International | Laws on boxing

Bouncing back

More countries are allowing professional boxing, despite the risks

Cecilia Braekhus packing a punch

FIRST Sweden in 2007, then Cuba in 2013, and now Norway have left the small club of countries that ban professional boxing. The centre-right coalition in power since 2013 promised to cut taxes and red tape—and to let Norwegians indulge in pastimes its predecessors deemed too dangerous, including cheaper wine and spirits, jetskis and Segways. And last month 33 years without pro boxing came to an end, leaving Iceland with the Nordic region’s sole boxing ban.

Health concerns lay behind the Norwegian ban. (Cuba had considered the violence—and prize money—incompatible with Marxism.) The World Medical Association has long called for the sport to be outlawed everywhere. But Norway’s pugilists are delighted, as they can fight at home and earnings will rise.

A champ unable to throw a punch in her own country probably did more than a new government’s reforming zeal to end the ban. Cecilia Braekhus (pictured), a former champion kickboxer, turned to the sport in 2003. Undefeated in her 27 pro matches to date, in September she became the first Norwegian, and first woman, to hold all major world-title championships in her class (welterweight). In 2012 she was named Norway’s sports personality of the year. A favourite of the country’s sports pages and tabloid press, she freshened up boxing’s battered image—and made it a symbol of the fightback against the Nordic nanny state.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline "Bouncing back"

Seize the day

From the January 17th 2015 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Discover more

Narendra Modi’s secret weapon: India’s diaspora

Migrants help campaign for the prime minister at home and lobby for the country abroad

Why young men and women are drifting apart

Diverging worldviews could affect politics, families and more


We’re hiring a global correspondent

An opportunity to join our editorial staff in London