Boxing Comebacks: No Stop Watches, But The Clock Keeps Tickin
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.