FORMER British champion Steve Sims has opened up on the heartbreaking dementia battle that regularly leaves him in tears.
Sims boxed professionally from 1979 to 1987, retiring with a record of 14 wins, 14 losses and one draw.
Ex-British champion Steve Sims has opened up on the heartbreaking dementiaCredit: Media Wales
Sims has suffered with memory loss since the age of 32Credit: Media Wales
In retirement, Sims ran a pub and a successful newsagents – but the effects of his career soon became apparent.
The former featherweight was diagnosed with after suffering from memory loss from the age of 32 – caused by chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
CTE is a progressive, incurable degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head impacts – common in contact sports.
Sims, 67, told WalesOnline : “Sometimes I start crying because I lose my keys, my wallet, my phone.
“I panic as I struggle to remember where I have put them, I forget names of people I have known for years, which I find embarrassing.
“To be in this fog everyday is a living hell.”
Sims still continues to train three times a day in spite of his dementia.
He enjoys weight sessions at Dawksgym, where he has a free lifetime membership in recognition of his career while still running long distance.
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The late Ricky Hatton raised the concern for boxing’s long-term support systems for ex-fighters.
Hatton – who passed away in September aged 46 – highlighted the prevalence of mental health problems in the sport – often heightened by repeated head trauma.
In football, an inquest into the death of former Manchester United defender Gordon McQueen concluded that “it is likely that repetitive head impacts sustained by heading the ball while playing football contributed to the CTE”,
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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