Lamotta and the sad condition of Benitez

[Sugarj]

Originally Posted by SBleeder

Willie Pep and Nicolino Locche also suffered from pugilistic dementia. James Toney slurs his words. It's really all about the individual makeup and the types of blows being taken. If brain damage were just about the number of blows taken then LaMotta would have been dead by age 25.

It was only when Willie Pep was very old that it manifest itself. Floyd Patterson developed memory issues, but it was decades after his ring career.

No doubt the seeds might have been sown (sewn!?) earlier...

[TheGreatA]

LaMotta is just an extra-ordinarily resilient man, much like George Chuvalo. They were blessed with great durability not only inside the ring but outside of it as well. Both were also able to avoid the worst of the punishment and did not take too many unnecessary beatings late into their career.

Benitez at 25 was about as ring-worn as LaMotta was at 32. Unfortunately he kept on taking the beatings well after that.

[JAB5239]

Originally Posted by Sugarj

It was only when Willie Pep was very old that it manifest itself. Floyd Patterson developed memory issues, but it was decades after his ring career.

No doubt the seeds might have been sown (sewn!?) earlier...

I met Pep 10 or 11 years ago and he was well spoken and witty. Not sure his boxing career had anything to do with his Alzheimer's. My grandfather disease progressed quickly just like Pep and he never laced a pair of boxing gloves on in his life.

[joseph5620]

Originally Posted by JAB5239

I met Pep 10 or 11 years ago and he was well spoken and witty. Not sure his boxing career had anything to do with his Alzheimer's. My grandfather disease progressed quickly just like Pep and he never laced a pair of boxing gloves on in his life.

I'm leaning towards that conclusion also. I think Pep's Alzheimer's had more to do with his age.

[TBear]

I used to be amazed to see guys like LaMotta and Basilio and even punch sponges like the late Scott LeDoux and Chuvalo at an old age and still being very sharp. I imagine that these guys are exceptions and there are hundreds of fighters that were not so lucky. It is a riddle how some are sharp well others are not. Others that took far less punches and abuse. There are always things we don't see like how much abuse they take in the gym and life choices that also abuse their body and mind. I imagine a bit of luck and genetics as well as how they live their lifes play a role. Sometimes it is "just the way it is" for those that weren't so lucky.

[jabsRstiff]

Benitez was KO'd a few times and hurt/dropped on numerous occasions. The KO loss to Matthew Hilton was incredibly vicious, and I think all of that shows he wasn't equipped to take punches the way Jake could. Yeah, Jake took a ton (especially against Robinson) over his career, but never with the concussive results that Benitez did.

[CarlosG815]

SugarJ is right, it's all about the individual for the most part.

And the last I saw of Jake Lamotta was an interview a guy did in Jakes apartment and Jake was punch drunk as all hell, slurring and all. I remember some interviews in the 80's when he was promoting his book "raging bull" he was totally there, and despite being old he was sharp as a tack and quick witted.

The interview I am talking about is probably 3-4 years old and he is punch drunk as any.

[Yaman]

Lamotta and Chuvalo have never even gone unconcious in their boxing career I believe. even though they have absorbed extreme amounts of punishment to the head, it may not be as significant as someone who has a shorter career than them but has gotten knocked out cold brutally several/too many times.

[them_apples]

Originally Posted by Nagabilly

Anyone else find it very odd that Benitez, one of the greatest defensive fighters, hardly got hit clean, but now suffers an incurable brain damage. While Jake 'The Raging Bull' Lamotta, with the punishment he took in his 100+ fights, is 90, healthy, and is clear minded enough to still give interviews?

I don;t think jake lamotta got sparked cold either. I disagree with the defense statement though. amotta had a bit of defense but nothing special..he got hit enough.

[D$C]

Fighters with stone chins almost always age better than people with weaker chins, even if they got clocked a million times and the other guy barely got hit. Why? I don't know but thats what Ive observed.