Boxing, a brutal sport, has long been portrayed as a sport of death and injury.
However, it also
brings fighters a sense of intense life. Tris Dixon, a former editor of Boxing News and a
freelance writer, has written a book that confronts the damage done to fighters with unflinching
honesty. Dixon charts the history and science of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a
brain condition caused by repeated blows to the head. He shows how it was called "punch-drunk
syndrome" and "dementia pugilistica" as neurologists struggled to explain the symptoms.
Dixon's book reads powerfully because he is such an authority on boxing and writes about
fighters with deep affection and respect.
Dixon also talks to boxing widows, such as Frankie Pryor, who met her husband in rehab 30
years ago. Aaron Pryor, revered in boxing as The Hawk, was two-times light-welterweight world
champion who fought professionally from 1976 to 1990. Frankie explains her husband's
deterioration and the salvation boxing once offered. Tony Jeffries, a 36-year-old fighter from
Sunderland, estimates he was punched in the head between 40,000 and 50,000 times during his
boxing career. Dr. Margaret Goodman, a Las Vegas neurologist who worked as a ringside
physician from 1994 to 2005, founded and is now the president of Vada – the Voluntary Anti-
Doping Association.
Boxing has been a controversial sport for decades, with fighters like Muhammad Ali and Tony
Jeffries suffering irreparable damage. Pryor, a friend of Muhammad Ali, died in 2016, and his
widow explains his deterioration and the salvation boxing once offered. Jeffries, a 36-year-old
from Sunderland, won an Olympic bronze medal in 2008 and was an unbeaten pro after 10 bouts
when his fragile hands forced his retirement in 2011. Jeffries estimates he was punched in the
head between 40,000 and 50,000 times during his boxing career. Dr. Margaret Goodman, a Las
Vegas neurologist who worked as a ringside physician, was burnt out by boxing and founded
Vada, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association. The widow, fighter, and doctor feature in Dixon's
book, which aims to mitigate the risks and ensure fighters have a better life after boxing. Dixon
believes that boxing might examine the damage it causes fighters, who generate billions of
dollars for governing bodies, promoters, and managers. He suggests that people should learn
about CTE, tau protein, and links with Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's, and ALS.
Tris Dixon, a renowned boxing expert, believes that boxing should examine the damage it causes
fighters, who generate billions of dollars for governing bodies, promoters, and managers. Dixon
suggests that fighters and trainers should learn about CTE, tau protein, and links with
Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's, and ALS. He also suggests that fighters and trainers should
regulate sparring and have open conversations about their feelings after sparring.
Dixon's book, Damage, traces its origins back to the NFL's concussion crisis, which led to the
discovery of punch-drunk syndrome (CTE) in boxers. The book highlights how boxing missed a
significant opportunity to educate people during Muhammad Ali's tragic case, as punch-drunk
syndrome was rarely used with Ali. The stigma remains that punch-drunk syndrome only
affected mediocre boxers, and the sports world knows concussion can kill.
Dixon and Frankie Pryor argue that boxing missed a huge opportunity to educate people during
Ali's tragic case, as the old punch-drunk terminology was rarely used with Ali. They argue that
boxing missed a huge opportunity to educate people during Ali's tragic case, as Ali's family
chose to ignore the issue.
Dixon's book is compassionate in the company of Frankie and Brenda Spinks, whose husband,
Leon, shocked a faded Ali in the first of their two fights in 1978.
