Does big money diminish a fighter's "hunger" or is it a "greed" thing?

[Terry A]

I read this on *********.com......

Former IBF super middleweight Jeff Lacy has revealed that he's retiring from boxing because he is insulted by a $550,000 offer to fight Jermain Taylor. "What do I look like fighting a fight of that caliber for $550,000 when I have more to risk than anything?" Lacy commented to the Tampa Tribune. "I feel like Taylor needs me more than I need him and what do I look like fighting that fight for $550,000 and risking my life in there like I did Wednesday night because the referee is not on top of this guy hitting me in the back of the head?"

1. $550,000 is a LOT of money.
2. $550,000 was the STARTING point of the "offer". It was negotiable.
3. Had Jeff Lacy taken this fight and beat Taylor, he would have been in a good position for a mega-buck fight next.

I can't help but think that once these guys taste big money, they tend to forget where they came from. Most of us guys here on BoxingScene Forums would do almost ANYTHING for $550,000. But it seems like once somebody gets to the big time, has a huge payday or two, they start getting unrealistically greedy.

Something else....two fighters that are universally respected are Tyson & Holyfield. Each has made close to $100 MILLION in their career and now, one (Tyson) filed bankruptcy and the other (Holyfield) has major money woes.

Where exactly does $100 million dollars go??? Most of us will never see 1 million $ in our whole life combined. That's the same as saying that for every $ we ever made, those guys made $100.00 or more! And now THEY'RE almost broke. I don't understand that, try as I may.

Boxing used to be free on TV. The 1980's peaked with great fights on all three networks (NBC, ABC, CBS). Soon as we fans started paying $19.95 for a pay-per-view, then boxing went off the major networks. Now, if you don't have HBO or SHOWTIME, we have to fork out $49.95 to watch a good fight on PPV.

At what price does it end???

[them_apples]

didn't Holyfield make closer to 200 mil? I know Tyson made around 300-400 mil in his career..

[javelin_fangs]

I don't think Lacy lost his hunger or is greedy. I think if anyone gets offered less than they're used to making for the type of work they're used to doing they'll feel offended. The difference here is that athletes make so much money that the average person is not willing to understand that even when you make a lot of money you equate what you're paid with how much you're respected.

[Terry A]

didn't Holyfield make closer to 200 mil? I know Tyson made around 300-400 mil in his career..

To tell the truth, I don't know how much they made. I do remember Evander's house that he's trying to keep now has 130 rooms! What do you put in 130 rooms????

I like these guys. We show them lots of respect and they get tons of fan adulation. I love our great sport, but I'm getting tired of seeing all these wonderful fighters ending up broke. You don't see this happening in the NFL, MLB or the NBA when those guys make their millions. They retire in luxury, and their kids inhereit a great amount of the left overs. There's a dis-proportionate amount of fighters ending up broke. And we can't blame Don King for this all the time either.

[jack_the_rippuh]

Lacy needs to watch tapes of his last few fights.
He'll know why then.

[rizkybizness]

Lacy should be grateful he's even in the picture, he should be especially happy with 550k. He looked like complete and utter **** in his last outings.

[niceguy45]

edison miranda is one of em'

[-Antonio-]

Lacy is basically saying, if I'm going to get ****ed up by this man, I better get paid.