Everyone knows that an undefined percentage of boxers suffer from drug addiction at some point in their career.
Many of them come from complex backgrounds and times when they had to fight with hunger to overcome challenging adversities. The humble origin from which many fighters come is a trigger, in addition to a quick and fleeting popularity and fame that provides everything imaginable.
Suddenly, that young man who had nothing had everything. From one moment to the next, there is a lot of money, parties, “friends”, fame, glory, and among all that, the enemy that lurks stealthily, waiting for the moment when the boxer feels invincible, which is the scourge of drugs. .
In general, drug use begins for various reasons. The majority is that almost all of this type of substance abuse produces intense feelings of pleasure. This initial effect of euphoria is followed by others, which vary depending on the type of drug consumed. For example, with stimulants like cocaine, the feeling of euphoria is almost always accompanied by feelings of power, self-confidence, and incredible energy.
Some other people who suffer from anxiety or stress-related disorders and depression begin to abuse drugs in an attempt to decrease feelings of distress.
And, of course, in some cases, to perform better, chemically increasing their cognitive abilities or their physical performance.
The well-known cases such as those of the great Julio César Chávez, Carlos Zárate, Mike Tyson, Hilario Zapata, Wilfredo Gómez, Alfonso Zamora and Sugar Ray Leonard are examples of stars who reached the top and, for various reasons, were influenced in the wrong way, buying a false happiness.
The relationship between athletes and doping substances goes back a long way. There are some records even in Ancient Greece, in the Olympic Games of the 3rd century BC, where some athletes resorted to certain mushrooms to increase their performance, and according to the terminology of the Royal Academy, which defines doping as the administration of drugs or stimulant substances. ARTIFICIALLY IMPROVE performance, sometimes with danger to health.
Cocaine, for example, acts directly on the central nervous system and not on the muscular system, since this drug does not affect the muscles. For this reason, athletes usually use it in small doses to hide fatigue, allowing them to train without too much difficulty or simply as a recreational drug.
The danger of its consumption:
– sudden death
– increased predisposition to arrhythmias
-Ventricular fibrillation
– significant decrease in corollary blood flow
– a sudden decrease in oxygen supply
– rapid weight loss
– permanent damage to the heart, brain and/or blood vessels
– heart attacks
– loss of sense of smell
– damage to the liver, kidneys and/or lungs
– destruction of nasal tissues
– respiratory insufficiency
– hypertension
Different cases and reasons have one factor in common, feeling in “hell”, and that is that all those who have walked through this dark passage of addictions agree that it is like visiting the abyss.
Fortunately, many fighters have rectified this, overcoming one of the most critical battles where life is at stake.
Let’s all fight together to avoid drug use because together we can win this fight!
