Is it really about boxing? Is it really safe?
Edinburgh student fight night is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sporting event for students in Edinburgh each semester. The spectacle it provides cannot be denied, with 21 fights spanning across four and a half hours and showcasing fighters from all levels of experience. Tickets are perpetually in high demand, often selling out in 20 minutes or less, and the black-tie dress code bestows the event with a certain level of prestige. I attended fight night, alongside over 2,000 others, in order to find out more about this phenomenon of an experience.
The atmosphere was a social one, and I got the sense that most people in attendance were not necessarily there for the boxing aspect of the night. This sentiment came through in comments made by students, such as: “The main part isn’t the fighting” and “I don’t even like boxing.” It seemed like most students treated it as more of a social occasion — a chance to get dressed up and have a drink with friends. However, the members of the crowd that had come to cheer on friends in the ring were incredibly vocal in their support, and the room erupted each time a winner was announced. Clearly, the fighting was paramount to some.
Fight night prides itself on training complete beginners to be able to compete in the ring. The organisers themselves bill it as “probably the best night of your life” in their marketing, encouraging prospective fighters to join training camp. One fighter I spoke to, Gemma “Winner” Wittig, had signed up to fight with no previous fighting experience, and reflected positively on the decision: she referred to the nine-week training camp as the “most physically demanding thing I’ve ever done,” and said that she had developed fitness, friendships, and above all, fighting skills.
However, nine weeks of training may simply not be enough for complete beginners to be able to sufficiently protect themselves in the ring. White-collar boxing events have had numerous issues with fighter safety in the past — in 2023, a student died after suffering serious injuries while taking part in a charity white-collar boxing event in Nottingham, following a training camp of eight weeks. Boxing’s governing bodies in the UK have repeatedly raised concerns about these kinds of events, referring to them as “effectively unlicensed.” Clearly, short, intensive training periods are not sufficient for beginners to be fully safe in the ring. This is troubling, considering how much of fight night’s marketing is aimed at those with no prior fighting experience.
One coach I spoke to assured me of the safety of those taking part — protecting yourself in the ring is the first thing beginners are taught. Gemma affirmed this, saying that teaching fighters to protect themselves was a “main focus” of training, but also commented that they weren’t made explicitly aware of the risk of injury at all. She supposed that this was just left to “common sense.” Considering that there is a precedent of risk to fighter’s lives, is common sense enough?
Fight night’s organisers claim that there have been no serious injuries in the past, that fighters must pass a medical examination before getting in the ring, and that each event has full medical cover. Does this mean that Edinburgh fight night is an exception to the pattern of injuries at white-collar boxing events? Or, if training camps for beginners continue to last only nine weeks, is it only a matter of time until someone gets hurt? I asked a member of the medical staff about their perspective on this issue, but they declined to speak to me.
Another fighter I spoke to admitted to having previously lied about their level of fighting experience in order to be allowed to fight. This has worrying implications for the matchups of fighters. Fight night claims that beginners are always matched up against beginners, but if fighters are lying about their experience, this can’t be guaranteed. This fighter believed that the matchups between fighters were well done, but that training camps for beginners should be longer to diminish the risk of injury. They also “assumed” that beginner fighters are made aware of the risks of boxing — they are not.
Safety at fight night seems to be a complex issue. The organisers and coaches are assured that there is little risk to fighters’ health, but, with the precedent of injuries at white-collar boxing events and relatively short training camps compared to levels of experience, this is doubtful. Beginners also need to be made aware of the risks they are taking on by participating in contact sport.
Disregarding the safety aspect, fight night is undeniably an enjoyable event. I saw 2,000 people united in support of a sport that most of them knew little about, and I found myself drawn into it. It’s difficult not to have a good time at fight night, especially if you drink as much as most of those in attendance do. However, it is hard to balance this against the undeniable safety issues that fighters face. I enjoyed my time at fight night, but I’m not sure I understand it any more than I did before.
Photo by Amelia Moore for The Student