Headgear impact to be reviewed

The International Boxing Association says it will carry out a detailed study of the impact of scrapping headguards for amateur contests following the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games.

It follows a call from Australian boxer Daniel Lewis for the immediate return of the safety gear after a failed medical check ruled him out of his welterweight quarterfinal on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old suffered a badly cut eye in his win against Nigeria’s Kehinde Ademuyiwa on Monday.
The wound failed to sufficiently heal in time for him to meet Mandeep Jangra of India, who was given a walkover into the semifinals.

A growing number of cut head injuries have resulted from male boxers stepping into the ring without head protection after AIBA changed their rules last year.

AIBA vice-president Dr Abdellah Bessalem from Algeria said his organisation was aware of the concerns and would address them after the Games.

“We are looking at the number of cuts and after our study we will prepare our report,” the Commonwealth Games tournament supervisor said. “But we have to remember that without headguards the number of concussion injuries suffered by boxers has gone down.”