By: Sean Crose

Speaking with FightHub, welterweight Keith Thurman commented on former – and possibly future – opponent Danny Garcia’s opening up about the anxiety and emotional issues that have plagued him.

“When you’re trying to be elite…falling short of greatness, it can just bring you down,” Thurman said. “And how great are we to be some of the most entertaining fighters in the fight industry today?” Thurman goes on to indicate some of the suffering fighters go through is based on expectations. “It’s really, it’s the pressure, it’s the self image, it’s the expectations coming from ourselves, coming from possibly others, but mostly its what we expect out of ourselves,” he added.

Thurman then went on to say that Garcia certainly isn’t alone in his struggles. “Danny’s not the only one to go through it,” he said. “I think a lot of it has to do with the sport of boxing in general…it’s a concussion based sport.” Thurman pointed out that dopamine issues, along with the rush of entering and engaging in major fights, take an emotional and psychological toll.

“There’s many things that happen with the excitement of the fight that it ends up being this supreme rush of dopamine,” he said. “You’ve got the buildup of the fight, you’ve got the preparation for the fight, you’ve got the week of the fight which ends up amplifying all the excitement, then you have the fight itself ,which at the end of the day – boom – it’s everything, everything all at once, and then the next day whether your in New York, Las Vegas, Texas, the rush is over. It’s gone.”

Thurman made it clear he believes things like having a poor post-fight diet can come into play, as can a lack of exercise, as can other matters. Speaking of time spent with his family after his last fight, Thurman admitted things caught up to him after a point. “Another month later,” he says, “I realize I’m starting to feel depressed again.” To Thurman it at least somewhat comes down to dealing with matters after the rush of a major fight has ended. “We need to have a better recovery after the fight,” he stated. “There needs to be something going on in your daily life.”

That’s something, perhaps, that people who aren’t professional fighters can take note of. Depression is a universal thing after all. What works for one person may well work for others.”

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