A seemingly career-ending diagnosis led Byron Polley to retirement. A second look from a specialist last week provided the 30-year-old St. Joseph boxer with a reason to reconsider.

Polley recently decided to end a brief three-month retirement, despite earlier reports he was suffering from white matter disease.

A second look from a Kansas doctor last week changed the outlook. While Polley continues to be at risk for head injuries, the doctor said that just comes with the dangers of the sport.

According to Polley, he currently exhibits no early signs of developing dementia or Alzheimer disease — often associated with WMD.

“I do have a few small spots, but they’re not damaging. What I have is just from living life to the fullest,” Polley said. “If I have an issue where I cant’ fight because of a medical condition, then yeah, I’m done. But they said everything’s good. You are clear to fight.

“As soon as I can get a fight, I’ll be fighting.”

Nicknamed “Baby Bear” in his early days and later just “The Bear,” Polley holds a 23-10-1 record as mainly a heavyweight fighter.

Doctors made the diagnosis of WMD after Polley’s most recent bout, a fourth-round TKO loss Canadian Grzegorz “The Steel Pole” Kielsa (10-0) in July. Prior to the match, an Ontario boxing commissioner cleared Polley to fight but instructed the St. Joseph native to undergo a full neurological examination before he could fight again.

Polley visited Dr. Mignon M. Makos — a local neurologist — shortly after that, and a CAT scan revealed the tell-tale signs of the destructive condition. The degenerative condition resulting from the softening of tissue leads to the shrinking of the brain and predisposes the sufferer to dementia, memory loss and deterioration of motor functions.

After the diagnosis, the Canadian Boxing Federation placed a suspension on Polley that would have kept him from fighting again.

Polley contacted the organization Thursday, and he was told the CBF would lift the ban as early as Monday. Already back into training, Polley doesn’t have a set date for an upcoming fight but has already drawn interest as a potential opponent.

Polley will continue to receive yearly checkups to monitor his condition, but with doctor’s approval, he plans to to continue his career.

“That was the only thing keeping me from being a fighter,” Polley said. “I’ve still got a lot to accomplish. I didn’t want to walk away from the sport like that.”