The great Vasyl Lomachenko did it in his last fight – he fought not only his ring foe but also a torn shoulder – and over the long years of this exceptional sport we all love so dearly we have witnessed other examples of sheer bravery.
It’s a long list for sure, but here are some other examples of great, brave, unimaginably tough and strong fighters who refused to let a simple thing like a busted bone or a ripped ligament keep them from either winning their prize fight or at the least seeing the final bell.
Danny Williams – vs. Mark Potter.
Williams, who suffered a grotesquely dislocated shoulder, could so easily have thrown in the towel. Instead, in intense pain, The Brixton Bomber bit down and flattened his rival in exquisite fashion in round six ! It was a truly incredible fight.
Arthur Abraham – vs. Edison Miranda.
Middleweight champion Abraham met fearsome puncher Miranda and had a whole heap of trouble – to the tune of: a broken jaw, plenty of swallowed blood and serious fatigue. Despite it all Abraham somehow got the decision win.
Chris Eubank – vs. Nigel Benn.
This injury was just gruesome! In a massive all-British showdown for a version of the middleweight title, an unbeaten Eubank was hit so hard in the fourth-round that his tongue was literally ripped, inducing unimaginable pain. But Eubank dug deep and hard and, astonishingly, came back to get a stoppage win!
George Foreman – vs. Alex Stewart.
The lovable Big George, in the latter stages of his simply incredible comeback, met “safe” foe Stewart in a ten rounder. By the end, Foreman had suffered: a broken nose, swelling around both cheeks, bleeding inside the mouth and a seemingly certain points defeat. Instead, showing perhaps more raw courage than at any time since the epic Ron Lyle war, Foreman managed to pound out a close win.
Muhammad Ali – numerous times.
Think Ali against Ken Norton; a broken jaw couldn’t make Ali quit. Think Ali against George Foreman; a busted rib was never gonna do it. Even an aged and veritablly feeble Ali never let Parkinson’s make him quit against either Holmes or Berbick (his corner did it for him in the Holmes fight ).
Yes it’s true, boxers have it tough and have shown their incredible toughness many times. How blessed we are.
Think of great fighters who never really lived to enjoy the credit their greatness deserved: Billy Collins Jnr, who fought on for the full ten-rounds against a foe, Luis Resto, who had NO padding in his gloves!
Yes, it’s the toughest, most brutal sport of all. No doubt.