Following Nick Blackwell’s recent scare – where he was left in a coma after a bruising encounter with Chris Eubank Jr – there have been calls for alterations to boxing’s rules, to prevent further incidents and safeguard professional fighters.
Here is a look at past boxers whose health deteriorated due to – what is speculated to be – their participation in the sport.
This list is far from exhaustive, as many fighters have retired from the sport with compromised states of well-being.
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson is regarded by many as the greatest pound-for-pound boxer ever, but given that he fought 200 professional fights, it was not entirely unusual that he succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease – a malady often associated with the sport – as he entered his sixth decade.
Robinson died during April of 1989. During his career, he held both the welterweight and middleweight championships, and ended with a record of 173-19-6.
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is the one fighter who transcends the entire sport of boxing. A three-time world champion, Ali fought ferocious wars with Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Sonny Liston and Ken Norton – among others. His three fights against Frazier are known as the pyramids of boxing.
Realistically, Ali should have retired in October 1975, after he conquered Foreman in Zaire, but he stayed on five years too long and suffered the ill effects of Parkinson’s disease – a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement – later in life.
Ali finished his career with a record of 56-5.
Jerry Quarry
By the time Quarry was 16, he had fought a total of 105 amateur bouts. During his professional career, he was never knocked out in any of his 66 fights, even though he weighed less than 200 pounds, and as a heavyweight was almost always smaller than his opponents. He also fought the best, including world champions Floyd Patterson, Jimmy Ellis, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali.
A 1983 CT scan of Quarry’s brain highlighted evidence of brain atrophy, which was generally perceived to have been pre-symptomatic of dementia pugilistica – a common progressive type of brain disease experienced by fighters.
Quarry continued to fight professionally, but by the time he reached his late 40s his mental decline became so severe he was unable to feed or dress himself and had to be cared for by relatives.
His early career start, combined with an unwavering knock-out resiliency, undoubtedly contributed to his premature death in 1999 at just 53 years of age. He ended his career with a record of 53-9-4.
Freddie Roach
Manny Pacquiao’s esteemed trainer Freddie Roach openly admits that he stayed on in the Sport of Kings much too long.
Roach had a gung-ho approach in the ring, in which he would openly absorb barrages of punches from his opponents. Like Ali, he began exhibiting symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, but much earlier in his career.
Defying the advice of his trainer, Eddie Hutch, to quit the sport when his symptoms became more noticeable, he continued to fight until 1986, retiring at the young age of 26 with a professional record of 40-13.
Michael Watson
In June 1991, British-born fighter Michael Watson suffered a serious brain injury during his fight against Chris Eubank Sr.
Medics faced a protracted battle to save his life, and he remained in a critical condition for some time. Watson underwent six operations to remove a blood clot and spent 40 days in a coma. He was lucky to escape with his life, and today he remains confined to a wheelchair. He finished his career with a record of 25-4-1.
Meldrick Taylor
Meldrick Taylor won championships at two different weight classes, but is most famous for his classic encounter with Julio Cesar Chavez during March of 1990. Taylor lost the contest in the most dubious of circumstances, as the referee stopped the fight with just two seconds remaining, even though Taylor rose to his feet before the full ten count.
In the years following this loss, Taylor’s career went on a downward trajectory, which was underscored by a diminished skill set inside the ring.
He retired in 2002 with a record of 38-8-1. Today, at only 49 years of age, Taylor displays symptoms associated with dementia pugilistica.
Thomas Hearns
Tomas ‘The Hitman’ Hearns is widely known for his war with ‘Marvelous’ Martin Hagler during April 1985 – a fight remembered as the greatest three rounds in boxing.
Turning professional in 1977 at the age of 19, Hearns compiled seven world titles in five weight divisions, becoming the first man to win titles across four.
Today, Hearns’ words are slurred, and it’s believed that a long fight career contributed to him developing punch drunk syndrome – another term for dementia pugilistica.
His record stands at 61-5-1.
Riddick Bowe
Two-time World Heavyweight Champion Riddick Bowe ended his career with a distinguished record of 43-1, but despite this he did not fulfill his potential and is not remembered as one of the all-time greatest heavyweights. A plethora of serious legal troubles outside the ring – he was sentenced to 17 months in prison for the kidnapping of his estranged wife and their five children in 1998 – along with a lack of discipline between fights greatly stifled his career.
Evidence submitted by Bowe’s doctor at his trial revealed that his patient’s actions were symptomatic of brain damage inflicted on his frontal lobes, which he claimed was a direct consequence of the punishment he absorbed in the ring.
Today, Bowe exhibits a notable speech disorder.
Jerry
Guest
Hulk Hogan claims he was offered the chance to be the name behind the grill before it was offered to George Foreman. Dunno if it's true, Hogan says a lot of things that aren't true (like claiming he turned down a chance to be in Metallica before they were famous).
TJ
Guest
As a boxing fan, I never rated Bowe. His fights vs Holyfied were awesome however in fought tomatoe cans and Golota was beating him twice before he turned to dirty tactics. Could've been something but like of his fellow boxers, ended up ruining his life outside the ring. For me the fact Bowe only fought for a few years continuously and the fact he only really had 2 or 3 tough fights suprises me he has any effect to his brain. Holyfied fought for 30 years so I understand where and why he would be showing symptoms particularly against all of the top heavyweights in his career. Longevity can't be the be the only factor I'm guessing
Jerry
Guest
And bowe dodged Lewis, a blight on his career
Jerry
Guest
Broca's Area in the left frontal lobe is implicated in speech production such that most boxers given time would be hard pressed to avoid speech impairment. Not that I'm saying it's a good thing, just inevitable and not necessarily relative to cognitive decline
KingKongBundy
Guest
Big J you obviously are interested in it if your talking about it,does anyone wanna see them fight? obviously yes hence the money they will make,we all no its pointless and it means nothing on a world boxing scale but if you could scam a few million before you retired in your early forties would you say no? you would be a dill if you did.Green has a huge fan base (specially in Perth) and a lot of people want to see Mundine loose,not to mention how Green has Sunrise,the project ect and all these radio shows behind him it would be pumped up massively in the media and causal sporting fans would get on board so it's a fact that it sells, so who can really blame them for doing it good luck to them
Johnno
Guest
Forman was fine, one of the few who never showed any symptoms of brain damage. And Iron Mike is fine too. Holyfield seems a bit slow. Lennox Lewis seems fine as does Oscar de la hoya.
Paul Fitzgerald
Roar Rookie
Very interesting analysis! Tyson was the most feared puncher of all time! I think that Tyson got out with most of his faculties intact! I think that the only fighter that ever really truly escaped unscathed was Floyd Mayweather- all because he never got hit! Floyd had/has ghostly reflexes and unparalleled boxing radar!
Paul Fitzgerald
Roar Rookie
It's all about the benjamins- pure and simple! Da moolah! I blame the promoters!
Big J
Guest
I agree mundine and green are still looking at fighting past thier fortith birthday, while age is no real restriction ( big George proved that) these blokes have had hard fights (especially choc) and they have nothing left to prove so common sense would prevail that these blokes are done. Anyway does anyone actually want to see these two slapping each other for ten rounds????
Paul Fitzgerald
Roar Rookie
Roy Jones- the absolute legend! I have to say that I love the commentary work which Roy Jones does for HBO. He needs to pack it up in the ring, though. I do not see the reason why he has to fight at 47 years of age. He should be cashing sizable enough cheques from HBO. From a fighters perspective, he does a fantastic job of deconstructing boxing matches for television audiences. Evander,"The Real Deal" Holyfield seems to be a little banged up as well. He was never the biggest heavyweight, but man, that guy had some serious amount of heart in the ring! That guy swung for the bleachers every single time!!!
Paul Fitzgerald
Roar Rookie
Interesting, TJ. Mitch Halpern certainly died in tragic circumstances. Maybe if he was awarded the second Tyson v Holyfield assignment, it might have altered the course which he eventually took? Halpern may have disqualified Tyson after the first biting incident. I always thought it was ridiculous that Mills Lane had to look at video evidence at the end of the round in order to DQ Tyson. He should have immediately called off the fight after discovering that a chunk was bitten from Holyfield's ear! Mitch Halpern is not an isolated case; two other high profile referees died in similar circumstances as well: Richard Greene and Toby Gibson. Maybe it's the stress of the job? Perhaps, they are being paid off to influence decisions in fights and consequently they are consumed by guilt? More than likely its the first scenario! The most nefarious refereeing decision ever must have involved Richard Steele who refereed Chavez v Taylor back in 1990. Now, he was definitely paid off- probably by Don King and his cronies! Thankfully he wasn't awarded too many top jobs after that fight. Emile Griffith also died of complications from dementia. Both morbidity and mortality rates for ex boxers are very high. Did you see the "Assault in the Ring" boxing documentary? It gives an account of the tragedy which befell Billy Collins Jnr. That young man killed himself in very tragic circumstances- he was only 22. He was blinded by Luis Resto in the ring and the loss of his livelihood drove him into a downward spiral. Boxing is full of tragic stories. Thankfully, Its not as bad today as it was during the 80's and 90's.
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
I think on the subject of brain injury, there is still a lot to learn. American footballers, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, jockeys, boxers and some professional Italian mid-fielders show a vastly-increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and ALS. It's likely that one event can increase the risk (e.g. shock waves from a single bomb blast). There's no reason to think rugby codes, AFL, hockey, ice hockey and even cricket would be exempt. Studies have shown that high school footballers in the USA from the 1940s and 1950s do not have an increased risk, so the modern risks could be associated with style of play, size of hits, and increase in player weights. It has even been suggested that levels of fitness could have a direct effect on these kinds of diseases. From this point of view, no boxer should ever step into the ring. When you throw in orthopedic dangers to rugby codes, nobody should ever play them either. Look at the injury toll each week in the AFL, league and union -- some teams are already out of contention for a good finish purely because of squad injuries. By the way, none of these sportsmen has the same risks as a racehorse or a greyhound, and they don't have any choice. On the general topic, apart from brain injury, one boxer who should have stayed away, in my opinion, was Mike Tyson. He wasn't physically prepared for some of his later fights, and his early boxing brilliance had gone after his initial fights. In his prime, he may have fought some weak opponents, and he may have had some questions over fight-fixing -- but his speed and strength were phenomenal, and his two-handed relentless attack would have caused the greatest heavyweights from any era more than a little concern.
TJ
Guest
Totally agree. I think it's also sad that some boxers retire when the time is perfect and it's frowned upon by boxing fans and pundits alike. Lennox Lewis retired at a perfect time yet pundits slammed him for retiring. He clearly was past his best when he fought Vitali and had nothing left to prove. Roy Jones Jr. is certainly one of the greatest ever and is absolutely tarnishing his legacy continuing to box. His effort against Danny Green was pathetic and truly embarrassing for any of his fans. Unfortunately being wealthy for so long may create some bad habits and when the funds run low to support those habits, they can only go back to what they know
TJ
Guest
The Bowen V Burke fight is just amazing isn't it? That's around 7 hours of boxing! I've boxed in the past and from my perspective, 3 minutes can feel like a lifetime in the ring! Never mind 7 hours! In the Mclellan fight, you can actually visually see Mclellan blinking excessively from around round 8 on and it gets more and more noticeable. I remember him taking a knee in the later rounds without even being hit. I guess it's easy to pick on the officials but 25 years ago, the technology certainly wasn't what it is today. As I mentioned earlier, I hope the officials are trained to look for symptoms that may look like brain damage and at least liase with the ring side doctors. I also remeber the very good and very young referee Mitch Halpern who refereed many important championship fights ended up taking his own life at only 33 years old apparently unable to forgive himself over a boxer dying during a game he officiated. So many sad and tragic stories, Emile Griffith is another one. Great boxer but never the same after his opposition died after a match. I would love to see some changes, not necessarily a lot but I think boxing licences are also given way too easily and the process needs to be looked at.
Kavvy
Guest
It's sad when greats go on for too long, I fear a similar fate for Roy Jones Jr (one of my all time faves and an all time great) and Sugar Shane Mosley both should have hung it up a few years ago and just seem like different people than they once were (speech, cognition) fear what the future holds, especially as they both keep fighting You mention Evander Holyfield as an exception but watching the "Champs" documentary recently (well worth a watch) his speech was noticably slurred already and he is only 53 (probably 50-51 when filmed)
Paul Fitzgerald
Roar Rookie
I understand what you are saying about Bowe. Yes, he didn't have the longest of careers but listen to the way that he speaks in interviews today- hes a mumbling, bumbling numskull. He didn't have the longest of careers but he is just as incoherent as any many of his peers who had even longer careers than him and who absorbed even more punishment.
Paul Fitzgerald
Roar Rookie
I never realised the extent of Gerald McClellans’ injuries. He is in pretty bad shape today. He seems to be largely forgotten about by not only the media, but by the boxing media as well. He is never discussed in the same vein as someone like Michael Watson is; anytime boxing reaches crisis point and is open to debate about its inherent dangers, Michael Watson’s name is one of the first to be mentioned- certainly in the British media. There’s a 2011 ITV documentary called “The Fight of Their Lives” about the incident and its available to view on YouTube. I never realised that it existed; Ill watch it soon. I think reducing the number of rounds to 8 is a great idea. Taking the examples of Blackwell and McClellan who both collapsed after their fights concluded, its fair to say that the damage inflicted over the course of a 12 round fight is largely subtle and insidious. These fighters are capable of enduring 12 round fights because its a matter of pride for them not to quit. As well as this, they are well conditioned athletes who are naturally battle hardened. By the time the final round has concluded, the damage may have already been done. Having 8 round fights would certainly help to mitigate any potential damage. On any given fight card, there are always plenty of undercard matches on the bill that keep me entertained. I wouldn’t have any problem with 8 round contests. Little and often is the key. 8 rounds is a far cry from when Andy Bowen fought Jack Burke way back in 1893 which was a match that lasted 111 rounds. They must have both simultaneously collapsed to the canvass from total exhaustion like 400 pounds of pancake batter..:-) As for Klitschko v Fury, I think that Klitschko will be far more motivated during the rematch. I don’t think that he was in the first match mentally. He only connected with 50 punches or so during the entire 12 round fight- which is pretty abysmal. In his prime, Klitschko would easily land with more than 50 punches per round. Age is definitely catching up with him. During the time frame of the first fight, I think that he was dealing with a number of issues in his personal life- it cant be easy constantly entertaining a high maintenance Hollywood wife:-) Like you said, he may retire if he wins. Close call. A real 50/50 fight. I hope that the rematch is better than the first one! One thing is for sure: the buildup will be entertaining because Fury is completely madcap!
TJ
Guest
Cheers Paul, I remember Nigel Benn Vs Gerald Mclellan in the 90s. One of the most amazing fights I have ever seen (Benn gets knocked out of the ring in the first) however the ending was very tragic. Not sure if you have seen this one but it is certainly worth the watch, particularly watching Mclellan showing symptoms of brain damage during the fight which hopefully has been looked at and studied by all boxing officials to ensure that that kind of ending won't happen again but as you mention above, there are only a certain amount of words you can use and so many different topics to add to your article. Should head gear be worn? Maybe in all combat professional sports in my opinion however I would like to see the rounds drop from 12 to possibly 8. I think that could potentially save someone's life or restrict the damage caused. I know the rules were changed from 15 rounds to 12 in the 80s but I still think it's too long. 8 rounds should be enough time to determine who is the better boxer as most people forget, that's what boxing is, just a sport, not a killing game. My theory is that Klitschko won't play it safe in the rematch which will mean an early to mid round knockout for either fighter but I think Klitscko will knock Fury out, round 5 and then retire from the sport
Paul Fitzgerald
Roar Rookie
The article highlights the dangers of boxing and the fight game's high correlation with early onset dementia or chronic brain injury. There are countless other examples of boxers who left the game with health complications: Jimmy Ellis died of complications from dementia at 74 Joe Frazier's speech was notably slurred before he passed. Today, at 57, Wilfred Benetiz suffers from a degenerative brain condition. Today, aged 62, Leon Spinks suffers from brain trauma. Nigel Benn seems a little beat up. You can add Spencer Oliver to the casuality list- he underwent an operation to remove a blood clot following one of his fights. I'm sure that there are countless others..... I cant write more than 800 words on here. Riddick Bowe had a career of 43 and 1. Granted, he wasn't the most motivated of fighters and he never really fought the very best, but I wouldn't exactly call that a short career. Yes, Larry Holmes, Julio Cesar Chavez, Evander Holyfield et al. were all exceptions. Chavez must have had one of the strongest chins ever in boxing history- perhaps rivaling George Chuvalo. Although, over the course of 93 fights Chuvalo was never knocked out. Wladimir Klitshcko has always been accused of being overly cautious in the ring, and he probably took less punishment over the years. How do you see the Klitshcko v Fury rematch playing out? I see your point: for every example I give, there will be a counterexample. But, its pretty indisputable that the levels of dementia and the amount of brain injuries found in boxers is far higher when compared in relative terms to those found in the general population.
Paul Fitzgerald
Roar Rookie
I think that the headgear will stay confined to the amateur game. Following the Blackwell fight, the level of medical cover and the standard of medical care at ringside could increase. Referees may also stop bouts considerably sooner now if fighters are taking repeated blows to the head while positioned up against the ropes. Suggestions have been made that the weigh-ins should take place on the same day as the fights- as opposed to the usual pre 24-36 hour time frame- in order to prevent various complications pertaining to the weight cut. Former European champion Spencer Oliver, who suffered life-threatening brain injuries in the ring in 1998, told Sportsmail: ‘It is a tough issue and a lot of people in boxing don’t agree what is best. If you weigh in on the day you risk being dehydrated and that reduces the fluid cushioning your brain. On the other hand, if you weigh-in the day before the fight you have people willing to crash down to make weight because they know they have time to get their strength back up. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-3516563/British-boxing-chiefs-urged-change-weigh-rules-bid-protect-fighters-Nick-Blackwell- Did you know that Foreman made well over $200 million from the sales of his grill since it was introduced in 1994!! I don't know what he made during his boxing career, but my guess is that it had to be considerably less than $200 million. Now, that's a success story!!!