Quote Originally Posted by J_Undisputed View Post
Sometimes its just a genetic thing. Take a look at someone like Wayne McCullough. In an xray he was chosen to have a thicker skull than most. Not that that has anything to do with it, but sometimes its the luck of a genetic draw. There are people out there that exercise everyday, stick to a vegan lifestyle, don't drink, don't smoke and die early anyway. Then there are people that eat bacon like chewing gum, drink life fish and smoke like chimneys and live to be a hundred. Diet, exercise and a good nights rest can maximize the most of what natural selection has given you.

I'm sure those of us that have nagging injuries can attest. (I have back problems from lifting something at work years ago and feeling a pop in my back, Had a Torn acl left knee, Partially torn, MCL in the right knee, Dislocated left Shoulder, 1 or 2 concussions, Multiple fractures in Fingers both hands, Tendonitis in my right foot, A partially torn Achilles in my left leg). As odd as it sounds from all stuff i've done to my body, i still feel better when i've moving and being active now. Rain sucks though. The body is fairly miraculous when it comes to healing itself if you give it what it needs. Head injuries take so long to heal though and they compound... so every successive concussion you get is twice as easy to get as the one before it and seem to be an area of the body that heals the slowest or not at all (in terms of returning to full function)

Mike didn't take that much damage in his life in the ring (Douglas, Evander, Lewis). As Gamo mentioned. The drugs and alcohol can play a part. Stuff that numbs the brain or deprives of it of oxygen can kill cells if oxygen isn't restored quickly enough. Which many of us never believe because we actually think we're funnier and more of a smart@$$ when we're Sh*tfaced.
I agree @J_Undisputed most of these guys lived hard between fights
And they weren't the smartest guys before they started Boxing.

Quote Originally Posted by ykdadamaja View Post
People NEVER talk about the drug abuse (both legal and illegal), poor diet, lack of sleep (long hours of training and concentration) and oxygen to the brain (due to weight draining) and other physiological factors play a part in the brain damage fighters incur.

To say that all boxers should get brain damage because they box is like saying all persons with brain damage were boxers.

From my cursory glance, the guys who have slurred speech and traumatic brain disease can either be traced back to 1. Hereditary issues, or 2. One or more of the above aforementioned issues.

Drug abuse is a main key factor along with weight draining. Also, to be honest, most of these guys were barely literate before they started to fight. James Toney wasn't a Rhode Scholar and other guys just were street thugs who barely could make a sentence. Sure, some guys took too much punishment- Hearns, Norris (Terry), Benitez and now Shane Mosely, but.... NO ONE TOLD THEM TO STAY IN WAY PAST THEIR PRIMES, DOING THE SAME THINGS, WHILE BEING POUNDED BY GUYS YOUNGER, FASTER AND NATURALLY STRONGER THAN THEY WERE!!

To some extent, you have to be like Oscar and Floyd- both at the top of their games, both got out just when they should have before someone kills them in the ring!
Great post @ykdadamaja
There's nothing to prove Ali wouldn't have gotten Parkinsons had he not of Boxed
And Ali lived the fast life between fights from what I've read. Tyson had an easy career
He took two bad beatings decades apart (Dougles and Lewis) so Boxing isn't to blame
If it wasn't for Boxing Tyson would probably be dead or doing life in prison right now.