Former world champion Amir Khan is among a growing number of boxers backing a King’s Counsel-led inquiry aimed at improving welfare, health and safety standards across boxing and other combat sports. Khan is one of Britain's most decorated boxers who won multiple world championship belts across several weights. He has backed the Global Fighters Association's (GFA) appointment of leading UK barrister Jonathan Caplan KC to lead a "root-and-branch" inquiry into the safety, governance and treatment of boxers at every level of the sport.
Jonathan Caplan KC has been tasked with leading an inquiry to gather evidence from within boxing and other combat sports in order to raise standards around welfare, health and safety and governance issues. He intends to consult a broad range of stakeholders, including fighters, coaches, physiotherapists, doctors, surgeons, referees, judges, promoters, boards of control, governing bodies, media commentators, venue operators, managers, and the friends and families of fighters. Caplan, speaking to Sky Sports said: "We will publish I hope far-reaching recommendations explaining our conclusions.
"We're doing this inquiry late, it should have been done a long time ago. "There have been other significant inquiries into sport. An MP-led select committee held an inquiry into concussion in sport around two years ago, while the Whyte Review examined allegations of physical and emotional abuse in British Gymnastics.
Combat sports are now crying out for the same level of detailed scrutiny. The welfare of participants across all combat sports must be fundamental to what we're trying to achieve. This inquiry is long overdue, and it's something that has never been done before." The inquiry has been commissioned by the Global Fighters Association (GFA), which aims to establish itself as the first trade union representing boxers and participants across other combat sports.
The GFA's goal is to become a collective voice for everyone involved in combat sports, from those training and competing at their local gym to professional athletes who depend on the sport for their livelihood. Its ambition is to represent participants at every level, both inside and outside the ring. While the sport's biggest stars generate a significant proportion of its revenue, for every global superstar such as Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury, there are hundreds of fighters further down the ladder working hard to make a living from the sport.
Their welfare, financial security and long-term health are among the issues the inquiry aims to address. Paul Smith enjoyed a professional boxing career spanning 2003 to 2017, competing at middleweight and super-middleweight. During that time, he won both English and British titles and challenged for a world title on three occasions.
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