Back to school of hard knocks

Adisak Plitponkarnpim, director of the National Institute of Child and Family Development at Thailand's Mahidol University, is part of a research team that performed brain scans on 250 child boxers, some of which showed extensive damage that could impact brain development and intelligence levels.

"Boxing creates brain injuries as we can see clearly in the older boxers," Adisak said.

"The parents who rely on income from their kids at the age of 8 or 9 years old should ask themselves what they are actually demanding from them."

Some Thai lawmakers have sought to ban boxing for those under the age of 12, but a draft bill failed to reach parliament and would likely have faced resistance because of the popularity of child fights and the revenue that they generate.

Sureeporn said boxing was her son's life.

"I'm from the lower class and I just make enough money to survive and don't have savings or fancy homes," she said.

"The future of Tata is in boxing."

Reuters