The first book of its kind dedicated to an assessment of the legality of boxing, The Legality of Boxing: A Punch Drunk Love? assesses the legal response to prize fighting and undertakes a current analysis of the status of boxing in both criminal legal theory and practice.

In this book, Anderson exposes boxing's 'exemption' from contemporary legal and social norms. Reviewing all aspects of boxing - historical, legal, moral, ethical, philosophical, medical, racial and regulatory - he concludes that the supposition that boxing has a (consensual) immunity from the ordinary law of violence, based primarily on its social utility as a recognised sport, is not as robust as is usually assumed.

It:

• suggests that the sport is extremely vulnerable to prosecution and might in fact already be illegal under English criminal law
• outlines the physical and financial exploitation suffered by individual boxers both inside and outside the ring, suggesting that standard boxing contracts are coercive thus illegal and that boxers do not give adequate levels of informed consent to participate
• advocates a number of fundamental reforms, including possibly that the sport will have to consider banning blows to the head
• proposes the creation of a national boxing commission in the US and a similar entity in the United Kingdom, which together would attempt to restore the credibility of a sport long know as the red-light district of sports administration.

An excellent book, it is a must read for all those studying sports law, popular culture and the law and jurisprudence.

About the Author
Jack Anderson lectures in the School of Law at Queen's University, Belfast.

Reviews

"[The Legality of Boxing] reads briskly and is a terrific narrative of the sport's evolution... a measured account of facts and history." - Don Steinberg, Boxing Writers Association of America

"Anderson's book is always intriguing, and accurate, on sport and its general history... Anderson is very well read on boxing law and the book is entertaining and accessible for students of all levels interested in sport, law, and society whatever their preferred pastime or fandom." - Journal of Law and Society 34:4 (December 2007)

"[The Legality of Boxing] reads briskly and is a terrific narrative of the sport's evolution... a measured account of facts and history." - Don Steinberg, Boxing Writers Association of America

"Anderson's book is always intriguing, and accurate, on sport and its general history.Anderson is very well read on boxing law and the book is entertaining and accessible for students of all levels interested in sport, law, and society whatever their preferred pastime or fandom.
Overall, [The Legality of Boxing] is a welcome scholarly addition to the burgeoning historical literature on sport and violence and the continuing attempts by the state, governing bodies and others to regulate the body as we all attempt to inhabit, falteringly, the new modes and modernities of the present." - Journal of Law and Society 34:4 (December 2007)

Book Information
ISBN 9780415574365
Author Jack Anderson
Format Paperback
Page Count 240
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 440g