Brain trauma and boxing - Your thoughts?

[Frostieballs]

I think we have all met the guys with the slurry speech in the gym. Some of them with reputations of having boxed pro, but also some you hear were a 'top school boy'.
I work with clients who have had various types of brain injuries. Stroke; alcohol, and some from trauma of having their brain rattled inside their skull. The frontal lobes are easily damaged, and because of the nature of their functioning (problem solving & decision making for example) damage is typically not noticed by the person.

I boxed/fought amateur for 4-5yrs, but was in the gym on & off sparring for maybe 15-20 years; it does concern me if there is damage there that will only show itself as my cognitive ability diminishes with senescence.

You can put your phone in a case to protect it if it gets dropped, and often it will survive on those occasions it does get dropped .. but you know if you dropping it often enough you are going to be buying a new one sooner rather than later.

Exactly, it’s funny how many boxing fans admit they have concerns about brain trauma, either to themselves or others but we all quite happily sit a watch guys being hit and knocked out. It’s a difficult one to reason in your head I think and again it seems to be a concerns from older guys, not youngster so much. Wisdom is wasted on the old as the saying goes.

This is why justifying the sport by saying the competitors have chosen to compete and know the risks doesn’t hold.

When you are young and hungry with ambition you don’t assess the risks correctly.

[Bleak]

I bet its difficult as a fan meeting your face fighter and then it's obvious there speech is slurred, I remember growing up and Thomas Hearns being my idol, then when I heard a interview with him a few years later being mortified with how he sounded, I. Then felt terrible having enjoyed his fights.

[REEVE]

I boxed from being a teenager, but took it seriosuly later had my first fight at 21 last at 33 and didnt give head injuries a thought.

Since i failed my brain scan with cte i worry quite a but about the future, the sparring does WAY more damage then the fights.

[REEVE]

Some sort of union for the boxers is required - every other major sport has one!

I think Nicky Piper might have tried to start a union but said they couldn’t get anyone to fork out to join, maybe they should be forced to donate a certain percentage of a gate or add a compulsory £1 fee onto a ticket that all goes into a pot.

The promoters should pay a big % towards it mate imo

[Boxerbeetle]

Boxing is obviously dangerous, but so are a lot of non-combat sports - rugby, ice hockey, NFL, motorsports, horse riding, etc. Life would be pretty dull if anything that carried risk was banned.

But it does always annoy me when people call boxers ‘quitters’ or ‘cowards’ for taking a knee or turning their back. Takes a huge amount of balls to get into the ring, who are we to say when a guy hasn’t had enough punishment.

[Coco]

Your manager works for you, why pay for a union when it is your managers job to look after you.

[REEVE]

Your manager works for you, why pay for a union when it is your managers job to look after you.

this

[Jimmy2020]

You can't have a union for prizefighters. It's a ridiculous notion. Anybody who thinks boxing is a sport in the way cricket, football, rugby, etc are sports isn't thinking straight. You are not representing a team/business, you are fighting for yourself, for money.

[coghaugen11]

Remember the PBA in 93? McGuigan, Eubank, McMillan, McDonnell

[dookus]

You can't have a union for prizefighters. It's a ridiculous notion. Anybody who thinks boxing is a sport in the way cricket, football, rugby, etc are sports isn't thinking straight. You are not representing a team/business, you are fighting for yourself, for money.

Tennis players have a union and they all play for themselves

[Coco]

Remember the PBA in 93? McGuigan, Eubank, McMillan, McDonnell

I was a pro in that time and it was felt that these folk were looking for a job.
I don't remember Eubank being involved

[Controversial]

Boxing is obviously dangerous, but so are a lot of non-combat sports - rugby, ice hockey, NFL, motorsports, horse riding, etc. Life would be pretty dull if anything that carried risk was banned.

Yes and it’s how I used to justify it however I think the difference is the aim of these other sports isn’t to to cause intentional harm. But yes of course you can’t ban everything dangerous, just try to minimise risks where possible.

[Jimmy2020]

You can't have a union for prizefighters. It's a ridiculous notion. Anybody who thinks boxing is a sport in the way cricket, football, rugby, etc are sports isn't thinking straight. You are not representing a team/business, you are fighting for yourself, for money.

Tennis players have a union and they all play for themselves

Yes, fair point, but tennis is a proper sport with regular competitions and an official tour. There's none of that with pro boxing.

[Controversial]

I boxed from being a teenager, but took it seriosuly later had my first fight at 21 last at 33 and didnt give head injuries a thought.

Since i failed my brain scan with cte i worry quite a but about the future, the sparring does WAY more damage then the fights.

Did you box as a pro? Are brain scans compulsory or did you have one due to concerns?

[dookus]

You can't have a union for prizefighters. It's a ridiculous notion. Anybody who thinks boxing is a sport in the way cricket, football, rugby, etc are sports isn't thinking straight. You are not representing a team/business, you are fighting for yourself, for money.

Tennis players have a union and they all play for themselves

Yes, fair point, but tennis is a proper sport with regular competitions and an official tour. There's none of that with pro boxing.

Yes, that is true, it is a properly organised sport unlike the total free-for-all that is professional boxing. Amateur boxing actually fits the "union" model a lot better as it has regular competitions etc.

Nevertheless, my belief is most boxers need better help and representation. Too many end up with far more damage than reward from the sport, and too many are ripped off. Unions have been suggested (by me and plenty of others) but I can see how it is difficult to make them work under the current system.

The first step in the right direction, I think, is having some governmental oversight over professional boxing to enforce proper standards. As matters stand the BBBC is a private entity, one unofficial body among others, just with general recognition as the "legitimate" governing body. It's as vulnerable to lawsuits / commercial pressure as anyone else.

[Jimmy2020]

I can't think who I would trust to hold and administer the money. Let alone who would pay in and how much. Almost no pros make their living from the sport.

[Controversial]

I can't think who I would trust to hold and administer the money. Let alone who would pay in and how much. Almost no pros make their living from the sport.

That’s what I find disgusting, most end up with sod all, normally screwed over and when they retire having nothing to show for it financially and in some cases injuries of some sort.

[coghaugen11]

Remember the PBA in 93? McGuigan, Eubank, McMillan, McDonnell

I was a pro in that time and it was felt that these folk were looking for a job.
I don't remember Eubank being involved

Eubank endorsed it. He was running the game at the time.

[coghaugen11]

Cooper, Eubank and McGuigan! Dream team.

[margaret thatcher]

look at all that hair on display

[REEVE]

I boxed from being a teenager, but took it seriosuly later had my first fight at 21 last at 33 and didnt give head injuries a thought.

Since i failed my brain scan with cte i worry quite a but about the future, the sparring does WAY more damage then the fights.

Did you box as a pro? Are brain scans compulsory or did you have one due to concerns?

Yeah mate 7 years ama 30 bouts, 4 years pro 20 bouts, i failed my regular brain scan mate we had to have them every year in the pros to get re licensed each year

[Controversial]

I boxed from being a teenager, but took it seriosuly later had my first fight at 21 last at 33 and didnt give head injuries a thought.

Since i failed my brain scan with cte i worry quite a but about the future, the sparring does WAY more damage then the fights.

Did you box as a pro? Are brain scans compulsory or did you have one due to concerns?

Yeah mate 7 years ama 30 bouts, 4 years pro 20 bouts, i failed my regular brain scan mate we had to have them every year in the pros to get re licensed each year

Ah man, sorry. I wonder how many fail each year?

[maverick23]

I boxed from being a teenager, but took it seriosuly later had my first fight at 21 last at 33 and didnt give head injuries a thought.

Since i failed my brain scan with cte i worry quite a but about the future, the sparring does WAY more damage then the fights.

Did you box as a pro? Are brain scans compulsory or did you have one due to concerns?

Yeah mate 7 years ama 30 bouts, 4 years pro 20 bouts, i failed my regular brain scan mate we had to have them every year in the pros to get re licensed each year

Margaret Goodman recently shared a study showing that the NFL pre-season causes more damage to NFL players than the actual NFL season so i can fully believe what you say about sparring.

You sometimes hear stories about fighters sparring 200 rounds for a fight - it can’t be good and certainly you can understand why certain trainers limit sparring to the head.

[Coco]

Brain scans still aren't really understood.

Almost everyone passes the first one but then after that with your annual medical they look for changes.

They don't really know what the changes mean but they are regarded as bad, too much change and you fail it.

[REEVE]

I dont know if its true, or if someone could find out ?

But apparently more and more fighters are failing the bbbofc scan