The "Bums" of boxing

[The Time]

He must have put some work in somewhere along the line. Definitely a bum the night he fought Canelo.

The crazy thing is that he actually got some good wins (albeit coming into the ring a weight class or two above his opponents).

Yeah, he had a good 2 year run from 2010 to 2012.

Lol, Before that and after that, Yikes!

[TonyGe]

I hate the term bum used towards any fighter, even ones I really dislike or hate. It takes a certain level of discipline, commitment and heart to step into a boxing ring and compete as a fighter. I respect that of ALL fighters. As much as I hate guys like Floyd, Stevenson, or Fury I would never refer to them as bums. I will criticize their fighting styles, choice of opponents, character in and out of the ring, etc.

But, if I had to answer someone with what constitutes a bum, I guess a fighter who lacks discipline and doesn't take the sport seriously. Someone who is lazy and doesn't bother to make weight, fights well beneath his skill level, is a dirty fighter, or a coward who refuses to defend his title. Even then, I don't like the term. Unfortunately sports writers of a bygone era made the term popular, and guys like Ali used it frequently to describe his opponents. But it is an overused term and one that should NEVER be used by someone who has never even stepped into a boxing ring to compete.

My impression is the term Bum is thrown around here mainly by people that
A. don't appreciate the hard work put in by boxers.
B. People that want to diminish the status of a fighter they don't like and can't come up with a rational argument.
C. A combination of A and B
D. Stupid people.