City slickers warned over 'white collar boxing'

London's City types are being warned that "white-collar boxing" - in which bankers and brokers live out violent fantasies - puts them at risk of injury and death.

The sport is attracting growing numbers of professionals in the Square Mile and has been labelled the "new golf".

But the British Boxing Board of Control, the regulatory body for professional bouts, has accused those behind the trend of neglecting crucial safety procedures.

The accusations focus on the refusal of The Real Fight Club, Britain's largest white-collar boxing organisation, to insist on head scans for competitors. MRA (magnetic resonance angiogram) scans are mandatory in regulated boxing.

The Real Fight Club also refuses, in the face of growing medical concerns, to place a suitable age restriction on competitors.

In this boxing revival, men in their 40s and 50s - when the brain is at great risk of haemorrhage - are stepping into the ring.

Board general secretary Simon Block said white-collar boxing involved "grave dangers".

"We consider head scans crucial, as they highlight weaknesses in the blood vessels of the brain. We've ruled out seemingly super-healthy boxers for failing this scan, saving them from a potential aneurysm in the ring. That's the danger.

"A person can look like they're in great shape, but still be vulnerable to death from a single punch.

"The lack of insistence on scans is unwise. I'm fearful white-collar organisers may find themselves responsible for a tragedy," he said.

Born in Wall Street, white-collar boxing has exploded in popularity over the last two years.

The Real Fight Club boasts of more than 500 members training for combat across London. It takes its name from the super-violent Hollywood film Fight Club and now plans to move beyond London to stage bouts nationwide.

The club's founder Alan Lacey claims it is granting boxing a new social acceptability.

"Look at where football was in the 1970s and 1980s," he said. "It was ruled by thugs - you'd never consider taking your family to a match.

"Now it's clean. We're doing the same with boxing. We're taking it upmarket."

Neurologist Chris Allen warned against the sport and said the brains of boxers were "not a pretty sight".

"If these white-collar competitors could see the damage that they are potentially inflicting on themselves, they'd think again".

Allen, who was the clinical dean at Cambridge University, offered stark advice to those tempted.

"If you're keen on your brain functioning when you're 55, don't box. The dangers increase for those in middle age," he said.

"Reactions are slower, so more punches are taken, and the brain is more susceptible to damage and bruising."

The brain also began to "dry out" at around the age of 30, making its impact with the skull more severe, he said.

Adrian King, of The Real Fight Club, said: "We don't insist on head scans, but we're confident about our safety procedures."

Head scans are also not compulsory in British amateur boxing - but retirement is enforced at 34.

Amateur organisers say the high cost of scans puts them beyond reach for working-class competitors - but that does not apply to white-collar boxers.

- INDEPENDENT