Brain damage

[oli19919]

Hi guys, new member here.

I've been doing boxing training for a few months and will probably start sparring properly from the summer (done body sparring and very light sparring so far).

I'm off to uni this autumn and would like to box for my uni. I would only be boxing for three years and will probably stop boxing after I graduate (as by then I would have learned the fundamentals and hopefully have a decent self-defence).

Basically, given the negative stigma and recent death of Scott Westgarth, I'm worried about the long-term consequences of boxing on the brain. As I am hoping to be a lawyer, I need my brain functioning as well as possible!

Do you think I should consider boxing at uni, even though it would only be for three years (spar once or twice a week), given the side effects on the brain? I would look to compete in a few bouts for my uni. I love boxing but want to stay mentally sharp!

[HeadBodyBodyBody]

saw your post on NSB. listen, not gonna lie, some amateur boxers do seem a bit stupider after a while, but if you're boxing smart, and not getting yourself into needless wars, then you can study and train just fine, especially if you're just doing it for 3 years. at the level you're talking about, it's mainly about fitness, and safety will always be paramount. there have been some v. successful people who boxed at uni-level, so 'brain damage' is not necessarily an issue

don't worry too much about the scott westgarth story. yes, people die from boxing-related incidents every year, always have done, but people also die from playing squash...

more of a tax on you whilst studying will be making weight. cutting down to weight whilst trying to fit in study-time might be particularly difficult. some people handle it better than others

[oli19919]

saw your post on NSB. listen, not gonna lie, some amateur boxers do seem a bit stupider after a while, but if you're boxing smart, and not getting yourself into needless wars, then you can study and train just fine, especially if you're just doing it for 3 years. at the level you're talking about, it's mainly about fitness, and safety will always be paramount. there have been some v. successful people who boxed at uni-level, so 'brain damage' is not necessarily an issue

don't worry too much about the scott westgarth story. yes, people die from boxing-related incidents every year, always have done, but people also die from playing squash...

more of a tax on you whilst studying will be making weight. cutting down to weight whilst trying to fit in study-time might be particularly difficult. some people handle it better than others

Thanks very much for the reply, really appreciate it. Noticed we are both from Manchester!

[Rockin']

if you stay amateur than you have very little to worry about. The #1 rule for amateur refs, keep the boxers safe..... and they do. I fought am for about 7 years. Hadn't experienced much to speak of with the dain bramage except for that time I was KTFO, but it was a clean shot. Do your thing, whatever it is. If you spend all of your time worrying than it is only you who misses out. The pros are like night and day when compared to amateur boxing. The ams are about learning and growing while the pros are just about damage, plain and simple.........Rockin'

[oli19919]

Thanks for the advice, it's something I have always wanted to do - just having an overly-protective mother who hates boxing and thinks anyone who steps foot in a ring automatically gets brain-dead, with her constant comments on the sport, is off-putting and makes me paranoid!

[Sentient A.I.]

Thanks for the advice, it's something I have always wanted to do - just having an overly-protective mother who hates boxing and thinks anyone who steps foot in a ring automatically gets brain-dead, with her constant comments on the sport, is off-putting and makes me paranoid!

I left a post in your other thread in NSB. Listen to your mother.

[DinoCop]

Good part is that when someone rips your intelligence you can blame it on boxing as if you used to be bright. Good part is that when someone rips your intelligence you can blame it on boxing as if you used to be bright.

[OctoberRed]

Good part is that when someone rips your intelligence you can blame it on boxing as if you used to be bright. Good part is that when someone rips your intelligence you can blame it on boxing as if you used to be bright.

Hahahahahhahaa, I see what you did there.

[FlatWhite]

Taking repeated blows to the head will definitely give you brain damage, it is common for boxers. They call it being punch drunk.

[OctoberRed]

Taking repeated blows to the head will definitely give you brain damage, it is common for boxers. They call it being punch drunk.

Sometimes it doesnt take that many punches to get there. Bowe was all f***ed up after two fights with Golota.