Was Ike's fight with Tua the cause of his mental decline?

Probably! That was one hell of a fight when I saw it...

 

Mental illness doesn't work that way.

First of all, Ike wasn't well-known before the Tua fight -- any bizarre behavior from before that fight wouldn't likely be known to the public unless it resulted in him being arrested.

His mother didn't fight Tua, and she's batsh!t crazy. Look at her allegations in this lawsuit (chips implanted in her brain and such):

http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/arizona/azdce/2:2008cv02270/416961/13/

She also rants on her website about Cedric Kushner poisoning Ike's food and drink and all sort of insane stuff.

Mental illness is often hereditary. And Ike claimed only he and his mother could see the demons that were plaguing him.

When Ike was arrested for sexual assault and battery in Nevada, records of other claims of similar assaults by him in Arizona arose. I'm not clear exactly when these alleged assaults occured, but according to his mother's (admittedly kooky) website account, it was before Ike signed with Cedric -- and since Ike signed with Cedric in 1996, before the Tua fight, there's a good chance he was acting out in a mentally ill way BEFORE he and Tua ever laced 'em up.

 

I'm not denying that there were already proclivities toward these behaviors. However, mental illness or instability can follow traumatic brain injury, as has been witnessed too much after modern battlefield injuries. And I'm not just talking PTSD.

 

True. The back portion of the brain is directly related to behavior, I think. The non-dominant hemisphere of the brain (usually the right side) is also related to creativity and emotions. Damage to other portions of the brain could also indirectly cause alterations in the behavior.

 

The point I'm making is that we know next to nothing about Ike's behavior before the Tua fight.

Yes, he complained about headaches after that fight. But do we know if he compained about headaches before that fight?

He acted crazy after that fight. But did he act crazy before?

He assualted a call girl after that fight -- but it appears he sexually assaulted, or attempted to sexually assault, women before that fight.

I'd love to hear what Curtis Cokes might have said on the subject of Ike's behavior if asked after Ike was locked up. He might have interesting tales to tell.

 

I think I remember Larry Merchant and other HBO people commenting on a few weird things Ibeabuchi had said even during the Tua fight, so it wouldn't surprise me if Ike wasn't all there before the bout.

Of course, any sport that involves training someone to use violence or taking constant blows to the head is going to have an effect on the way people act, and makes many more prone to violent behavior and mood disorders. Look at all the scrutiny football is under now with the way that concussions players suffer is being linked to later behavior, including suicidal tendencies and such.

 

If I remember correctly I read some interviews with people close to Ike - apparently he was always mentally unstable even before the Tua fight.

 

Just the opposite, I think mentally that fight did a lot for his confidence. He stood in with the biggest puncher in the division and set a record for most punches thrown in a heavyweight fight.

 

My girlfriend is Nigerian they have allot of either religious or black magic type beliefs in their culture.

However I do wonder if brain damage could have added to the mental problems he had