Former world champion Amir Khan and Paul Smith are sponsoring a Liverpool campaign to raise £500,000 to help research the safety and success of fighting sport.
The Liverpool-based Global Fighters’ Association (GFA) says the inquiry will examine fighters’ medical care, pay, contracts and support after retirement.
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The campaign group to improve working conditions for boxers and other combat sports says the inquiry, led by lawyer Jonathan Caplan KC, will gather evidence from fighters, doctors, referees and organizers.
Smith, a former British champion, told BBC News that many fighters were competing with high medical costs and low earnings and needed better protection.
Paul Smith finally fought in 2017 and says fighters need better protection and support [GFA]
He said that he sometimes paid between £700 and £1,000 a year for medical experiments in his life.
Smith said some boxers competing at the lower levels can earn a few hundred pounds after expenses, despite spending weeks preparing for a fight.
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“We want to try and create some form of safety armor for the fighters,” he said.
Smith also spoke about the difficulties of adjusting to life after boxing.
“You lose that thing, you lose that identity, you lose that day-to-day routine,” he said.
Amir Khan (left), pictured fighting at Kell Brook in 2022, is campaigning to improve safety and welfare in competitive sports. [Reuters]
Khan, co-founder of the GFA, said it was necessary that fighters could turn to the organization “when something goes wrong”, whether in training, contracts or after retirement.
The fundraising campaign will support research and establish GFA’s broader plans for union trade.
The British Boxing Board, which regulates professional boxing in Britain, now requires annual medical examinations and brain scans.
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Its general secretary, Robert Smith, told BBC Sport earlier this year that it had provided insurance plans for death and permanent injury. He also said he would support the creation of an independent union.
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