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Anyone know if there is a similar rash of problems or study on CTE with professional boxers? Surely they face comparable levels of head trauma throughout their

Anyone know if there is a similar rash of problems or study on CTE with professional boxers? Surely they face comparable levels of head trauma throughout their training/career.

erentz 9y ago
That is where it "started" so to speak: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia_pugilistica https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia_pugilistica
criddell 9y ago
I have read that CTE is more closely correlated with a high number of smaller (sub-concussive) hits than any number of concussive hits. Do boxers fit this profile? After football, I think soccer players might be next in line for CTE risk.
- hkmurakami 9y ago
  Yes, since the left jab to the head is a key part of a boxer's offensive foundation.
- IkmoIkmo 9y ago
  > Do boxers fit this profile? Uhh well yeah, much more than soccer players that's for sure. You typically throw around 50 punches in a round, with about 35% landing, typically more than half are thrown to the head, and punches which don't land (i.e., don't count in boxing rules) typically still land on the guard in front of your head and cause an impact on the head nonetheless. In a typical 12 round fight or equivalent sparring match you tend to get hit about 200 times or so, i.e. take 100 punches to the head from people who punch for a profession. If you've never been in a boxing gym, it's absolutely ridiculous how much harder a boxer punches versus a really strong and tough looking guy with no boxing training. In that sense it's no different from someone who's been playing a guitar for 5 years, and someone who hasn't for a single second, what they can produce is world's apart, despite punching being a seemingly natural thing anyone can do. Getting hit by a pro 100 times in about half an hour (12 rounds of 3 minutes) is absolutely terrible, and there's lots of research that shows this (as well as many famous cases of brain damage). The top professionals fight about 40 or so times as a pro, but can easily rack up 100-200 fights during their amateur careers, all of which are preceded by by tons of sparring. Typically top fighters spar about 150 rounds prior to a pro match of 12 rounds. All in all, it's probably safe to assume a professional boxer will fight a couple thousand rounds in his life, in each of which he gets hit with on average at least 10 hard punches to the head from a professional puncher. It's an absolutely savage sport, it's hard to reconcile that with my love for the sport. (the level of this sacrifice and sports glory are so intertwined though, they make for legendary rivalries and careers) Boxers wear protection but it doesn't really help for brain damage. Gloves were invented not for protection of the head, but rather the hands, as the hands tend to break quickly. Head gear in sparring protects a little, but that too is partly against cuts.
- tdb7893 9y ago
  As someone who has boxed I can assure you that if you practice a lot you will get hit in the head many many times. We generally went decently light for punches or kicks to the head in practice for this reason. It's a pretty safe assumption that pros go harder than we did in practice so I bet they are getting hit decently hard tons

Anyone know if there is a similar rash of problems or study on CTE with professional boxers? Surely they face comparable levels of head trauma throughout their training/career.

erentz 9y ago

That is where it "started" so to speak: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia_pugilistica https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dementia_pugilistica

criddell 9y ago

I have read that CTE is more closely correlated with a high number of smaller (sub-concussive) hits than any number of concussive hits. Do boxers fit this profile? After football, I think soccer players might be next in line for CTE risk.

hkmurakami 9y ago
Yes, since the left jab to the head is a key part of a boxer's offensive foundation.
IkmoIkmo 9y ago
> Do boxers fit this profile? Uhh well yeah, much more than soccer players that's for sure. You typically throw around 50 punches in a round, with about 35% landing, typically more than half are thrown to the head, and punches which don't land (i.e., don't count in boxing rules) typically still land on the guard in front of your head and cause an impact on the head nonetheless. In a typical 12 round fight or equivalent sparring match you tend to get hit about 200 times or so, i.e. take 100 punches to the head from people who punch for a profession. If you've never been in a boxing gym, it's absolutely ridiculous how much harder a boxer punches versus a really strong and tough looking guy with no boxing training. In that sense it's no different from someone who's been playing a guitar for 5 years, and someone who hasn't for a single second, what they can produce is world's apart, despite punching being a seemingly natural thing anyone can do. Getting hit by a pro 100 times in about half an hour (12 rounds of 3 minutes) is absolutely terrible, and there's lots of research that shows this (as well as many famous cases of brain damage). The top professionals fight about 40 or so times as a pro, but can easily rack up 100-200 fights during their amateur careers, all of which are preceded by by tons of sparring. Typically top fighters spar about 150 rounds prior to a pro match of 12 rounds. All in all, it's probably safe to assume a professional boxer will fight a couple thousand rounds in his life, in each of which he gets hit with on average at least 10 hard punches to the head from a professional puncher. It's an absolutely savage sport, it's hard to reconcile that with my love for the sport. (the level of this sacrifice and sports glory are so intertwined though, they make for legendary rivalries and careers) Boxers wear protection but it doesn't really help for brain damage. Gloves were invented not for protection of the head, but rather the hands, as the hands tend to break quickly. Head gear in sparring protects a little, but that too is partly against cuts.
tdb7893 9y ago
As someone who has boxed I can assure you that if you practice a lot you will get hit in the head many many times. We generally went decently light for punches or kicks to the head in practice for this reason. It's a pretty safe assumption that pros go harder than we did in practice so I bet they are getting hit decently hard tons