Concussion Detection in Boxing Seems Possible: Does Anyone Care? Part I.

By Matt Benoliel

A NASCAR spokesperson just announced that cars are no longer required to be outfitted with reinforced roll cages. In an effort to reduce weight and make the cars perform at their peak, seatbelts will also be optional in 2020. 

Sounds pretty far-fetched, huh? Of course it does. It’s idiotic. NASCAR would never do that, because drivers would risk serious, unnecessary injury.  On a side note-have you ever heard a fan complain that the roll cage is slowing the car down, or in any way, shape or form diluting the NASCAR experience? No, neither did I. Back to this thought in a moment. 

So let’s consider safety in other sports. Concussions. In the NFL, a considerable amount of money and resources is utilized on an ongoing basis in an effort to minimize trauma to the brain. Rules have been changed, helmets redesigned, and protocols established to check for concussions, including when to allow a player back onto the field, and when to call it a day. Has the NFL lost any fans because the kickoff team is no longer permitted a running start? 

And this is not just an NFL thing. It’s collegiate and high school football, and basketball, soccer, hockey, BMX. I have signed concussion awareness forms for my son’s flag football team when he was eight years old. Basically every sport played in the United States of America has done something to cut down on the incidents and severity of concussions. Except boxing. 

A doctor I know explained a concussion as follows: Imagine an egg. Your brain has the consistency of an egg yolk, and floats around in a fluid similar to the egg white. Now imagine that the inside of the egg were covered in rough edges. When the head is hit hard enough, your brain hits these rough edges and can begin to bleed. A state of dehydration, whether from a bad weight cut or simply sweating, removes some of that protective egg-white like fluid and leaves your yolk, your brain, in a more vulnerable state. Like taking the roll cage out of the race car. 

As it stands now, if a trainer or ringside physician suspects a concussion, they will check the fighter’s eyes. Many in the business agree that this test is less than ideal. Over the past week I have surveyed several professional fighters, trainers, journalists and youth boxing coaches. There was an unanimous agreement among them that a concussed fighter should not be allowed to continue. 

So what if the ringside physician could quickly and accurately detect concussions before, during, and after a fight? Would the sport in any way be diminished if fights were either postponed or ended due to a concussion? 

There is currently a device called EYE-SYNC® which is is being used by the U.S. Military, Healthcare facilities, the University of Stanford, The Golden State Warriors, and others. The device is similar to virtual reality headsets that are commercially available. What makes this device special, is that it can detect a concussion in 60-seconds. It is FDA approved for the purpose of detecting concussions. 

The question is: why isn’t this device used in boxing? I have emailed and called SyncThink, the manufacturer of the EYE-SYNC, but they must be on summer break.  I have reached out to boxing promoters and trainers outside of my own circle and although a few have made their public views on boxing safety known through their twitter or instagram accounts, they do not seem to want to comment on an actual real solution.  

Stay tuned to the Fighting News for Part II of this developing story.