Why do boxers who were great refuse to retire and end up with so many losses?

[Thraxox]

losses at the end of your career take absolutely nothing away from the wins you had during your prime, which are the most important criterion for evaluating how a great a fighter is.


robinson would not be greater if he didn't go broke and end up having to fight for money.


to answer your question, most fighters have nothing else fulfilling in their lives outside of their families and boxing. some can't make money with their skills doing anything but fightng. it'd be nice if everybody could land an HBO commentary gig, but they only employ a few fighters at a time at the most, with most of the work usually going to one guy [in this case, jones, who is still trying to fight, and not for the money.] it' d be nice if everyt fighter possessed the communication and teaching skilsl to train, or the financial acumen to promote or to manage, but most do not. how many other professions leave a dude with so few options, no pension, no health care, and brain damage in his 30's?


another reason they keep fighting while they're shot is because they're... shot. they don't know they don't have it any more. they think they can go through training and get in shape and still be the same fighter they used to be. they get the wrong people around them with an agenda telling them they're one or two wins from a title shot. and promoters love to get the scalp of an old legend on the resume of their guys, so these guys have no problem getting fights and making five or six figures.



not everybody is floyd mayeather, larry. i understand that he's really the only boxer you care about, as you very obviously view everything in the context of a comparison to the career of floyd mayweather.


when floyd reads, we read.

Probably one of the greatest explanation on why old legends fight and still keep on fighting. Green K bro, and spot on with Larry comparing everything to Mayweather, his point of view about boxing revolves around the criteria on Mayweather.

[Mike D]

Probably one of the greatest explanation on why old legends fight and still keep on fighting. Green K bro, and spot on

Yeah NE most definitely knows his ****.

[Mike D]

another reason they keep fighting while they're shot is because they're... shot. they don't know they don't have it any more. they think they can go through training and get in shape and still be the same fighter they used to be.

Yep. They always hold out this sliver of hope that they can rediscover the fountain of youth, even if it's just for one fight, and be the guy that they used to be.

Look at the Pacquiao/Horn fight. Pacquiao, according to his camp, watched his entire highlight reel like the night before the fight. To motivate him and to see if he could recapture that fire. And even though I still think he won that fight, it was clear that he was a shell of the guy he used to be. You always think you can recapture it but then you get into the ring and reality sets in.

[New England]

What a crock of shi't!

Pull your head out your a55!

look at robinson's resume, which doesn't even fit on one page, and then tell me that taking a beating late in life when you're broke takes any of those wins off of his resume.


did he not go 5 and 1 with jake lamotta just because he took L's when he was broke and shot?

did he not win the MW title five times?

did he not have arguably the best left hook ever?


you get the idea. what happens when you're past your prime has nothing to do with what happened when you were in it, and it certainly does not take those wins away.

[New England]

Yep. They always hold out this sliver of hope that they can rediscover the fountain of youth, even if it's just for one fight, and be the guy that they used to be.

Look at the Pacquiao/Horn fight. Pacquiao, according to his camp, watched his entire highlight reel like the night before the fight. To motivate him and to see if he could recapture that fire. And even though I still think he won that fight, it was clear that he was a shell of the guy he used to be. You always think you can recapture it but then you get into the ring and reality sets in.

hadn't heard that. that;s super sad when you think about it. the guy was superhuman in his prime and now that he's a few years and a few punches older he's just another welterweight and going tit for tat with jeff horn.

[JimRaynor]

Manny Pacquiao now has 7 damn losses

Ray Robinson ended up with 19 damn losses

Shane Mosley has 10

Roy ****ing Jones has 9 damn losses

Holyfield stuck around to long and has 10 damn losses


why **** up your record like that?? losses no matter what people say do effect your legacy..It takes away the "WHAT IF" SUPERHUMAN factor away..you demoralize yourself by losing to people you would have ran thru in your prime

Hopkins has 8 damn losses and was knocked out the ****ing ring by a damn construction worker.....

This **** is disgraceful...

Money first and foremost, and second that is all they have ever known. It's not like most boxers can just transition into something else that is just as lucrative, with the exception of Roy Jones, not exactly sure why he hasn't hung em up a long time ago seeing as he is now with HBO and they like him.

Lennox Lewis was one of the only very few men to do it right. I even disagree with Floyd's choice to fight Mc'Gregor, but when 100 million dollars are on the line you better bet a fight is going to happen, thats more money than most NFL players get for their whole career nvm for 48 minutes of a fight.

[JimRaynor]

That's like taking Jordan from the #1 spot and *****g him outside the top 30 because he came back amd played with the Wizards.

Jordan coming back and playing with the Wizards reduced his career PPG average from like 32. something to 30.1 putting him on level with Wilt Chamberlin.

It tarnished that part of his record and truthfully reduced a small part of his mystique. Of course Jordan was so great that people easily brush that off, but in the end he should've stayed retired.

[Carmen81]

$$$$$$$$$$

[Carmen81]

And for those who say losses don't tarnish you, I say, If Roy Jones would have retired after he won his heavyweight fight he probably would have been considered the best fighter ever at least top 3 all time

[WesternChamp]

hadn't heard that. that;s super sad when you think about it. the guy was superhuman in his prime and now that he's a few years and a few punches older he's just another welterweight and going tit for tat with jeff horn.

blame it on the choices of opponents.

TR and team pac has done a horrible job with the choices of opponents as of late.

when pac got knocked out by marquez, they wanted an easy fight for manny, so they went and picked rios instead of mike alvarado.

big mistake, although rios is more stationary than alvarado, rios was tougher than alvarado. therefore, pac couldnt stop rios, if they would have gone with mike alvarado, pac would have stopped him already.

now with jeff horn, yes, he's unknown and is suppose to be an easy fight. BUT once again, they went and picked the toughest dude out of the bunch of the so called "easy opponents". and once again, pac wasnt able to stop him. manny's choices of opponents hasnt been great but its been with guys that are tough as nails.