New study tries to answer old boxing question

LAS VEGAS (AP) ― The question has puzzled doctors since the days Joe Louis ruled the heavyweight division and boxing rivaled baseball as the biggest sport in the nation:

Why do some fighters suffer brain damage from punches taken in the ring while others get hit in the head for years and show few effects?

A study that has applications outside of boxing could provide at least a partial answer to that one and this, too: Why do some football players suffer concussions while others don’t?

Researchers say their intent isn’t to end contact sports, but to find ways to make them safer.

“You can’t stop these sports, and the last thing we want to do is stop these sports,” said Dr. Charles Bernick, the chief investigator for the project. “But we want to be able to protect athletes from long-term brain issues.”

Some 148 current boxers and mixed martial arts fighters have already taken their first set of tests for the study, funded mostly by Las Vegas hotel magnate Kirk Kerkorian and conducted at the Cleveland Clinic’s new Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in downtown Las Vegas. Researchers hope to eventually enroll more than 600 fighters in what is hoped to be at least a four-year study of their brains.

The motive for most of the fighters is simple ― they save $800 to $1,000 for a baseline MRI they would need anyway to get a state license to box or participate in professional MMA. For some, though, it is more about peace of mind than it is about the money.

“It’s my profession and I want to pursue a long, healthy life,” said Diego Magdaleno, an undefeated super featherweight currently ranked No. 2 by the World Boxing Association. “If there is anything that will help me keep from going into the deep end with any kind of severe injury I’m all for it.”

That the study ― the first big project for the new center ― is based in Las Vegas is fitting because the city is recognized as the boxing capital of the world and is also the headquarters of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A gala celebrating Muhammad Ali’s 70th birthday on Saturday at the MGM Grand ― site of most of boxing’s major fights during the past two decades ― is a fundraiser for the center.

Ali suffers from Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative brain condition that some doctors say can be brought on by punches to the head. Ali’s own neurologist told the Associated Press last month, however, that he didn’t believe the former heavyweight great’s condition was caused by head blows.

Bernick said much still isn’t known about why some fighters develop Alzheimer’s or dementia pugilistica ― also known as punch drunk syndrome ― while others seem to suffer little from repeated hits to the head. The study, he said, could lead to better ways to predict which fighters are more at risk for brain damage later in their lives.