Comments Thread For: Pride versus the price: Why Sergiy Derevyanchenko deserved the chance to hear the final bell

[SteveM]

Agree 100%. These were my exact thoughts as I marvelled at Deryvyanchenko's heart and at Tim Bradley's endless inane commentary. Bradley himself was such a blood and guts warrior that it makes no sense at all for someone like him to misunderstand and dismiss the primacy of a fighter's pride in a fight - especially for a fighter who might be inside the ring for the last night of his life. Excellent article again, Mr. Raskin.

The writer inferred that Bradley has had short and medium term issues due to the amount of punishment he took - so it makes a world of sense

[Liondw]

If he was announced the winner after the fight with Golovkin, there wouldn't be any real outcry, 'cos he has a case on that one.

Mention of Raging Bull, what a movie, great film. Unfortunately very hard to like De Niro with his latest antics, but I guess some fine actors are douchebags in real life.

I digress, a good career for Sergiy, lost the big ones, but a fine professional.

[Rayzah]

Tim Bradley was really annoying, constantly calling for them to stop the fight. I can't recall him wanting his own fight with Ruslan Provodnikov to be stopped. Sergiy Derevyanchenko wasn't getting knocked around the ring like Ruslan did him that night, and nobody stopped the fight. Tim was really trying to make Mbilli look like the monster he is not.

[crimsonfalcon07]

I have a slightly different take. Devy has had the unfortunate "luck" of being good, just not good enough. I thought he beat GGG, and the Charlo fight took a lot out of him. In order for boxing to survive it needs every type of fighter. The prospect, the journeyman, the gatekeeper, the list goes on and on. There are both positions of fighters just like there are styles of fighters.

What I saw Saturday night with the Devy-Mbili fight was not a man on fumes wanting to preserve legacy, but a man realizing that his position on the board at THIS STAGE OF HIS CAREER is to be on the board. Had this fight been stopped or Devy stopped, it would have been the arm injury AND that he's a shot fighter. Him standing after 12 rounds gives even a sliver of hope that the next fight he has will be televised. And that is a win for him at this stage of his career. Viability is the only game Devy has at this point. Him continuing to be a name gatekeeper is what is going to bring the money home to give to the wife so that their family has food on that table. We as the fans sometimes forget that in all the entertainment, there are lives supported, maintained, and even broken through this sport.

It was certainly a tough watch, but that is what this sport brings. Both fighters (Makhmudov and Devy) reminded us on Saturday that this is a part of the sport, just like going to work in sales means hearing no, like being in the military means being deployed and maybe not coming back the way you left. This is a job and everyone is figuring out how can I continue to bring value and be valuable in my job.

Great post, IMO. Since Derevyanchenko IS perhaps the hardest luck fighter, his finances may not be secure enough to retire and take care of his family, especially given the war in his home country. He's fighting for his career, and never having been stopped, especially he's fighting injured, adds value to his name. He may still get another big fight because he didn't quit in the corner. It's easy to talk about retirement when you're not the guy in the ring. We don't know what he's fighting for. Boxing is one of those sports in which you can generally expect some long term issues. I'm married to a neurologist, so I get to hear about those on the regular. I also have been in the fight game long enough to know how far those purses go, and how much goes to camp expenses, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if his finances aren't sufficient right now for him to feel like his family's future is secure.

And the guy is a warrior. That's part of who he is. If he sacrifices pride, that could well be like sacrificing his self identity. Easy to talk about prices when it's not you. Facts are, none of us have the right to tell him when it's appropriate to quit, and we generally applaud the guys who show they don't have quit in them, and attack and bully those who do take a knee. Tim Bradley is a disgrace for how he behaved in that commentary IMO. Look at how he criticized Daniel Dubois for going down vs Joyce with a damaged eye. Where was the talk about prices then? Maybe he'd have ended his career permanently if he'd continued with that injury, but you wouldn't think about that the way Tim Bradley gave him flak. How about the way people talked about Ryan Garcia taking a knee? He had a prior injury from camp, but nobody was talking about prices.

[IAMTHAT]

We will agree to disagree on your 1st point,2nd point we agree

I call that a win