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I have followed boxing since my early teens, and there is one thing I have learned, I am a selfish fight fan. I want blood, I want guts, I want Gatti-Ward, I want Castillo-Corrales, I want Hagler Hearns, I want war.
It's not that I hate technical fights or technical fighters, but I always would rather a brawl then a pugilistic chess match. It's just me being a selfish fight fan, as so many of us are. But what is ironic about fight fans is that even though we are in fact selfish ourselves, we expect the exact opposite from fighters. We criticize guys like Lennox Lewis, who hated brawling. We rip apart the resumes of guys like Joe Calzaghe. We hate on guys like Floyd Mayweather for leaving on his own terms. None of this is fair, but can you blame us? Boxing fans like everyone else are in it for entertainment over everything else, so it is to be expected that we are selfish.
My favorite fighter of all time is Erik Morales. Morales was one of the rare fighters in history that arguably was not selfish at all. Yes he wanted money and accolades, but as a fighter in the ring he was as far from selfish as one could be. Often throwing technical advantages out the window for excitement and drama instead, Morales was the definition of a fan's fighter. However, in the end Morales didn't need to brawl as much as he did and he will be the one to pay the price, not us. He will be the one that in twenty years will have to explain why he lost all those fights at the end of his career. While Mayweather and Calzaghe will sit pretty with their "0" still in place and their bodies and minds unharmed.
But even though Mayweather and Calzaghe have the undefeated distinction, we as fight fans are not satisfied. Both men have fought long and hard to deserve their retirement, and they do, but it is still not enough. We want Floyd to beat elite welterweights. We want Calzaghe to rematch Hopkins and take on Chad Dawson. We want all this, meanwhile Calzaghe and Floyd could care less. As far as they are concerned they have proved everything and don't owe us anything. Why? They are being as selfish as we are. Neither one of them wants to lose their "0" and neither one feels the need to fight but we as fight fans want nothing more.
We want all of our fighters to push themselves to the limits and give us what we want in the ring. It is our love of the sport and our love for excitement that drives this feeling, so we shouldn't feel bad about it. We should, however, be understanding to the fighters that share our selfish motives. We should understand and except those technical fighters and those whose career decisions are selfish in nature. After all, being selfish is what gets many of them so far. If Floyd Mayweather wanted to please fans, he wouldn't box circles around his opponents, he would brawl them like Morales. If Calzaghe wanted to please fans, he would've come to America a long time ago. But they didn't, and we are still shouting for them to do just that.
Our selfishness as fight fans is not fair, and in fact it's down right hypocritical. We want selfless fighters when we in fact are the most selfish bunch of them all. So we should all remember this when commenting on different fighters and criticizing career decisions. Because after all, it's their careers not ours.
However, I for one will not change. I will always be a selfish fight fan. That's the way I like it. Give me blood, give me guts, give me Gatti-Ward.
Give me Erik Morales.
It's not that I hate technical fights or technical fighters, but I always would rather a brawl then a pugilistic chess match. It's just me being a selfish fight fan, as so many of us are. But what is ironic about fight fans is that even though we are in fact selfish ourselves, we expect the exact opposite from fighters. We criticize guys like Lennox Lewis, who hated brawling. We rip apart the resumes of guys like Joe Calzaghe. We hate on guys like Floyd Mayweather for leaving on his own terms. None of this is fair, but can you blame us? Boxing fans like everyone else are in it for entertainment over everything else, so it is to be expected that we are selfish.
My favorite fighter of all time is Erik Morales. Morales was one of the rare fighters in history that arguably was not selfish at all. Yes he wanted money and accolades, but as a fighter in the ring he was as far from selfish as one could be. Often throwing technical advantages out the window for excitement and drama instead, Morales was the definition of a fan's fighter. However, in the end Morales didn't need to brawl as much as he did and he will be the one to pay the price, not us. He will be the one that in twenty years will have to explain why he lost all those fights at the end of his career. While Mayweather and Calzaghe will sit pretty with their "0" still in place and their bodies and minds unharmed.
But even though Mayweather and Calzaghe have the undefeated distinction, we as fight fans are not satisfied. Both men have fought long and hard to deserve their retirement, and they do, but it is still not enough. We want Floyd to beat elite welterweights. We want Calzaghe to rematch Hopkins and take on Chad Dawson. We want all this, meanwhile Calzaghe and Floyd could care less. As far as they are concerned they have proved everything and don't owe us anything. Why? They are being as selfish as we are. Neither one of them wants to lose their "0" and neither one feels the need to fight but we as fight fans want nothing more.
We want all of our fighters to push themselves to the limits and give us what we want in the ring. It is our love of the sport and our love for excitement that drives this feeling, so we shouldn't feel bad about it. We should, however, be understanding to the fighters that share our selfish motives. We should understand and except those technical fighters and those whose career decisions are selfish in nature. After all, being selfish is what gets many of them so far. If Floyd Mayweather wanted to please fans, he wouldn't box circles around his opponents, he would brawl them like Morales. If Calzaghe wanted to please fans, he would've come to America a long time ago. But they didn't, and we are still shouting for them to do just that.
Our selfishness as fight fans is not fair, and in fact it's down right hypocritical. We want selfless fighters when we in fact are the most selfish bunch of them all. So we should all remember this when commenting on different fighters and criticizing career decisions. Because after all, it's their careers not ours.
However, I for one will not change. I will always be a selfish fight fan. That's the way I like it. Give me blood, give me guts, give me Gatti-Ward.
Give me Erik Morales.
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