INTERVIEW WITH JAMES QUARRY, PRESIDENT OF THE JERRY QUARRY FOUNDATION

29.08.01 - By Kent Appel: Completely living up to the family motto of, "there is no
quit in a Quarry," coined by his father, Jack Quarry; former heavyweight contender "Irish" Jerry Quarry was one of the most exciting fighters to come on the scene in the very vibrant 1960s and 1970s. He was a three time number one contender who defeated such fighters as, Floyd Patterson, Ron Lyle, and Earnie Shavers and he is also the only fighter to fight both Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier twice each.

Jerry Quarry tragically died at the age of 53 in 1999 from a condition known as Dementia Puglistica, more commonly known as "Punch Drunk Syndrome." I recently spoke with Jerry's brother James Quarry, president and co founder with Jerry, of the Jerry Quarry Foundation, which is dedicated to fighting and eliminating the affliction that Jerry Quarry and countless other brave fighters have suffered from, many of whom the general public has never heard of. The Jerry Quarry Foundation's website can be found at www.jerryquarry.com.

Thank you Mr. Quarry for taking the time to talk to me.

James Quarry: It is no problem at all. Thanks for having me.

Why did you and Jerry found the Jerry Quarry Foundation?

JQ: "In 1983, Sports Illustrated ran an article on the results of three fighters' brain examinations, Jerry, Bobby Chacon, and Tex Cobb. Of these three, Jerry and Chacon showed signs of brain damage. Jerry was still able to get a license after this because there were no outward symptoms present. The commission's logic was that they didn't want to take a man's livelihood away form him.

We talked about setting something up after the Sports Illustrated article. But it wasn't until 1994, after Jerry started showing signs of damage, that we got the ball rolling for the foundation. What we found was there was absolutely no help for fighters who had suffered damage in the ring other than immediate medical help when an injury occurred at a particular moment. There also were no studies to show why some fighters are afflicted, and others who may have taken as much or more punishment in the ring, are not. Jerry was the first major fighter to go public with his condition. Even Sugar Ray Robinson denied any possibility that his condition could have been brought on by his profession. We started the foundation in 1995 in an effort to help those fighters who faced long term damage."

What are the goals of the foundation?

JQ: " Initially we wanted to set up a pension and supplemental income fund to help fighters who were no longer able to make a living. We also wanted medical facilities to take care of fighters. When we saw that such endeavors were not entirely practical, our emphasis shifted to regulations designed to make boxing safer. At first our charter was turned down by the state of California but we changed the wording in it to include all blunt force trauma patients from other sports and from other causes, for example, car accident victims, and then our charter was accepted. That way all people who suffer from blunt force trauma can benefit from ongoing funding and research. We have tax exempt status in California as well as at the United States federal level. I am most proud of the fact that we have exempt status at the federal level because we received it the day before Jerry died and I was able to tell him what we had accomplished!"

How can we make boxing safer while at the same time keeping the one on one competition that is unique to the sport?

JQ: "I would like to see the three knockdown rule mandatory for all fights. But it should be taken one step further. A fighter who is knocked down three times in an entire fight would be declared knocked out. I also support fights being stopped sooner, at the first sign of danger. A fighter should always be protected to live to fight another day. Ironic, we don't let dogs and chickens fight because it is seen as being immoral, but we will let two men beat each other's brains out! I don't support banning boxing though and I like almost every aspect of the sport, except the injuries. I just would like to see it made as safe as possible. Boxing will always have its competitive aspects because boxers are by nature very competitive people.

What have been some of the successes of the foundation so far?

JQ: " We, with a lot of effort from George Otto, one of the foundation's board of directors, helped pass three bills here in the United States designed to improve the sport of boxing. They are; The Professional Boxer's Safety Act, which requires a boxer to carry an ID card with a strip that can be scanned for pertinent medical information and the results of his last fight (A commission knows if a fighter has recently been knocked out); The Muhammed Ali Reform Act, which aims to clean up boxing; and The Reciprocity Act, which requires state boxing commissions to honor suspensions from other states. In this last act, if a state doesn't have a commission, then the next
nearest state with a commission would oversee any bout. That way someone like my brother Jerry would not be able to get a license like he did at the age of 47 after he was turned down in several other states. I would like to see an additional law passed to require annual MRI scans to see if brain damage is present during a yearly licensing process."

Why do some fighters development Dementia Puglistica and others do not?

JQ: "There is a gene that shows that a person may develop Parkinson's or Altzeimer's disease. Blunt force trauma, caused by punches to the head, may trigger an early response of this gene as the symptoms of the "punch drunk fighter" are the same as either of these two conditions. There is a blood test that is available that can show the presence of this gene, and I would like to have boxers take this test to see if they may be susceptible, but currently it is too expensive because a company owns the patent to this test and they are not at this time willing to make it readily available at an affordable price. My brother Jerry died of the form that is like Altzeimer's, while Muhammed Ali, may have the Parkinson's form of the affliction."

I understand that you are the only fighter to ever knock Jerry Quarry out for the full count.

JQ: "Some people will say that George Chuvalo actually did the trick but that fight had a controversial ending and Jerry had all of his senses. I on the other hand, as an amateur fighter, knocked him out for the count and there was no doubt about it! I don't always mention that he was only thirteen at the time and I am thirteen months older than him!"

I understand that you have collectibles available for a donation to the foundation.

JQ: "Yes we have highlight videos of Jerry's career as well as T-shirts; a scrapbook of articles, etc. covering Jerry's career, and a CD ROM with three of Jerry's best fights on it. There is also a newsletter that will be coming out shortly that is free with an order. Half of the proceeds, after cost for the extended highlight video, go to a pension fund and The Association Of Boxing Commissioners in Baltimore Md, headed by Greg Surb. All other proceeds after cost go directly to the Foundation. Donations for any of these items are of course tax deductible."

What does the future hold for the Jerry Quarry Foundation?

JQ: "We need to find a CEO to take the foundation a step further. We have identified the problems and we have done some important work, but we need someone who can devote more time than I can, as I still work for a living. I plan to always be involved as I promised Jerry that as long as I am able, I will be involved in this cause and as my dad always says, there is no quit in a Quarry!"

Again thank you for taking the time to talk to me.

JQ: My pleasure