Nightmares

This chapter first describes the physical toll boxing took on boxers such as Gaspar Ortega and Emile Griffith. Research shows that boxers suffer disproportionally from neurological damage. The scientific term for it is chronic traumatic brain injury. The results are permanent and progressive. Symptoms include Parkinsonism, dementia, personality changes, and cerebellum dysfunction. Gaspar began suffering from nightmares. Griffith exhibited brain damage while Don Jordan lost his mind as well. The remainder of the chapter details Gaspar's life and activities after retiring from boxing. The brain damage that wiped the joy out of the golden years of so many of this boxing cohort did not strike Gaspar. He attributes this to his defensive, slippery style. Though he is occasionally off balance when he walks, that is minor compared to the devastation that brought such misery to so many other retired fighters.