For my final interview, I knew that I would need to converse with somebody who can understand and break down the mental elements that cause boxers to have issues when retiring. Why is it that boxers cannot step away? What causes the downwards spiral when retiring? What can fighters do to help themselves when considering retirement? These were all questions that needed directly addressing by a specialist. This is where I got into contact with Sarah Majid, a Bristol based sports psychologist who has worked with professional teams and GB athletes. Sarah specialises in dealing with issues surrounding coping skills and life transitions, and looks to help athletes establish a long term plan that will aid their thought patterns and behaviour. Furthermore, Sarah is also a retired martial artist, competing in national judo tournaments in her native India. Not only does she know how to help those retiring from combat sports, but she understands how difficult the transition is herself - which is something that made her an incredibly valuable acquisition to my project.
I sat down with Sarah to get to grips with the psychological elements behind this issue, and was thoroughly educated on the matter throughout our online video call. The incredibly knowledgeable psychologist firstly explained the benefits of dedicating yourself to a combat sport such as boxing, with mastering the various skills in the sport giving boxers a platform in which they can thrive on. Your early 20s are the years in which you are grounded in society, as you have established who you are and what you are good at. The sudden loss of mastery in this specific area, and the feeling of being a nobody in another field - is what Sarah believes is a key reason behind why boxers struggle to retire. She also thinks that boxers do not have the correct support in place to come out of it, because in smaller areas the sport is the only way to go forwards. You may not be academic or suitable for another profession, but suddenly you find boxing as a means of recognition and wealth, and once you have that - it is hard to let go.
Another interesting point that we touched upon was the roles of coaches and managers, and how they make retirement more difficult for their athletes. Sarah explained how there is nowhere near enough support from coaches and organisations, who only care about results. As long as their fighter is winning, they do not care. Coaches need to see their boxers as people instead of performers, and need to understand that there is going to be an end to everything. Coaches remove boxers away from society to concentrate on the sport, but then leave them helpless in it when the gloves have been hung. Sarah believes that coaches need to work on helping their boxers understand that it will not last forever, despite the fact that each boxer's unique journey will have an impact on the way that they bow out.
My conversation with Sarah was a huge help in allowing me to understand the true difficulties behind retirement from boxing from a more psychological perspective, and has again shown what kind of things need to be done to make the transition easier for the fighters of today.
To listen to the full interview, follow the link below: