Slightly off thread but when I went in to do National Service, I got some good advice from an Uncle. He told me not to get involved in boxing. He said that good amateurs and even young professionals also have to do their National Service and you never know who you are up against. I think he must have been speaking from experience as he was in the Navy in WW1 and I know he had done a bit of boxing when he was younger.
In Singapore I was part of a very small unit, only about 40 blokes. I knew them all and there were no boxer's there. Someone started up a boxing meet at the Army gymnasium. Just sparring really. I had a go and got punched on the nose. Doesn't half make your eyes water and really painful, so I decided it wasn't for me!
In one session, when we got to the gym, one guy went to the rack where the boxing gloves were laid out. He pulled one glove on and let out a yelp. A scorpion had made its nest in there and stung him. Someone had a knife and they cut where the sting wound was and someone sucked the poison out. We got him to the Army Medical Centre where the Doc told us that the knife had caused more problems than the scorpion ever would.