What the knockout punch really does to the brain

IT’S the most brutal moment in sport, leaving its victim bloody, bruised and utterly beaten. But the damage runs far deeper than fans realise.

Boxer _ (_ trunks) fights _ (_ trunks) during BKB 3, Big Knockout Boxing, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on on June 27, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The middleweight title bout ended in a draw…

THE ability to knock an opponent out with a single punch is a skill all fighters aspire to.

That single, forceful blow that will instantaneously end a bout is something all combat sports fans crave.

But what really goes on inside a fighter’s head when they are on the receiving end of one those knockout punches? And what are the potential ramifications?

This week we saw Kiwi fighter Will Quarrie knocked unconscious in an undercard to the Joseph Parker fight in New Zealand. Quarrie was hit so hard by his opponent that his legs buckled and he fell out of the ring onto the table of shocked spectators.

Watch the video of Joseph Parker KO above

As a result of the fight, Quarrie suffered a severe concussion so bad that it forced doctors to recommend he not return to the ring before November this year.

After being cleared of any serious brain trauma via a CT scan, the Kiwi managed to walk away with relatively minor injuries, suffering short-term headaches and blurred vision.

So what actually causes a fighter to be knocked unconscious and receive a concussion? We broke down the science of the KO to find out the kind of damage those devastating blows can do to a fighter’s brain.

THE SCIENCE OF THE KNOCKOUT

When a person is hit with a large amount of force to their head, it causes the head and neck to jolt in the direction that force is pushing it. This force then impacts on the movement of the brain.

Our brains sit inside the skull, floating in cerebral fluid designed to protect it from trauma. When a fighter is hit hard, the sudden movement shocks the brain, which does not have time to adjust to the rapid acceleration and deceleration of the skull. This in turn causes the brain to move around in the cerebral fluid, colliding with the inside of the skull and causing trauma to the soft tissue of the brain.

The force of a knockout punch is enough to rattle the brain inside the head of any fighter.

The fighter’s brain, dependent upon the force delivered, will then usually bounce back in the opposite direction and suffer further impact as a result of striking the surface of the skull.

Imagine it like a Kinder surprise egg, the toy capsule inside being your brain. When you shake the egg, you can feel the capsule bouncing back and forth inside the chocolate shell.

That same concept applies to the movement of a fighter’s brain after they receive a knockout blow.

As a result of the overwhelming stimulation the brain tissue is receiving, the body sends out a series of neurotransmitters and excessive blood supply to the brain in an attempt to repair the damage.

According to neurologist and boxing physician Anthony Alessi, when blood supply to the brain is not sufficient to repair the level of damage, the fighter will lose consciousness.

“After a brain injury, the heart must supply sufficient blood flow for the brain to repair itself. If the demand outweighs the supply, the brain then shuts down and leads to an eventual loss of consciousness,” Anthony Alessi, M.D said.

Alessi told Popular Mechanics that a boxer’s feet are the first indication they may be on the verge of being knocked out.

“They become flat-footed, which is the inability to adjust. Boxers can’t move forwards or backwards quickly,” Alessi said.

“As you watch their feet, you realise that the same lack of coordination is going on in their upper extremities in their hands. And eventually they are unable to defend themselves.”

The impact of the powerful “knockout” punch can be devastating.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is notorious for his knockout punch, having won 26 of his 48 fights by KO.

THE FACTS

According to research conducted in 2014 by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the force of a professional boxer’s punch is approximately the same as that of a 9kg bowling ball travelling at 32km/h, and colliding with a person’s head.

Not surprisingly, studies show that around 90 per cent of professional boxers will endure some form of brain injury throughout the course of their career, while numerous researchers have found that between 15-40 per cent of boxers showed signs of chronic brain injury.

This culminated in approximately 488 boxing-related deaths in the period from 1960 to 2011, with 66 per cent of these being attributed to head and neck trauma.

THE DEVASTATING EFFECTS

Despite a major development in concussion protocols and management in recent years, death in combat sports is still a very shocking reality.

Australian boxer Braydon Smith died as a result of head injuries suffered during a professional boxing match.

In 2014 alone, three professional boxers were killed by knockout punches they received during scheduled fights. Phindile Mwelase of South Africa, Oscar Gonzalez of Mexico and Japanese fighter Tesshin Okada all passed away having never regained consciousness after being knocked out.

Earlier this year, Australian professional boxer Braydon Smith died after collapsing following a welterweight bout in Toowoomba, Queensland. The 23-year-old suffered severe swelling on the brain as a result of injuries suffered during the bout.