The Fight Game: When Do You Hang ‘Em Up?

26.05.06 – By Craig Parrish: My Dad is a coal miner. About 5 years ago, he decided that he was going to retire. While the thought of my Dad retiring made me feel “old”, I was glad that he was getting out of a dangerous profession fairly young, in good health, and with all of his fingers and toes intact. He had been looking forward to his retirement for some time, in fact he had talked about it longingly quite a bit for several years. Finally, he took the plunge and started his “golden years.”

Four months later he was working part-time again in a shop that repaired mining equipment (he is a mechanical and electrical system expert). The part time job quickly morphed into a full-time job, and before you knew it, he had an offer to go back to work full time in the mine. He took the job. I was disturbed that he was going back underground again and asked him why he would make such a decision. Granted, at 60 he was not that old, but he had been so looking forward to the retirement it just didn’t make any sense. His response was during the time at home he felt restless and “useless.” He was bored. Early retirement had been a mistake and he still wanted to work, to make a contribution. Plus the money was too good to pass up. So he has been back in the mine ever since. And although I worry about him down there, I must admit he seems happier and more content. He seems younger. You just can’t take the work out of a working man.

Although mining is a dangerous business, boxing is more so. Repeated blows to the head and body just ain’t good. And over the years we have seen fighter after fighter hang around far too long, take too many shots and wind up either brain damaged or in a premature grave. When asked why there are still in the fight game, many of them give the same reasons my Dad gave for going back to the mine. Pride. Money. And in boxers, that competitive spirit simply will not die, it’s not something you can’t shut off like a light switch. That must be the toughest part for a world class athlete, the day that you have to look in the mirror and say “I just can’t cut it anymore”. Indeed, too many boxers don’t make that choice soon enough and stay in until they have no choice.

To me, there is nothing sadder than the sight of Ali these days. This was one of my boyhood idols, one of the greatest fighters of all time, reduced to a shell of his former self. If Ali had gotten out 4 or 5 years earlier, who knows? Had the damage already been done at that point? We will never know. And we have to wonder if Ali knew himself that the tools were going, but simply couldn’t swallow his pride and move onto the next phase of his life, a life outside of the ring.

Sometimes a fighter has no choice but to get back in the ring. The great Joe Louis was retired when, thanks to an outrageous claim of back taxes owed to the government, he had to resume his fight career. Poor Joe was literally knocked out of the ring by Rocky Marciano who did not even want to fight him, but had no choice. He was on his way to the top. Had Joe not been forced back into the ring, who knows how the rest of his life may have turned out? He seemed to be comfortably retired before being told that he owed the government thousands of dollars of taxes on money that he had donated to charity years before. It was a tragic ending to this man who had reigned over the heavyweight division for so many years. In the end, he could not even pay for his own funeral.

In my experience, boxing fans are caring fans. Go into any chat room and you will see fans posting concern for fighters that are hanging around too long, and worry about their health. Although we love to see knockouts and tough fights, boxing fans realize the sacrifice that these fighters make to entertain us, and nobody wants to see anybody get seriously hurt or have long-term health repercussions. Fighters know the risks, the fans know the risks, and perhaps that danger is one of the things that makes boxing so damn compelling. Tragedy can literally strike at any moment as in racing or many other sports. That’s why making the decision to hang it up at the early signs of loss of skills or stamina or speed is so important. The risk factors are always there, and with diminishing skills the risk factors go up and up and up. But it’s a tough task to go to a fighter who is aging but still healthy and say “you are not what you used to be. You need to stop now.” Most of them will not accept it and simply don’t want to hear it.

I read an article the other day on Eastside about Evander Holyfield. I have always been a big fan, but in his last fights it is obvious to everyone except Evander that he really needs to stop. We all remember Evander in his glory days and nobody wants to see him shuffling around in a state of dementia or worse. Apparently he does not need the money. Evander, for your fans, please retire.

The same thing could be said for Roy Jones, Jr., Joe Mesi, Thomas Hearns, Riddick Bowe, and many others. All of these men were good or great fighters in their time. They have nothing left to prove. Most were champions or multiple champions. Obviously Mesi is a little different, as he was an up and comer when he sustained the brain injuries. It is easy to understand that he feels he had unfinished business in the ring. And he also has apparently had doctors tell him that he is at no greater risk than any other fighter. If Joe were a better defensive fighter, one may not be as concerned but with Joe’s “take 3 to land 1 style”, his comeback to the ring is very concerning, as he is still a young man. The odds of a tragedy happening are frightening, and nobody wants to see that. And with Joe being a fairly high profile fighter, a something like that would have very bad repercussions on the sport of boxing when the sport seems to be revitalizing itself.

It’s a tough situation. Obviously the competitive spirit of these fighters and the lure of money and belts is a hard thing to put to bed. We as fans must reach out to these fighters and encourage them to hang it up when their time has come. How do we do that? Well, don’t buy the Pay Per Views, don’t see the fights, and don’t follow them. It’s a hard thing to do and you would perhaps feel that you’re punishing these guys who just want to get in the ring and fight. But the last thing boxing needs are more ring tragedies and more “victims of the sport”. And by doing these things, we may save a life or add some quality to the time that is left in it.