The Irish amateur boxing association issued a stern reminder to all members today that athletes actively members of and competing in other types of combat sports in Ireland are not welcome in Irish amateur boxing.

This rule is not new but it is curious that the IABA picked today to issue a reminder to the membership. The letter was addressed to provincial councils and county boards. See below the full letter as published on the IABA website today.

As can be seen above, the rules prohibit almost every competitor from every other combat sport from competing in boxing. While the IABA are considering relaxing the rule for pre-teens (gosh thats big of them) the main point remains unchanged.

” No Member can continue to compete as a boxer while being a member of any other contact sport”

One of the arguments in favor of the rule is SAFETY. The summary being that say a world class kick boxer might get thrown in against an amateur boxer that ,you know, has a reduced skill and overall experience level.

While, I kind of see what people mean when they say this, are the amateur boxing community saying they don’t want world class combat sports athletes to take up boxing?

Another point, a valid one, is that boxing could argue it has no way of controlling or knowing the injuries received by competitors in other sports. There are a number of ways this could be overcome if there was a will within the leadership to do so.

Overall the rule seems a little archaic.

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