Former Top Boxer Juho Tolppola, 39, Is Only Able To Be Active For An Hour a Day – Hard Matches Turned Into Hard And Constant Symptoms

Juho Tolppola’s professional career was supposed to continue in 2018, but worsening health problems prevented him from returning to the ring. Now he talks about his daily struggle in everyday life. Check Tolppola’s story and how his career came to an end and if you are into bets and games check out BangBangCasino. 

We are at the Myyrmäki sports field. It is Tuesday, the fourth day of July in 2017. Despite the heat, professional boxers have gathered to train outdoors. The atmosphere is relaxed, the lips are thrown, everyone obviously knows each other well. You can get involved as long as your fitness, skills, and sense of humour are sufficient.

The mood changes, you immediately notice that you are in the middle of professional training. Men begin to move like robots, hitting and dodging accurately and sharply. One of the professionals is Juho Tolppola from Vantaa, a veteran who has had a long boxing career and works as a field manager for the Finnish Sports Agency on the same sports field.

Tolppola has more than 200 matches behind him. He has once again embarked on a systematic internship, with the intention of continuing his career as a professional.

At the end of a hard workout, sweaty and shirtless boxers take off their gloves and settle on the runway starting line. There’s one extra bonus, Cooper’s test. Tolppola runs wearing only boxing shoes, resulting in more than 3,000 meters and gasps for breath.

– The run didn’t go well, and I didn’t get enough oxygen. The result of the running test, which came as a surprise, was really unsatisfactory, Tolppola recalls.

– A few days later, I received information from my doctor that I had pneumonia. 

There was more to the story than pneumonia.

During the pre-match training sessions, just during peak fitness times, Tolppola became ill with lung symptoms several times. The matches were cancelled, time and time again. When Tolppola attempted to return to the corded square in 2017 and 2018, he faced new kinds of health problems for the first time.

– Then 3-4 years ago a tremor appeared in my left hand. At the same time, balance problems began, which have also caused falls. I have fallen even several times in a day, a few times badly.

– In 2018, I was supposed to return to the ring, but I got pneumonia before the match. I think that too was the culmination of this same syndrome. Everything is connected in the body, the mental side can trigger any symptoms or diseases, Tolppola says in the boxing hall in Helsinki’s Ruskeasuo.

Tolppola, 39, has arrived at the boxing hall to report the severe symptoms he suspects are due to blows to the head and neck.

Despite extensive research, a clear finding or explanatory cause for Tolppola’s ailments has not yet been found. The images taken from his brain do not show any deviation. Currently, the most likely cause of symptoms is suspected to be a neck sprain injury.

A whiplash injury refers to an injury to the neck caused by energy directed at the neck through an acceleration-deceleration mechanism. The most typical cause of that injury is a rear-end collision, where the head bounces first backwards and then forward.

Docent Teemu Luoto, a specialist in neurosurgery at Tampere University Hospital, has studied brain and spinal cord injuries for a long time. In addition to his research, Luoto has served as co-chair of the working group that drafted the Recommendation on the Current Treatment of Brain Injuries.

– The majority of whiplash injuries do not involve clear structural damage from imaging studies. In general, one can speak of so-called stretch damage to muscles and ligaments. Some people who have had a whiplash injury may suffer from a prolonged post-injury condition as well as broader symptoms. The most important symptom after a whiplash injury is neck pain, Luoto says.

According to Luoto, in some people, the post-whiplash syndrome can last for years. He says symptoms may include dizziness, difficulty concentrating, headaches, and sensory sensitivity to light and noise.

– People have an individual susceptibility to the development and recovery of some disease states, such as in this case to the chronicization of a whiplash injury, Luoto says.

Memory problems, headaches, tremors in the hands, vomiting and difficulty balancing. The former top athlete suffers from several different symptoms, which is why Tolppola has been incapacitated for work for the third year in a row.

– In my work as a field manager, I could no longer use work machines, everything started to happen at work. For example, it felt like the tractor was getting out of hand. Everyone understands what can be bad about it, Tolppola says.

Tolppola says that night surveillance really got difficult. All bright light sources, such as cell phone or television screens, began to strain him. In addition to photosensitivity, he says he also suffered from headaches and memory loss.

– At its worst, it has become vomiting due to morning dizziness. At the moment, my daily active time is a maximum of an hour, followed by hell-like fatigue and being forced to go to sleep. You have to live with this now.

– This has been mentally difficult.

Tolppola says his symptoms have worsened over time. At worst, he has even had to resort to ER.

– The other summer, while I was at home, I had a shaky feeling that consciousness was leaving. I fell from the stairs straight to my neck against the downstairs wall, Tolppola recalls.

– I was taken by ambulance for examinations, luckily nothing serious was found, but I spent the night in the hospital.

Juho Tolppola started boxing at the age of 11. As an amateur, Tolppola won three Finnish championships and victories in high-level international GeeBee and Tammer tournaments. The most international achievement of his career is the European Championship bronze for amateurs from 2000, in the 51-pound series.

Tolppola became a professional in 2001, a few months after he turned 20 years old.

Tolppola, who is remembered for his strong basic boxing and relentless match style, had a total of 33 matches in his professional career.

As a professional, he won five international title matches in 2007-2009. He won twice for the European Championship and the EU Championship, once for the IBF International title. Tolppola played his last match in 2015. Tolppola has never been knocked out.

Tolppola says that he was aware of the risks involved in boxing and the possible consequences.

– When you go to do something and realize what follows, you can’t blame anyone. I have been aware of the risks in the past, I could die in the ring.

– In the history of boxing, people have died in the ring. In addition, eye damage and others occur. I’ve been ready for anything. When you get in the ring, be ready to do anything.

Despite his difficult situation, Tolppola does not regret his life decisions. He is not interested in going back in time to do things differently.

– It’s too late now, the film can’t be rewound. Maybe I already took too many blows as an amateur. Even though my protection has always been good, you can still feel those hits, Tolppola says.

Tolppola notes, however, that in hindsight, he would have focused even more on dodging attacks.

– I am proud of my career, in every way. Yes, I have been aware of the possible consequences of boxing. Many wrestlers don’t realize that you’re accepting sanctions right from the first step, when you step into the gym.

Did you choose boxing, or did boxing choose you?

– I chose boxing, I wanted to see it in a painful way.

According to Tolppola, the best remedies are rest and light exercise. As the best therapy for himself, he experiences coaching Juniors. Tolppola trains the Junior Competitive Boxing Group three times a week. He admits that personal experiences also influence his coaching philosophy.

– Through my own experiences, I want my boxers to be untouchable, to appreciate and protect their own heads.