Tweet
This seems to be the topic of the moment, so how about an anonymous multi-choice poll? You get to vote for as many quits as you want.
I've chosen four to vote on: Zoo vs. Hatton, Gatti vs. Mayweather, Tyson vs. McBride, and a nice older just to show a real quitter: Golota vs. Tyson.
Of these, I feel Tyson's was the most legitimate. Maybe it was just sentiment, but for a guy of his stature to be able to say "that's it, I've not got it in me anymore, I've given all I can to the game and I have nothing left to give in this fight, but I'm sorry" is almost fair enough. The writing's been on the wall for so many years now anyway, and the only people really to blame are those for believing in Mike a decade past any sort of competitive state, and the people pushing him into it. I'd go with a borderline legitimate quit. It's never honourable to exit that way, but that's the nearest I can get to it.
Gatti? Okay, his corner did the decision for him, but I think this more relies on what you believe what going on in Gatti's heart. If you think that he was manfully taking his punishment and his corner pulled him out against his wishes, you'll think it's legit. If, like me, you think that for once Gatti's heart failed him and he fought looking to inflict (and thus receive) minimal pain and was looking for a way out even in the first round then you'll probably think it was a quit. Again, sentiment almost makes me want to say it was an okay quit (and it was, in the sense that he could have been killed) but him arguing with his corner and wanting to carry on reminded me of a pub arsehole, drunk out of his brains and instructing his friends to "hold me back" with no real intention of a fight.
Zoo? Well, when the "bruised brain" story came about, it seemed fair enough, retrospectively. But then the bruised brain has been since catergorically denied by his Doctor, so it's less worthwhile. Knowing he was behind on the cards and hadn't got a KO in him, Zoo threw in the towel. Really, this is what boxing is all about - going out there and taking your lumps. Not making a business decision and reneging on a contract. He was hurt, sure, but he relinquished the visceral rush of this spectator sport in favour of preserving his pain threshhold. That said, he probably did have the blackest bollocks in history after that ninth round.
Golota. This puts it into perspective, huh? A tired old man, fighting on way past his best, placing himself into potential life-threatening danger because he's broke. A reluctant warrior, realising he's outclassed, and getting his head repeatedly knocked back, risking serious brain damage. A master stylist, outworked by a pressure fighter who has spent eleven gruelling rounds beating his body, fracturing his cheekbone and threatening to smash his head so hard his brain will smash against the side of his skull and render him unconscious.
Then there's a big man, supposedly a world contender, who's taken two rounds of shots from an aged ex-champ and wanted to run, despite it becoming competitive. There's no comparison, really, is there?
I've chosen four to vote on: Zoo vs. Hatton, Gatti vs. Mayweather, Tyson vs. McBride, and a nice older just to show a real quitter: Golota vs. Tyson.
Of these, I feel Tyson's was the most legitimate. Maybe it was just sentiment, but for a guy of his stature to be able to say "that's it, I've not got it in me anymore, I've given all I can to the game and I have nothing left to give in this fight, but I'm sorry" is almost fair enough. The writing's been on the wall for so many years now anyway, and the only people really to blame are those for believing in Mike a decade past any sort of competitive state, and the people pushing him into it. I'd go with a borderline legitimate quit. It's never honourable to exit that way, but that's the nearest I can get to it.
Gatti? Okay, his corner did the decision for him, but I think this more relies on what you believe what going on in Gatti's heart. If you think that he was manfully taking his punishment and his corner pulled him out against his wishes, you'll think it's legit. If, like me, you think that for once Gatti's heart failed him and he fought looking to inflict (and thus receive) minimal pain and was looking for a way out even in the first round then you'll probably think it was a quit. Again, sentiment almost makes me want to say it was an okay quit (and it was, in the sense that he could have been killed) but him arguing with his corner and wanting to carry on reminded me of a pub arsehole, drunk out of his brains and instructing his friends to "hold me back" with no real intention of a fight.
Zoo? Well, when the "bruised brain" story came about, it seemed fair enough, retrospectively. But then the bruised brain has been since catergorically denied by his Doctor, so it's less worthwhile. Knowing he was behind on the cards and hadn't got a KO in him, Zoo threw in the towel. Really, this is what boxing is all about - going out there and taking your lumps. Not making a business decision and reneging on a contract. He was hurt, sure, but he relinquished the visceral rush of this spectator sport in favour of preserving his pain threshhold. That said, he probably did have the blackest bollocks in history after that ninth round.
Golota. This puts it into perspective, huh? A tired old man, fighting on way past his best, placing himself into potential life-threatening danger because he's broke. A reluctant warrior, realising he's outclassed, and getting his head repeatedly knocked back, risking serious brain damage. A master stylist, outworked by a pressure fighter who has spent eleven gruelling rounds beating his body, fracturing his cheekbone and threatening to smash his head so hard his brain will smash against the side of his skull and render him unconscious.
Then there's a big man, supposedly a world contender, who's taken two rounds of shots from an aged ex-champ and wanted to run, despite it becoming competitive. There's no comparison, really, is there?
Comment