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by David P. Greisman - It is not so much hypocrisy as it is inconsistency.
When the fighters are in the ring, we exhibit blood lust, expecting the combatants to abandon caution and common sense in favor of inordinate amounts of violence and valor.
Yet when these warriors are in decline, we show mercy. They are not what they once were. They cannot give us what we still want. And so we no longer want them to fight – even though that is all we know of them, and even though that is all they know themselves.
How long have we pleaded for Evander Holyfield to retire?
How long have we heard him speak of his goal to once again become “the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world”?
How long has he pursued that goal with tunnel vision, never getting any closer than he was when he first voiced it?
How long have we watched him get older but keep on fighting?
It has been 10 years and five months since Holyfield last won a world title fight, more than a decade since that first bout of his trilogy with John Ruiz was contested for a vacant title belt.
He has fought 13 times since then, winning six, losing six, and fighting to one draw. He has challenged for titles, losing to Ruiz in their March 2001 rematch, drawing with Ruiz in their December 2001 rubber match, losing to Chris Byrd in December 2002, losing to Sultan Ibragimov in October 2007 and losing controversially to Nicolay Valuev in December 2008. [Click Here To Read More]
When the fighters are in the ring, we exhibit blood lust, expecting the combatants to abandon caution and common sense in favor of inordinate amounts of violence and valor.
Yet when these warriors are in decline, we show mercy. They are not what they once were. They cannot give us what we still want. And so we no longer want them to fight – even though that is all we know of them, and even though that is all they know themselves.
How long have we pleaded for Evander Holyfield to retire?
How long have we heard him speak of his goal to once again become “the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world”?
How long has he pursued that goal with tunnel vision, never getting any closer than he was when he first voiced it?
How long have we watched him get older but keep on fighting?
It has been 10 years and five months since Holyfield last won a world title fight, more than a decade since that first bout of his trilogy with John Ruiz was contested for a vacant title belt.
He has fought 13 times since then, winning six, losing six, and fighting to one draw. He has challenged for titles, losing to Ruiz in their March 2001 rematch, drawing with Ruiz in their December 2001 rubber match, losing to Chris Byrd in December 2002, losing to Sultan Ibragimov in October 2007 and losing controversially to Nicolay Valuev in December 2008. [Click Here To Read More]
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