There are very serious consequences to those who dedicate themselves to combat sports like boxing. Unfortunately, most fighters never make the money a Pacman or Klitschko makes, and even then you have to ask yourself if its worth it? Because the consequences extend much further than not being as coordinated as you use to be.
These fighters deserve much more than they currently receive, where is the numerous boxing counsels, hall of fames, fans (?) etc. when these fighters start to break down from years of prize fighting in a ring? Nowhere to be found, thats where! Once their careers are over, thats it. No matter if the blows they received during their career have added up and will continue to take a toll.
Getting hit in the head doesnt make you any smarter, and over the long haul, has very serious and detrimental effects both physically and socially. These guys are pretty much used until they are no longer needed, tossed to the side like trash, and the next kid is lead into the gym or field to suffer the same fate.
Something should be done about this, as collecting a disability check for a few hundred a month only goes so far. All of these guys need to unionize and push for huge reforms. Most of these guys will never be on the scale of a pacman, yet will pay the price for their chosen career path the same as those who did make the money. If you truly enjoy these sports, one would think you would care about those who actually make it possible for those sports to occur/exist in the first place.
Currently, nobody really seems to give a shit and that has always struck me as a problem.