The barbarism in bull fighting and bear baiting lies not in the animal's absence of consent. Animals don't consent to be eaten, but eating animals is [EDIT] not generally considered barbaric. What makes boxing and bull fighting and bear baiting barbaric is the fact that the object of the game is to inflict pain on another living being. Many other sports have pain as a consequence (football, rugby), but in boxing the goal is to inflict pain. The more pain the better. The ideal outcome is to render your opponent unconscious. That, IMHO, is barbaric.
Money and social constraints also significantly distort the matter of consent. Muhammed Ali was a black man living in an age of discrimination. His professional prospects were limited more by the color of his skin than by the content of his character. I think he was capable of a lot more than bashing people's skulls in. But because society places so much value on bashing people's skulls in, we will never know.
That's a minority view. Most people think it's OK as long as the animal is raised and slaughtered humanely. I edited my comment to make it a little more precise.
I agree that OPs point is not necessary and his analogy with animal murder is plain wrong, but the definition of barbarism does not hinge on the existence of consent. Brutal, uncivilized, or cruel imply barbarism. Consent does not imply non-brutal and civilized and uncruel.
Sorry, I was sloppy with language just to riff on his words. Of course you are right. I wanted get at the subtext of boxing being exploitative, in particular where it is comparable to something like bullfighting. Are we really aiming for a non contact world because some people see it as primitive and cruel? That's what comments like OP's make me think. Go after unscrupulous managers or the long term injury aspect, but I just don't see the problem with fighting sports where everyone is opting in and aware.
In retrospect, I realize I should have said that it is time to retire professional boxing, not boxing in general, but it's too late to edit my original comment. Amateur boxing, where protective head gear is worn and the object is not to render your opponent unconscious, is fine with me. What makes professional boxing barbaric IMHO is that it is designed to maximize the possibility that the participants will get injured. The goal in professional boxing is to render your opponent unconscious. That is IMHO barbaric.
