Nevada Rules Boxers Must Take AIDS Tests

Nevada state boxing regulators, fearful that fighters may contract AIDS in the ring, decided Friday to make their state the first state to require mandatory annual AIDS tests for fighters.

Members of the Nevada Athletic Commission voted unanimously to require fighters to show they tested negative for the AIDS antibody before entering the ring.

“I think it’s only reasonable and prudent that we protect anyone fighting in this state from contracting AIDS in the ring,” said Dr. Charles Ruggeroli, a member of the state’s medical advisory board.

The new policy, the state’s first response to the dangers of AIDS in the boxing arena, requires that boxers present evidence of a negative test for the AIDS antibody on an annual basis.

Ruggeroli said the virus could be transmitted by open cuts on both fighters. He cited the example of a head butt in which blood from one fighter mixes with blood from the other.

New Jersey boxing officials have mandated the use of plastic gloves by cornermen as a response to the AIDS problem, but Ruggeroli said that does not protect one fighter from another.