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BOXING, by its nature, is a dangerous sport and there is always concern something might get wrong in the ring or just after a fight.

That a boxer could get seriously hurt or, even in the worst case scenario, as we have seen on a number of occasions, even suffer serious injuries, which could lead to death.

Andy Bowen, who was an American boxer, is widely regarded to have been the first one to die in 1894 when he hit his head on the wooden canvas after having been knocked down in the 18th round.

Then just 27, Bowen never regained consciousness and died the following morning.

In 1982, three boxers — Andy Balaba of the Philippines, Kim Duck-wo of South Korea and Nigeria’s Young Ali — died from injuries sustained in a boxing ring.

Ali collapsed in the ring, fell into a coma and died from a blood clot after a bout against Irishman Barry McGuigan.

Five South African boxers — Jacob Morake (1985), Brian Baronet (1988), Daniel Thelele (1988), Patrick Mdiniso (1991) and Clive Sikwebu (1991) — lost their lives in similar fashion.

In 1997, Zambia’s Felix Bwalya was knocked down three times in the final round by his British opponent Paul Burke, and died nine days later.

In a strange way, it’s the brutality of the sport on which its enduring appeal to both the boxers and the fans is built on.

The toughest matches, especially in the heavyweight category, where boxers pound themselves to a standstill, are usually celebrated as the greatest of fights.

Take for instance Mohammed Ali’s “Rumble in the Jungle” showdown against George Foreman in Kinshasa on October 30, 1974, for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world crown.

For seven rounds, Ali was on the receiving end of a thorough beating, which bordered on savagery, as Foreman threw heavy bombs at his head in a merciless assault.

He hung on the ropes to save himself from going down but the punishment was so severe that those who were backing Ali even feared for the worst.

Somehow, he clung on and as Foreman tired, Ali sprung to life and a combination of blows turned the match on its head with the American fighter knocking out his opponent in the eighth round.

It was a stunning upset, given Foreman was previously unbeaten going into this showdown as the odds-on favourite to not only win but do so comfortably.

Given the severe beating which Ali received and how he managed to turn it around and win, “Rumble in the Jungle” is celebrated as one of the greatest fights in the history of boxing.

But, success also came at a huge cost for Ali, as the blows to the head eventually took their toll, with the celebrated boxer later developing Parkinson’s disease.

We have had a number of cases where  professional boxers have succumbed to injuries sustained from the beatings they received in the ring.

Until last weekend, we had been lucky, as a country that none of all this happened in this sport within our borders.

We have an active boxing industry in Zimbabwe and have produced some of the best boxers to grace the ring on the continent and around the world.

The late Proud “Kilimanjaro” Chinembiri rose from the streets of Mbare to become Africa’s heavyweight champion and a contender for the world heavyweight crown.

The pride of the Midlands, Langton “Schoolboy” Tinago, was a three-time Commonwealth champion while Zvenyika Arifonso also won the Club crown.

Derek Chisora, who was born and raised in Mbare, regularly features on the circuit in battles for the world heavyweight championship title.

Throughout our history, as a proud boxing nation, fate has been very kind to us and we never had a death emanating directly from what happened in the ring.

That all changed on Monday when Taurai Zimunya died in hospital from injuries sustained in a non-title bantamweight contest in the capital the previous day.

Zimunya was floored in the third round, of the scheduled six-round fight against Tinashe Majoni and was rushed to hospital where he died the following morning.

Inevitably, it’s something which has generated headlines around the world because no one wants to see this happening.

The Zimbabwe National Boxing and Wrestling Control know they will have to deal with some tough questions, triggered by this unfortunate incident, and their explanations will have to pass all the safety tests for them to accept any blame.

We understand that given the risk associated with the sport, it’s something that can happen anytime and anywhere in the world, but we also want a comprehensive investigation into everything related to the tournament held last Sunday, so that the country can get answers to the many questions flying around.

We don’t believe that it’s the mandate of the ZNBWC to conduct such an investigation because they are part of the issues, which will have to be looked into to ensure that every precaution, as demanded by higher authorities, was taken for the sake of the athletes.

The Sports and Recreation Commission should lead the way after all they are the regulators of sport in the country, and they can appoint a panel of experts to look into everything related to how the tournament on Sunday was organised and what precautions were taken.

We need to ensure that we once again provide hope for every boxer in this country, that when next they go into the ring, they have a good chance because of the precautions which have been taken for them to go back home and tell their story.