Lamotta and the sad condition of Benitez

[Sugarj]

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.

Absolutely! It wasn't that long ago that Pep was known as being one of the sharper old guys in the sport. A real joker and a pranking pickpocket too (clearly a funny guy to be around).

I'm sorry to hear about your Grandfather. Both of my Grandmothers have had progressively worsening memory issues, so I know what you must have gone through.

[Ray Corso]

The association of the disease to boxing is an easy conclusion but not all boxers suffer from it and any trama can be married to the disease also. The new found evidence of ex football players being devasted as soon as 10 years after they're retirement is startling to some people. When you consider the amount of times boxers and football players have contact to their heads it shouldn't surprise anyone. Personally I had 30 fights and not a great deal of sparring compared to todays standards I've had more serious trama in 2 auto accidents and the latest accident (2 yrs ago) was an SUV running a stop sign and hitting me on my motorcycle. I went through the passenger side window and suffered enough tarma that I was placed in an induced coma for 6 days! My experiences in boxing and speaking to ex boxers for so many years tells me that my auto trama collisions are gonna be more relative to memory loss and other complications then what I incurred from the ages of 12 to 19 yrs old. I was never stopped or unconscious and was stunned maybe 10 times in fights and spar sessions.
My career longevity compared to a 100 fight career should have different results but theres no scientific studies as of yet to conclude anything.' Its a risk fighters take and the sad situations are the ones who never know when to stop or the trainers and managers who use these people as a meal ticket. As I've stated a few times on this forum boxing is a dirty business and the fights themselves are the easy part. Other than the chances taken the abuse comes from others "outside" the ring! Ray Corso

[Steak]

There are a few things to consider.

1. Benitez took some beatings while he was still a teenager. Ever seen his fight against Bruce Curry? Oof.
2. BEnitez was into drugs.
3. Defensive fighters dont expect to get hit. So when they do, their head gets snapped unexpectedly and their brain boucnes around in their skull, which = damage. Guys like LaMotta, while much better defensively than people often them credit for, know how to absorb the punch when it was coming and 'ride' with the punch, which diffused a lot of the power or simply transferred it to their neck instead of their actual head.
4. Genetics. Some people can take shots better than others.