Larry Holmes on Head Injuries

Boxers, a lot of them, they want to show how tough they are. They want to prove themselves. A lot of fighters that I know are like, “go ahead, hit me. I’m tough. I’m tough.” And the guy would get knocked the heck out of them. And later on down the road they are wobbling and giving out. I had seventy-five professional fights and I had twenty-three amateur fights. I had thousands of fights in the gym. I don’t know how many. . I was always kind of afraid to go out there and take punches and prove myself and I tried no t to gethit with that. A lot of them go out there and get it. I try to do different things like block a punch or block a punch and knock one down. Block a punch and land my own. Or put my hand up here and hit. A lot of guys just take it because they got helmet on, they think it’s not going to hurt them that bad. I used to watch Ali all the time. I used to work with Ali as a spotting partner and he put his hands down all the time and said, “Hit me! Hit me! You ain’t hurting me. ” I hit him all in the body and sometimes in the head, you know.  When you hit them in the head that’s when something gives. He’d be taking punches going sixty or seventy miles an hour, you get hit in your head and it does something to your brain. I don’t want that to do anything to my brain. I don’t want people saying, “Look at Larry. It’s a shame.” And that’s what they said about Muhammad Ali… “It’s a shame!” That’s what they said about Joe Lewis and all the guys. I could go on and on. But those are the chances we take. And I took. And whoever’s out there now, are going out to take the same kind of chances. That’s the sport we chose and that’s what we have to accept. I still think that I’m one of the lucky ones.  That I was not trying to prove myself or that I was that tough or that I could take it.