The costs of a combat sports career are continuous, and run on long after an athlete’s time in the sport is finished. The hours spent training, the days and weeks away from family, to say nothing of the pain and injury suffered trading blows both in and out of the cage. The hope, of course, is that by the time it’s all said and done a fighter will have made enough money to make the burdens all worthwhile, especially those that may never go away.
The threat of long-term brain damage has lingered over professional boxers for decades and decades.