Mandy Bujold delays retirement plans after headgear rule put on hold

Canadian boxer Mandy Bujold is putting her retirement plans on hold — maybe for some time.

The two-time Pan Am Games gold medallist will continue her amateur career beyond the Rio Olympics after the International Boxing Federation (AIBA) announced it would delay making a controversial rule change that would see the removal of headgear for both female and youth fighters.

An AIBA board, which met in early March, decided it still needs more research done on the ramifications of such a rule change before making a final decision, one that could take a few years.

"I will continue to box as long as there is headgear involved," Bujold, who initially said she would retire if the no-headgear rule ever took effect, told CBCSports.ca in an email. "I believe AIBA is taking the right precautions."  

Bujold said she was informed of AIBA's decision by a Boxing Canada board member while the team was preparing for an Olympic qualifier in Montreal.

Last year, AIBA announced it would ban headgear for female and youth boxers as of 2017.

The decision sparked debate among sports federations, parents and female amateur boxers.

Bujold has been vehemently opposed to the rule change since the idea was first introduced.

The 28-year-old from Kitchener, Ont., feared that the potential new rule would take boxing in a dangerous direction and outlined her concerns in a Player's Own Voice piece she penned for CBCSports.ca back in February.

"I believe this rule change will diminish interest in the sport and cause parents to keep their children out of boxing," wrote Bujold, a nine-time national champion.

"I, for one, refuse to box without headgear as an amateur. With the rising awareness of concussions and head injury, it is becoming more evident that we need to protect our brains as much as possible. There hasn't been enough research to conclude that it is safer to box without the use of headgear."

Bujold also said her male amateur counterparts, who have been fighting without headgear for the last three years and will be competing at the Rio Olympics without the equipment for the first time, suffer too many cuts. The more severe ones completely eliminate boxers from competition regardless of whether they're winning a fight.

"Every single event, there are men with cuts and I see it first-hand from the guys on our team — big cuts where they get out of the ring and they have to have stitches immediately by the doctors," Bujold told CBC. "And then they sometimes try to fight again the next day and it opens up again."

Kids more at risk

Boxing Canada's high performance director Daniel Trépanier thinks AIBA will simply keep the old rule in place, citing too much pressure from federations and parents who fear the elimination of headgear would put their kids at more risk in light of concussions and other brain injuries.

Trépanier sees the men continuing to compete without the use of a headgear, but doesn't expect that to ever extend to women or youth boxers.

"I think they'll maintain the headgear rule for both women and youth," he told CBCSports.ca. "We feel that it's going to be maintained, especially with the youth. If you take the headgear off at a young age it could affect the people that would register and the [potential of] long-term disability. Parents are also looking at the safety for their kids."

When AIBA instituted the rule in 2013 for the men, its research found that fighting without headgear actually reduced the risk of concussions.

The organization also argued at the time that headgear gave boxers a false sense of security, and they might be less likely to try to avoid a punch because they felt the equipment was protecting their heads.

While some female boxers like Bujold are fighting to keep the current rule in place, other fighters would relish the chance to compete without headgear.

American boxer and Olympic gold medallist Claressa Shields, for one, is in favour of the rule change, which could help her use her considerable power to her advantage.

"I'd say that'd be so awesome if we didn't have to fight in headgear at the Olympics. I would get knockouts then," she told CBC Sports. "I'm one of the boxers who will be happy because I know how to hit and not get hit, so that's something that'll be great for me. I would love that."