January 2002 - March 2004 - The Jerry Quarry Foundation

Regarding your question about fighters ability to take punches, I always thought
the skull and how the brain is encased in it was key to how well a fighter takes
a punch. A skull with certain thickness and perhaps some other component that
cushions the brain has always been my hunch as to that. Consider how different
locations on the head when hit effect a fighter i.e. a temple hit where skull is
very thin usually causes balance problems (so perhaps a thicker skull in that
area would make brain safer), a chin hit probably most likely to knock out
fighter because of direct non cushioned impact to whole brain (its known that a
mouthpiece helps absorb impact so maybe some fighters have bone structure in jaw
region that either absorbs impact or doesn't transmit force directly to the
brain).About fighters having a diminished ability to take a punch over time,
i think they do become more vulnerable with age both from the "brain" angle and
losing reflexs to defend from punches. Its well known the effects of trauma on
the brain is cumulative so it would seem to follow that the brain would be more
sensitive over time.Having said that, its hard to judge when this change is
going on, because I think certain fighers hit in a certain way that some
fighters are sensitive to and some are not. An example: Jimmy Ellis knocked
Bonavena down and hurt him badly and Ellis was a blown up middle weight. Joe
Frazier hit Oscar with everything but a sledge hammer and never dropped him. On
the other hand Ellis hit Frazier as hard as he could and Joe laughed at him.Also
you got to consider that fighters are human like everyone else and just might
be having a bad night. As far as Foreman beating a younger Frazier I think
Frazier was made to order for Big George..he'd beat him 10 out of 10 times.
I have a question for the board if anyone cares to answer..would you let
your son (or daughter now) compete in boxing on either an amateur or
professional level? If not what would you say to try to dissuade them? |
|9/8/03 11:40:35
AM|Roadscholarette|Chicago||roadscholarette@hotmail.com||||10|Kent - well, let's
hope Robert remains free of problems, or perhaps finds another line of work? He
isn't the fighter Jerry was anyway, is he? It really does seem as if the
problems of the Quarry boys goes quite a ways towards proving that some genetic
makeups have more of a tendency towards damage than others. Intensity of
problems also seem to have been in synch with tenacity and longevity in their
careers - Jerry's was the longest, most ferocious, and he had the most problems,
followed by Mike, in a lighter division, with not the number of fights, not the
same monster opponents, or as agressive a style, therefore ~fewer~ problems
(though it seems he's had a fair amount of bad times too).Paul - in his
prime, I don't think there were many guys ever who hit as hard as Frazier,
though in his case, this was not the last thing to leave him, as is usually the
case. Whereas Foreman continued to club people into submission in his second
career, he was much slower (and fatter, which could have been a lot of the
reason for the slowdown). Frazier, on the other hand, in his last fight against
a punching bag named Jumbo Cummings, still had most of the nifty footwork, the
fast bobs and weaves, and was just as hard to hit, but his punches had lost a
lot of their smoke. He hit Cummings flush (not hard to do) several times, with
little effect.Ed - there's not a lot of difference between a "thick" and
a "thin" skull, though I suppose certain unknown structures could have an effect
in making a fighter durable. I think the psychological component is huge, but I
also think there may be a lot of brain chemistry factors - which we don't
completely understand yet - at work. I also think as the brain is repeatedly
damaged, little by little, it becomes less able to handle anything, from normal
functioning, to trauma. Even though the physiology is different, it would be
something like part of the heart muscle dying after a heart attack, and the
heart not being quite as strong, depending on the severity of the attack. I
still think the Frazier of '71 would have taken George, but you could be right
too. Joe wasn't going to change his spots much on what had always worked for
him. He'd ravaged so many opponents up till the time he fought Foreman, that I