Nicolas Victoria

K. Hensal
English IV
3/3/16

The effects of boxing on the brain

Boxing can affect the brain in many ways, all of the being very harmful and always end
with the athlete being bedridden or unable to do day to day task. The sport of boxing involves
many blows to the head and body causing lots of damage that will surface in the future. The sport
of boxing is persuaded by many age groups even stretching to kids that are 10-6. With all the
kids joining the boxing world they face a lot of challenges such as cutting weight and all the
punches that will be given throughout their career. Boxing leads to multiple brain injuries and
conditions in the future.
I have been to many boxing tournaments and I have seen really young kids get in the ring
and fight for 3 rounds against another child. Multiple injuries have been recorded ranging from
the ages of 10-15. It's just ridiculous to have kids who still have their brains developing and then
have their head punch hurting the developing process. Concussions are very serious in children,
Melnick says this in his article about the subject Concussions are particularly concerning in
children and adolescents, because there is evidence that a childs brain is more vulnerable to
injury and that recovery from concussion is prolonged when compared with adults,(Melnick).
The age range for boxing should be raise to at least 16-18 to accommodate for the children.
Boxing is very different compared to how it was back in the 30s-50s the rules have
changed drastically but in a good way. Careers in the 1930s to 1950s generally lasted 1020

years, started in childhood, and often included more than 1000 professional
fights(Clausen,McCroy, and Anderson) back in the day boxers were more relentless and would
never want to stop fighting till they could move any of their muscles. Back in the 30s boxers
would have 30-40 bouts a day Fighters were not matched by skill or weight, had no medical
supervision, and fought with 6 oz gloves(Clausen,McCroy, and Anderson). The bouts were
longer than today's and the ref were very lenient.
The years after a boxer's career are very harsh on their bodies and brain. I've been in the
boxing ring for 30 years, and I've taken a lot of punches, Ali said then, so there is a great
possibility something could be wrong(Frank). Boxing come at a great price most of time even
the fastest and best boxers that ever lived still get punched and it only take one punch to end your
career or life. Ali, 42 years old at the time in 1984 and three years into retirement from boxing,
was experiencing tremors, slowness of movement, slurred speech and unexplained
fatigue(Frank). Boxing is a very dangerous sport and we need to be more aware of the dangers
and life threatening injures that can occur through this sport.
Boxing if very dangerous if you're not carfull. Boxing is a very contact heavy sport and
many men and women of all ages partake in this sport, and also leave this sport with many brain
and mental problems. Boxing doesn't have to been used for a sport it can be taught as a self
defense so that you don't have the danger of constant contact and problems that come with the
sport. The sport of boxing is great but can be very harmful to the body so to keep kids safe and
able to have strong future boxing should raise its age limits higher so that younger fights don't
have to go through rough times with training and fighting.

Work cited
Clausen, H., P. McCrory, and V. Anderson. "The Risk of Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury
in Professional Boxing: Change in Exposure Variables over the past Century." -- Clausen Et Al.
39 (9): 661. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

Clancy, Frank. "THE BITTER SCIENCE: Head Blows from Boxing Can Cause
Dementia and Alzheimer's. Can the Same Chronic Brain Injury Also Lead to Parkinson's?"
Neurology Now:. American Academy of Neurology, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

Melnick, Meredith. "Why Kids Should Stay Out of the Boxing Ring | TIME.com." Time. Time,
29 Aug. 2011. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.