Boxing welcomes HIV testing
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday October 25, 2016 18:00
DTCB club coach, Thebe Setlalekgosi said the call was long overdue. He told Mmegi Sport yesterday that boxing is moving towards professionalism and testing boxers before they compete should be mandatory. He said AIBA has taken a decision and it was important for Botswana Boxing Association (BoBA) to implement it.
“Boxing is a contact sport and there are many injuries that occur in the ring. We are different from other sporting codes hence the need for boxers to be protected. Since AIBA took the decision to stop senior men boxers to remove head gear when competing, there has been a lot of blood in the ring,” he said.
Setlalekgosi said it was important for boxers to be sensitised before testing could be carried out. He said it would be improper for boxers to be tested for HIV before proper consultation is done.
Larona Francis of SSKB boxing club said it was a good move for the tests to be conducted. He said the problem was that AIBA came up with the rule last year but BoBA has not implemented it. He said it was worrying that the association was dragging its feet in implementing all the 2015 AIBA technical rules and statutes. Francis said if things were being done properly, the rule could not be causing confusion at the moment.
“We could be far right now. Testing boxers for HIV/AIDS is not an easy thing, consultation has to be done. You must realise that the move might infringe other laws of the country,” he said.
Francis pointed out that in professional boxing, when a boxer is HIV positive and has Hepatitis, they are not allowed to box. He said now the new AIBA rule says boxers should declare if they test positive and continue boxing depending on their viral load.