Fighters: One Last Day In The Sun

Fighters: One Last Day In The Sun

A fighter should know when it’s over, they surely are the ones who should see the signs of decline first. But they rarely do, most are in denial. There is always an excuse, next time it will be different, a new trainer will fix things, a new weight division, clutching on to any straw they can grab, most think they have one last day left in the sun.

Even if the fighter can’t see or accept the obvious, is it not the responsibility of the people looking after them to protect them.

Melanie Lloyd author of several books on boxing including Sweet Fighting Man: Ring of Truth says:

“I think it depends a lot on the people they have around them. Take The Greatest himself as an example. Ali went on way too long, but there was nobody strong enough to stop him. When a boxer’s skills start to erode, they would definitely see a decline. They know when their body won’t react like it used to and their timing is that split second off, but whether they ‘accept’ it is another matter. It depends on the motivation. If they are carrying on or coming back because they need the money, they are often tempted to turn a blind eye to the truth, especially if the people they are listening to are telling them what they want to hear.”

But whatever the people around them are saying, there is always another promoter or potential new trainer or manager who will tell them what they want to hear. Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz touted their 3rd fight to the likes of the UFC and Bellator, neither were interested but eventually, they found a buyer.

Ali of course famously returned and suffered that brutal, horrible and prolonged beating at the hands of Larry Holmes, but he still got sanctioned for another beating a year later. Ali as we know paid a heavy price for refusing to stop.

As Melanie says fighters must know they are not the fighter they once were. I asked the former WBO super featherweight champion Alex Arthur, if he noticed a difference in the latter stages of his career:

“Yes, it became more and more of a struggle to recover from session to session. Even after moving up in weight I was not recovering.”

Ryan Rhodes the former European Champion was one fighter whom I believe got out at the right time, but even Rhodes told me:

“The fight before my last fight I fought Kamiski, and in that training camp especially in sparring things wasn’t right, even though I got the win I wasn’t doing what I wanted to do with sparring partners.”

I asked Liam McGeary the former Bellator light heavyweight champion why fighters don’t accept its over:

“They carry on too long because they need to keep on fighting, it’s part of who they are. Competing though, I think they just don’t want to give up that life and obviously, money will be a big factor.”

McGeary is currently in training for a fight later this year but is riding a two-fight losing streak, I asked him would he know when it is time to retire:

“I think with me…. I’m not even sure mate. I think I’ll always keep on wanting to do this. Might get the hump with it, but I love to keep fighting. Will definitely be training this a lot longer than competing it that’s for sure.”

Fighters carry on for different reasons, money an obvious one but many just love the sport, they know no different, some just love the spotlight. Sugar Ray Leonard perhaps the greatest ever, outstayed his welcome and made endless comebacks, he just couldn’t stay away. Even when Terry Norris gave him a one-sided loss in 1991, Leonard thought 6 years later he could still do it, Hector Camacho showed him he couldn’t, but even then Leonard was still tempted to try again, thankfully he didn’t.

Lloyd Honeyghan in 1990 lost to Mark Breland in a performance that was unbelievably poor. Honeyghan a pale shadow of the fighter he used to be, lost in 3 totally one-sided rounds. I always wondered were there no signs in sparring what was to come, like Ali against Holmes, Honeyghan had no business being in the ring against Breland.

There are literally thousands of examples where fighters have carried on long past the time they should have stopped, be it at the top end of the sport or at the very bottom of it. I do wonder if more could be done in the way of advice and support to help a fighter cope with life outside of the sport.

Many fighters need protecting from themselves, very few leave their chosen sport on their own terms and sadly the problem will never go away. The problem is obvious, the solution less so. Maybe as I have just turned 50 myself and I am personally more aware of the ageing process, I am now feeling every punch I see land, and every punch that is landed I fear carries a heavier price the longer a fighter carries on.