There are many fighters who should have not faught as long as they did, i am wishing to hear what you believe are some fighters who have boxed too far past their prime.

these are in no perticular order
RJJ (face it, he was an amazing boxer but it's time to let go
Holyfeild (even the boxing devision doesnt want the man to box)
Ali ( ali should have quit after thirlla in manilla)

so these are my suggestions, they are going to differ im sure with yours so please proceed to explain who you believe has out boxed themselves.

Chris Eubank for one. The punishment he took in the fights with Carl Thompson was brutal, Eubank should have retired after the first fight with Steve Collins.

thats easy holyfield and ali

Ali, Holyfield, and Leonard.

There are many fighters who should have not faught as long as they did, i am wishing to hear what you believe are some fighters who have boxed too far past their prime.

these are in no perticular order
RJJ (face it, he was an amazing boxer but it's time to let go
Holyfeild (even the boxing devision doesnt want the man to box)
Ali ( ali should have quit after thirlla in manilla)

so these are my suggestions, they are going to differ im sure with yours so please proceed to explain who you believe has out boxed themselves.
I feel u on that

joppy destorying an old duran, camacho destroying an old leonard. TRAGIC

The saddest cases of this are Joe Louis and Mike Tyson. Both of these men were forced to go on because they need/needed the money. Louis's case was probably one of the all around saddest stories in boxing. After Marciano knocked him out, and he had nowhere to go in boxing, he was forced to turn to pro wrestling and later as a greeter at Las Vegas. For all the money he made for people, for all the charities he donated to (on a few ocassions even giving his entire purse to military relief funds, yes all of it!), he ended up broke and ashamed.

One of the things that really pisses me off whenever I think of it is how the IRS taxed those purses that he donated to the military. THEY TAXED HIM ON MONEY HE GAVE TO THE GOVERNMENT!

When you think about all that Joe did, and how unfitting his life after boxing was, you're forced as a human being to come to a sad realization. Joe Louis: there can never be enough praise and love attributed to that name.

HOLYFIELD, and de la hoya

holyfield
tyson
jc chavez

Hector Camacho has had more comebacks then Cher . . .

Holyfield, Leonard.

roy jones
mike tyson
evander holyfield
ali

holyfield-tyson-..and soon to be toney..when he fights a LIVE heavyweight..their gonna put a vicious beating on the blown up 168lber

The saddest cases of this are Joe Louis and Mike Tyson. Both of these men were forced to go on because they need/needed the money. Louis's case was probably one of the all around saddest stories in boxing. After Marciano knocked him out, and he had nowhere to go in boxing, he was forced to turn to pro wrestling and later as a greeter at Las Vegas. For all the money he made for people, for all the charities he donated to (on a few ocassions even giving his entire purse to military relief funds, yes all of it!), he ended up broke and ashamed.

One of the things that really pisses me off whenever I think of it is how the IRS taxed those purses that he donated to the military. THEY TAXED HIM ON MONEY HE GAVE TO THE GOVERNMENT!

When you think about all that Joe did, and how unfitting his life after boxing was, you're forced as a human being to come to a sad realization. Joe Louis: there can never be enough praise and love attributed to that name.

Excellent post

Joe Louis, Ali, Tyson, Holyfield, and last but not least another sad one that I'm sure will have an even more tragic ending thatn it already has is Meldrick Taylor. I saw the legendary nights on his fight w/ Chavez and at the end the played the interview w/ him before the first Chavez fight and he was so well spoken and articulate then they played one from him nowadays and you could hardly make out anything of what he was saying, truely sad that some state boxing commissions will still allow this man to enter a ring Pitifull actually!

Larry Holmes. He should have quit after losing twice to Michael Spinks, but he came back and took on a prime Mike Tyson. Poor guy got devistated in the 4th round, sad and painful to watch.

ali holyfield tyson louis

Cus D'amato once said, " A great old fighter who appears to be shot can pull together one great effort."

Cus D'amato once said, " A great old fighter who appears to be shot can pull together one great effort."
but the probability of it happening becomes less if the fighter keeps going

Jeffries. Will forever be remembered as the "failed white hope" against Jack Johnson. The fight was so bad that Johnson was actually allowing Jeffries to hit him.

Louis. His loss to Ezzard Charles should have been his first clue. His loss to Rocky Marciano was evidence.

Ali. Taking a beating at the hands of Holmes and Berbick when Parkinsons is beginning to take hold...dear God.

Holyfield. When your boxing license gets suspended by the NYSAC because THEY say you shouldn't be fighting, it's time to take a hint.


I also agree that it's time for Roy Jones Jr. to let it go. He's losing fights that he simply shouldn't be losing. And now Foreman is talking of coming back...at 55...why? And Riddick(culous) Bowe too. Tyson's fans may not want to admit it, but his time is over. He simply doesn't care to be in the ring anymore, though he still loves boxing. But, what can we say? Hang-on-has-beens are as much a part of boxing as the referee.

He retired at fifty, fought in five decades, and became a punching bag in the twilight of his career. In fact, his full record does not reflect his greatness, as he reached his prime at "The Brawl in Montreal." Athough he went on to win 4 more titles in two weight classes, he was way past is prime. After age 40, he was pretty much runnin' on empty...

Most fighters.

There's more fighters who stay too long than there is who get out at the right time.

Jerry Quarry.

The problem is almost never fighting too long its fighting against dangerous opponents.

Hector Camacho did it the right way Duran and Roy Jones, not so much

Thread starter was hoping RJJ and Holyfield would retire and that was already 7 years ago. But both guys are STILL fighting. Sucks but boxing has always been like that and the fans of these guys have to suffer a lot watching them get brutally beaten at the end.

Most fighters.

There's more fighters who stay too long than there is who get out at the right time.
100% agree it would probably be harder to name 20 fighters who got out the right time and didn't either tarnish their legacy or worse seriously risk their health

Don't think Freddie Roach has been mentioned.

Chris Eubank for one. The punishment he took in the fights with Carl Thompson was brutal, Eubank should have retired after the first fight with Steve Collins.

That would be a bit early, but certainly after the Calzaghe fight. He looked like a pale shadow of himself.

Larry Holmes. He should have quit after losing twice to Michael Spinks, but he came back and took on a prime Mike Tyson. Poor guy got devistated in the 4th round, sad and painful to watch.


That was sad, but he more than made up for it in his 1991 comeback. He had some great nights in that phase of his career when winning or losing:

Ray Mercer
Evander Holyfield
Oliver McCall

He never looked washed up, sad and tragic and still seems to be in good form today.

Cus D'amato once said, " A great old fighter who appears to be shot can pull together one great effort."


True, no one expected the following:

Tommy Hearns to decision Virgil Hill

Roberto Duran to decision Iran Barkley

Larry Holmes to decision Ray Mercer

That would be a bit early, but certainly after the Calzaghe fight. He looked like a pale shadow of himself.

I don't know!

He fought well against Calzaghe, but appeared a little weak and spindly legged because he had to lose another 7 pounds in only a couple of days to reach the super middleweight limit. Remember, he was expected to fight at light heavyweight that night, but he jumped in to fight Calzaghe when Steven Collins pulled out leaving short notice.

Eubank's two final fights against Carl Thompson were absolutely superb displays of his boxing talent. His speed, timing and combination work were terrific on those nights. He was far from a sad spent force.

If he wasn't so outweighed (hell he was a natural super middleweight-light heavyweight) fighting a cruiserweight and nursing terrible eye injuries he might well have won those fights.

True, no one expected the following:

Tommy Hearns to decision Virgil Hill

Roberto Duran to decision Iran Barkley

Larry Holmes to decision Ray Mercer

Duran KOs Fitzgerald

I don't think George Foreman should've been able to have fought Holyfield. It's a testament to some weird intangible that Big George can still speak with clarity and intelligence after a fight like that or even the one with Moorer. Even if he had his moments in both (well, one big moment in the latter)

I think ideally he would've left after Moorer (Also I believe that'd leave him with a KO percentage of 94%. Feel free to correct me :fingersx:)

The saddest cases of this are Joe Louis and Mike Tyson. Both of these men were forced to go on because they need/needed the money. Louis's case was probably one of the all around saddest stories in boxing. After Marciano knocked him out, and he had nowhere to go in boxing, he was forced to turn to pro wrestling and later as a greeter at Las Vegas. For all the money he made for people, for all the charities he donated to (on a few ocassions even giving his entire purse to military relief funds, yes all of it!), he ended up broke and ashamed.

One of the things that really pisses me off whenever I think of it is how the IRS taxed those purses that he donated to the military. THEY TAXED HIM ON MONEY HE GAVE TO THE GOVERNMENT!

When you think about all that Joe did, and how unfitting his life after boxing was, you're forced as a human being to come to a sad realization. Joe Louis: there can never be enough praise and love attributed to that name.

This is definitely a post worth quoting

Chris Eubank for one. The punishment he took in the fights with Carl Thompson was brutal, Eubank should have retired after the first fight with Steve Collins.

Eubank would certainly not agree. He chose to put himself in harm's way solely to gain the respect of the fans (at the time he didn't need the money). He wanted to prove himself against arguably impossible odds and at times it almost seemed like he invited punishment.

It worked, tho. For the first time the fans saw through the villain's mask he'd deliberately worn for years and instead of booing they increasingly began to cheer.

For me he is the most fascinating and complex character I've witnessed in boxing.

Eubank would certainly not agree. He chose to put himself in harm's way solely to gain the respect of the fans (at the time he didn't need the money). He wanted to prove himself against arguably impossible odds and at times it almost seemed like he invited punishment.

It worked, tho. For the first time the fans saw through the villain's mask he'd deliberately worn for years and instead of booing they increasingly began to cheer.

For me he is the most fascinating and complex character I've witnessed in boxing.

Agreed.

The way the crowd got behind him during that first fight, and continued the support through the second was the culmination of the transformation from villian to hero.

Or some **** like that.

Speaking of which, Winky Wright seems to want two fights followed by Martinez.

I don't think it's in him anymore.

Eubank would certainly not agree. He chose to put himself in harm's way solely to gain the respect of the fans (at the time he didn't need the money). He wanted to prove himself against arguably impossible odds and at times it almost seemed like he invited punishment.

It worked, tho. For the first time the fans saw through the villain's mask he'd deliberately worn for years and instead of booing they increasingly began to cheer.

For me he is the most fascinating and complex character I've witnessed in boxing.


I seem to remember him shedding a tear when he heard the crowd's support during the announcements for the second Thompson fight.

When I saw that I was very worried that he wouldn't be ready for the task in hand........but he boxed beautifully until his eye flared up again.

When he loses too Danny Green