What is it about fighters that makes them want to continue fighting when it's obvious to all that have observed them that it's over. That being said, I'm not going to lump just professional fighters in this group. We see it in all Sports, especially Football, Basketball, and Baseball. Yes, there have been just as many athletes in those before mentioned Sports who have comeback or refused to leave the game when it was clearly over for them too.

Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan came back after they said it was time to let the younger guys take over the game. Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, and Joe Montana hung on too long. The same applies to Hall-of-Fame pitchers Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton, who both stayed a little too long and attempted ill fated comebacks. Short sighted comebacks aren't exclusive to just fighters.

In a perfect Sporting World, everybody would leave while they can still fight, play, or after a Championship. However, it's so rare today for a great, I mean a genuine all-time great like John Elway, Sandy Koufax, Jim Brown, Rocky Marciano, and Lennox Lewis to leave at the perfect time. No doubt the athletes who retire and never comeback miss the limelight, adulation, money, and being in the Big-spot as much as their peers who temp fate and comeback. It could be the ones who stay retired have prepared and developed outside interest better than those who can't stay away. Maybe the ones who comeback can't find any other identity in life.

In professional Boxing, it's easier for a former great to try and get back into the mix than it is in other sports. The problem fighters have is two fold. When Louis comes back and gets knocked out of the ring by Marciano, he looks sad and pathetic. Compare that to Unitas or Montana getting picked off in their last couple games because they now have a rag-arm. What looks worse, a 38 year old Ali getting pummeled by Holmes over 10 rounds, or a 38 year old Jordan being shut down by Kobe, who out scores him and had two or three steals off him. It's not even a contest, Ali looks much worse than Jordan at the end getting abused by the new and future great. Same thing with Steve Carlton getting lit up in triple A-ball, compared to Holmes being stopped at 38 for the only time in his career by Tyson.
[details (http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=880)]

You know, it's really sad to see this sort of thing happen. For every success story, there's dozens of failures. Someone will always bring up Foreman, or Robinson, but no one remembers that Ali made a come back, and Leonard did, and dozens of others. They seem to forget that when an old-timer is coming back. It's an unfortunate series of events.

That being said, I hope Bowe can actually prove the general rule wrong, and be the next Foreman.

Powerful heavyweights seem to be able to do it better than smaller fighters whom depend on speed and reflexes. Foreman was power only and this served his purpose. Bowe has a chance because the division is wide open and he is big and powerful. His success depends on his true physical and mental condition and of course his true dedication to the spoert of boxing!

Why do fighters comeback when to the casual viewer his moves ansd sharpness have passed with his time from the ring. Why is it that these fighters try to regain their past glory in one last ditched effort to again reach the summit. With alot of fighters it is and has been the only thing that they have really known since a very young age. With alot of fighters there is the void that nothing in the world seems to be able to fill besides again training and fighting. For some it is because of financial difficulties. There are many reasons for a fighter to make an ill advised comeback. But it seems that there is only one result at the end of the comeback attempt.

Muhammad Ali began boxing at such a young age. Through his years he learned and perfected these skills until the day that he bacame the champion of the world. Few fighters go to school. There are ofcourse exceptions such as Darren Van Horn who won the super middleweight title while attending a major university. When Ali was finished fighting, where could he go and what could he do? He did alot of public apperances while excepting plenty of compliments on his greatness in the ring, I am sure. But when those are over what does he have? Darren Van Horn had a degree with which to enter the civilian world, a head start that few fighters have when they are finished in their careers. Muhammad Ali never had the degree, so what does he go to......? He goes to what he has been schooled in, the art of fighting with your fists.

When a fighter retires, he will be fine for a while, but only for a while. For many fighters, the adrenaline can became an addiction in itself from the fight. The flow of heavy adrenaline rushing through his veins as the crowd roars in approval of the man laying at his feet. Where in this world can a fighter again find that emotion, that feeling of pure life. Extreme sports would seemingly do the trick, but what is there in jumping out of an air plane, or jumping high and far on a pair of skis or any of the other so called extreme sports. Its is nothing, for he has already lived that life in the most extreme sport on the planet. One on one combat, where the loser is many times unconcious and the winner is still battered and bruised.

For many it is a need for financial replenishing. Trying to live the life that they had as a champion, when in fact that life is far behind them now. Few fighters are able to save their earnings for multiple reasons. Poor money handling, poor investments, to many leeches hanging on...... The list can be lengthly. A fighter is normally one that came from a poor background. From the inner-city and possibly the projects to a world of fame aswell as fortune. Many champions that I have spoken with talked of the hand outs that they had given friends or aquantances or even somebody that they had just met on the street. Does the fighter possibly believe that he does not deserve to have all of the fortune that he may. Or could he possibly just remember the hard times that were spent in the ghettos of that inner-city during his youth. What ever the reason, it seems that champions are normally very easy with their money, not a bad personality trait, but certainly a bad financial practice.

Joe louis came out of retirement for the need of money. Screwed by the government and forced into a fight against the apparent successor of the crown that he once held. As he slid, half unconscious, through the ropes his hand reached up for that one last grasp at the rope, to keep him from falling off of the apron and onto the concrete. Like his comeback attempt he failed to grab that rope, as so many often do.

Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Alexis Arguello, Wilfred Benitez, Joe Frazier, Harold Johnson, Bob Montgomery, Rueben Olivares, Max Schmeling, and all the way back to James Jefferies. These men all looked in the mirror while they worked and saw the figure of the past; the stong, quick and sharp fighter they had been many years ago. Only to be reminded and brought back to reality that they were no longer that young, that strong and that quick. Its a sad story that has been lived out by fighters caught in their past glory, looking for that last gleeming light at the end of the long dark tunnel, knowing that there must still be something left that makes life worth living. Only to be reminded by the fists of the younger fighters coming up behind them. Laying incoherant on the canvas, they know that they could get up, that they can beat this man, but their bodies will not respond. The referee counts from 1 to 10 and their time has past................Rockin'

Nice post Rockin'. One question, what's your real name? I know you're a boxer, but I'd be interested in knowing who you've fought and what your record is...

On my record I have now 3 speeding tickets and one peeing in public. I plead innocent to all charges but was still fined the max and frowned upon by the judge.......... :boxing: Rockin'

On my record I have now 3 speeding tickets and one peeing in public. I plead innocent to all charges but was still fined the max and frowned upon by the judge.......... :boxing: Rockin'
lmao
always quick to use that one aye rockin

Always............... :boxing: Rockin'

I have to admit I'm a little bit excited about the Bowe comeback. He is fighting in Salt Lake City on March 25, and he is fighting on the bestdamn sports show period on April 7. That is 2 times in 2 weeks. That's oldschool. I know he's trying to keep busy but that is rediculous. If he wins both these bouts, props to him.

you arn't derryl walker are you?

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=006135

even if you are, one win is still more than anybody else on here has.

And in case you are wondering, I found this guy by looking for East Coast fighters who fought someone, who fought Tzu for the title which you said you did. Allthough you said ametuer now that I think about it, ****. I almost found you.

Or could you be Bronco Mcart....?

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=004618

My coach will only let us spar every other day max. Sometimes only once in three days. Is this normal or do most trainers have you spar every day?

My coach will only let us spar every other day max. Sometimes only once in three days. Is this normal or do most trainers have you spar every day?


every fighter that I know who boxes competitively boxes every day that they can. This sharpens the eyes for different purposes. One is so that you detect the shots coming in time to defend them and counter them as well as helping you find your range for delivering your shots. Boxing everyday also keeps your combos quick and accurate. And anybody who has fought knows that to learn how to fight, you must fight and fight often. Shadow boxing and bag work are all good things but wont help you learn to actually fight. It would be like going out to shoot skeet practice. they pull the string and the clay pigeon goes flying through the air. You aim your gun and pull the trigger but you have no bullets. Thats what it is like trying to learn to box with out sparring.

I definitly see what you mean for beginers like myself. I still do the speedbag and the mits, and a lot of quasi-sparring drills like just blocking or just ducking. I need to get more real rounds in though, maybe after practice or something.

There is a school of thought that doesn't believe in sparring though. Ike Ibeabuchi sparred almost zero before his last two fights, I guess the reasons at heavyweight are a little different though.

Rockin, please read my Fighting in the Zone thread that I am going to put up in a few min, in the training section.