), boxers spend most of their time training, not fighting competitively. Per year, you might well find a professional skiier spends more days skiing than a professional boxer spends minutes in the ring. See https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/24r83s/how_many_fights_do_boxers_fight_per_year/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/24r83s/how_many_fig... I am, of course, assuming that professional skiiers ski a lot, but that seems like a reasonable assumption :)

CydeWeys 11y ago

I've been downhill skiing most of my life and in all that time on the slopes I've never once sustained an injury as severe as getting punched in the face. You could very easily get hurt more in a minute of boxing than in a lifetime of skiing. It seems crazy to me too to state that the former is less dangerous than the latter. The statistics bear it out, too.

ggreer 11y ago
> I've been downhill skiing most of my life and in all that time on the slopes I've never once sustained an injury as severe as getting punched in the face. I think you're right about injury rates of skiing vs boxing, but I don't find your anecdote convincing. One could just as easily say, "I've been free-solo rock climbing for a decade and I've never gotten more than a blister." Different sports have different distributions of injuries. In some, you're perfectly fine until you're dead. In others, you slowly accumulate damage. Because of this, it's better to ignore anecdotes (even ones involving lifetime experience) and look at stats.

fdanconia 11y ago

I've read that bare knucke boxing has lower death rates compared to traditional boxing due to the addition of gloves. FORCE = MASS X ACCELERATION. The extra mass is something the skull and brain cannot take. Also, the protection of the weapon (hands) assures fights go on linger than in bare knucke boxing. There is conflicting evidence however.

CydeWeys 11y ago
The point of boxing gloves is to protect your hands, not your opponent's brain. Hands aren't meant for punching, and repeatedly smacking them with great force into the hard skull of your opponent can easily damage them. I suspect bare knuckle boxing is less satisfying (and thus less popular) because fights can end merely because one person can no longer effectively attack, rather than when one person is conclusively defeated by being knocked out. The KO is always the most widely satisfying finish in boxing and MMA.
- 13of40 11y ago
  > Hands aren't meant for punching Actually... http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-human-fist-punching-evolution-males--20151021-story.html http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-human-fi...
  - CydeWeys 11y ago
    Very interesting. That's a hypothesis from just last year that doesn't yet have widespread scientific support though, so the jury's now out.
- thenomad 11y ago
  They are less satisfying, but not for that reason so much. Bare-knuckle fights can go on for a long, long time. I can't find the source just now, but I recall some fights went on for up to 24 hours. That doesn't televise well.
Someone 11y ago
The explanation I heard for that is that a bare knuckle boxer would be a fool to aim for his opponent's skull, as it would more likely break their hand than knock out their opponent (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer's_fracture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer's_fracture)
- cafard 11y ago

thenomad 11y ago

Not disputing the basic thesis here, but it's worth noting that comparing days skiing to time spent in the ring is somewhat specious. As I understand it (boxing's not my martial art of choice but I know a bit about it), boxers spend most of their time training, not fighting competitively. Per year, you might well find a professional skiier spends more days skiing than a professional boxer spends minutes in the ring. See https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/24r83s/how_many_fights_do_boxers_fight_per_year/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Boxing/comments/24r83s/how_many_fig... I am, of course, assuming that professional skiiers ski a lot, but that seems like a reasonable assumption :)