Celebrity boxing: Untrained contestants may suffer dementia, neurosurgeons warn

As more Nigerian celebrities take to the boxing ring in pursuit of multi-million naira prizes, neurosurgeons have warned that repeated blows to the head, eyes and other vulnerable parts of the body could leave untrained contestants with short- and long-term life-altering injuries, especially as many compete without proper protective gear.

The specialists stated that repeated punches to the head, which often determine the outcome of boxing bouts, expose participants to concussion, bruises, bleeding in the brain, dementia, paralysis, blindness and even death if the contests are not properly regulated.

They stressed that while professional boxing is an established sport, untrained celebrities entering the ring for entertainment or financial rewards are further at risk of eye damage, jaw fractures, loss of consciousness, and long-term conditions including Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated head trauma, stressing that such conditions outweigh any prize money or popularity gained from the contests.

In exclusive interviews with PUNCH Healthwise, the experts also called for stricter regulation of celebrity boxing events, saying referees, organisers and medical personnel must intervene early to prevent serious injuries and ensure participants are adequately protected.

The specialists also stressed that while celebrity boxing is increasingly promoted as entertainment with cash prizes running into tens of millions of naira, the health risks far outweigh any financial reward, especially for untrained participants.

PUNCH Healthwise reports that entertainers, influencers and public figures compete in highly publicised bouts that attract large crowds and betting activities.

These celebrities, findings reveal, are largely untrained boxers, leaving them to rely on natural aggression and raw strength rather than formal technique.

Video clips from previous celebrity boxing bouts also show the contestants not properly kitted out with the appropriate gear for the game, compared with professional boxers.

PUNCH Healthwise reports that entertainers such as Portable, Carter Efe, Speed Darlington and Charles Okocha had engaged in boxing bouts between 2023 and 2026.

While Portable has won two celebrity boxing matches, he lost to his opponent, Carter Efe, on May 1, and is set to face actor and internet sensation Charles Okocha in a rematch billed for July 31, alongside two fighters.

According to Psychiatrist.com, repeated hits to the head may trigger brain inflammation, brain vessel damage and neuron loss in young athletes.

Providing expert insight into the matter, a Neurosurgeon and Senior Clinical Fellow at King’s College Hospital NHS Trust, London, Dr Abass Ajayi, said celebrity boxing matches in Nigeria were done without the contestants wearing the appropriate protective gear despite being exposed to repeated punches.

Ajayi noted that contestants could sustain injuries to the chest, abdomen, face and head, while severe cases could result in loss of consciousness, brain injuries, spinal injuries, especially if they fall from the ring.

He said, “Boxers can lose consciousness. They can have various forms of head trauma and its attendant problems when this happens. Especially when you have somebody overpowering the other and the referee who is supposed to be there, being able to call it when somebody has overpowered the other, comes in too late, injuring the other person.”

The neurosurgeon explained that short-term injuries include cuts to the face, fractured ribs, abdominal organ injuries, broken noses, damaged eyes, loss of teeth and jaw fractures that may require reconstructive surgery.

Ajayi stated that injuries to the eyes could result in temporary or permanent blindness, while severe head injuries may require emergency brain surgery or intensive care admission.

The neurosurgeon warned that repeated blows to the head could result in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a progressive brain condition linked to repeated head injuries.

Ajayi added that affected individuals could also develop depression and other psychiatric disorders following repeated brain injuries.

“People who have been boxing for a long time and have had multiple hits to their head can have what is called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. So, CTE, as it is said. They can start manifesting with depression and various other bizarre things because of multiple injuries in their brain. CTE can manifest like dementia, so they forget a lot of things. And some people can even have severe head injuries and not recover. They just become vegetative, or they may even die,” he noted.

Although he acknowledged that some contestants willingly accept the risks in pursuit of prize money, Ajayi maintained that no competition should expose participants to avoidable life-threatening injuries.

The Senior Clinical Fellow noted, “I don’t believe in all this celebrity boxing thing because I feel it’s just a way of making money from the masses. They have a bunch of betting platforms, so people bet on who’s going to win. It’s more like a money-making venture for most of these guys. I don’t think anything is worth having a significant injury that you lose consciousness.”

Ajayi called for better regulation of the activity, saying, “Celebrity boxing and things like this should ideally be very well regulated, in such a way that the person who is watching the boxing match should be able to make a call when he knows that someone has a serious injury or is at risk of a serious injury or is not very stable on their feet anymore.”

Also speaking, a Senior Registrar in Neurosurgery at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Dr Ifeoluwa Oyewale, said the nature of boxing itself places participants at high risk because points are mainly awarded for punches to the head.

He explained that punches to the face could damage the eyes, nose, lips, teeth and skull, while the force of impact could cause the brain to strike the inside of the skull, leading to bruising or bleeding.

“In the process of hitting the person’s head, the brain can hit the hard part of the skull inside. There will be a shift, which could be linear or rotational. The brain could hit the inside of the skull, and there could be some pinpoint bleeding there, called a contusion, or the vessels can rupture, and the person will start bleeding into the brain. There have been stories of people who die in the ring while fighting because of some of these injuries,” Oyewale said.

The neurosurgeon further explained that severe blows could rupture blood vessels in the brain, causing bleeding that may require emergency surgery, while forceful movement of the head could also damage the spinal cord and leave victims unable to move their arms or legs.

He added that some victims may develop leakage of cerebrospinal fluid from the nose or ears, seizures, behavioural abnormalities, headaches, altered consciousness and paralysis depending on the part of the brain affected.

He added that repeated exposure to head trauma significantly increases the risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, dementia, movement disorders and permanent memory impairment later in life.

The doctor said, “The person can have what we call memory impairment, dementia. This used to be called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, which is because of recurrent and repeated assaults to the brain through boxing or through other injuries to the head. The person has lost touch with reality. The person can have some sort of movement disorder, rigid movement. The person’s life all over could eventually be what the person did not plan for.”

The neurosurgeon noted that many traumatic brain injury patients spend enormous amounts on treatment without surviving, while survivors often live with permanent disabilities.

He added that participants with pre-existing but undetected conditions such as hypertension or brain aneurysms could have the aneurysm rupture during the fight, which could make them unconscious and in need of admission to the Intensive Care Unit.

Oyewale dismissed the notion that any prize money could compensate for such outcomes, noting that treatment costs alone could quickly exceed any financial gains.

He said, “There is absolutely no prize for our health. I’ve seen patients come to the hospital with traumatic brain injury, and they spend the last dime that they have, and they still did not survive.”

Oyewale advised Nigerians to seek safer recreational activities instead of celebrity boxing and recommended better protective equipment for those who still choose to participate.