CARL Frampton has admitted he expects to suffer from dementia at some stage of his life because of his long career in professional boxing.
The sport is in the spotlight after Irish fighter John Cooney was taken to intensive care where he is receiving treatment for a intracranial brain haemorrhage (a bleed on the brain) after his Ulster Hall fight on Saturday night.
Frampton, who fought 31 times as a professional during an 11-year career that saw him win world titles at super-bantamweight and featherweight, told BBC Radio Ulster’s Stephen Nolan how “boxing can be brutal at times”.
“It’s horrible and my heart goes out to John and his family and anyone else in boxing who has effort suffered like John is,” said the Belfast native.
“It’s one of the downsides to our sport, a sport that can be very brutal at times. It’s just not nice, I don’t know a lot more to say than that, but it’s extremely sad.”
Cooney was stopped in the ninth round of his Celtic title defence. The super-featherweight seemed unusually sluggish at times during the contest but produced bursts of resistance against Nathan Howells. However, he had faded and was trapped on the ropes by the time experienced referee Darren Sarginson waved it off in the ninth round.
Frampton, who hadn’t seen the fight, didn’t comment on whether the referee or Cooney’s corner should have stepped in earlier.
“There have been instances I’ve seen where fights have gone on too long and it’s probably a combination of the corner and the referee doing that but, for the most part, the trainers in the corner and the referees are getting it right and stopping them (the fights) before there’s too much damage done,” said Frampton.
“What happened to John Cooney is heartbreaking and this is one of the horrible risks in the sport I love so much.”
Cutting weight is an integral part of every boxer’s existence. Frampton believes that dehydration and nutrition are areas in which professional boxing can become safer.
“It’s a weight-making sport,” he said.
“Fighters have to go into weigh-ins a day and-a-half before the fight severely dehydrated. Sometimes a day and-a-half isn’t enough to get yourself hydrated to a safe level. The British Boxing Board of Control have check weigh-ins two weeks out to make sure you’re within a certain distance, but I know for a fact that boxers cheat those weigh-ins.
“There are ways it could be safer. People talk about head guards but I don’t think head guards make it safer, there’s been research done that shows head guards only stops cuts, not trauma to the head. Nutrition needs to be looked at and I think that’s where a lot of these serious injuries are stemming from.”
Weight-drained Frampton was sent to the canvas twice by Alejandro Gonzalez in El Paso, Texas during his career but he recovered to win. He was stopped once in his career when he stepped up to super-featherweight in his final fight and had 12-round battles with Kiko Martinez, Leo Santa Cruz, Josh Warrington and others.
He admits that he “sparred too much” and fears that his days as a fighter will impact him later in life.
“As a fighter you put it (the risks) to the back of your mind,” he said.
“You know you’re in a dangerous sport but, for me, it’s something I never really thought about while I was boxing. I was doing it to better the life of my family – my wife and kids and my mum and dad and whoever else. I obviously wanted to win titles but for me it was about security.
“I’m one of the lucky ones in that I have a (financially) secure life but they’re few and far between.
“I probably sparred too much, I did too many rounds sparring. I sparred guys that were too big for me as well and at the time I got a bit of a macho feel out of that but, in hindsight, I wouldn’t have sparred as much. It’s trauma on your head and brain that you don’t need.
“I wouldn’t say I worry about it but I’ve been to see some specialists just to get my brain checked out to be sure its working as it should be. I go back on a yearly basis to do a check-up. I’m still ok but, with the longevity of my career, I’m probably expecting at some point that I will have dementia or some sort of brain injury. I’m just hoping it’s when I’m 75 years-old and not 50.
“If you look at the amount of former fighters it happens to I’m expecting it, but I’m ok with it.”
Since retiring as a fighter, Frampton has become a popular pundit and he stressed that amateur boxing was “quite a safe sport” compared to the business of professional boxing.
“I separate professional boxing and amateur boxing because I think amateur boxing is quite a safe sport,” he said.
“Referees jump in quicker if kids are hurt and there are bigger gloves and so on, but the professional side of the game can be very brutal.”
