A very poor mentality to have. It´s the same as going 100% in the gym all the time. Too much of something is a thing.
We talk a lot about honor but not as much about responsibility. When we see a guy go to war on an undercard for $5k we don't buy his kids Christmas presents if he ends up disabled. If we're not doing that then any criticism of a guy who quits is just a bunch of hot air.
outside the context of boxing it is a major character defect that shows inability to take punishment, severe lack of resilience, cowardice, putting one's well-being over everyone else's and at the center of attention, easily dissuaded from a goal/thought/idea/determination/promise by violence or the threats of violence. Militarily speaking, it is by far and away the greatest character flaw one could ever exhibit - and if they ever do exhibit it, especially in a combat zone, they are being disarmed, held in custody, and shipped off in a black hawk to never be seen or heard from again. Quitting and cowardice are things people do and traits they exhibit once under stress and duress with an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and helplessness, which generally prohibits them from going down fighting and essentially becomng a totally useless waste of space and morale killer for their brothers to see. It's the definition of the word "pussee" and it only comes about if the offender is not willing to take more than they can give to achieve a goal. As far as acts go - it's probably the most selfish, cowardice, admittance of defeat, and total disregard for your family and brothers and fellow Marines/soldiers. It's you putting yourself, needs, and comfort way above everyone else and whatever they are dealing with in their life. Boxing's a little different from war, so it is not nearly as bad or damning but I've never seen someone truly show respect and appreciation because they were getting their ass beat so they kicked it in and quit. in boxing it's a transaction - for this $ i will fight/spar so-and-so, and train, and do whatever else justifies the income of currency from that transaction. When a fighter quits and it's not from a severe injury and they are medically cleared to continue, it's essentially them saying "I did not expect or prepare for these events to happen, and because of that and the ensuing dik kicking I was receiving, I made that contract null/void because I never would have signed those legal documents if I knew I had to go through this. Have a great day!"
Not all quitting is good though like Kahn against Crawford. You can look down upon Kahn all you want.....
In all honesty - in boxing - there is nothing wrong with quitting, especially if you are a prizefighter. It's smart, good decision-making, live to fight another day and at the end of the day boxing is a sport and only a sport. So as a fighter it absolutely is ok to quit and end a fight especially if your team, judge, and doctors are being dangerously negligent. It's our one and only life, be gentle and kind with it and always have your health at the forefront. Sports on the other hand........... let's be real, they are absolutely pointless, empty, useless, meaningless, and add so little to any society around the world especially considering the massive investments moat societies place in them.......... They're on a verge of being a joke and laughing stock. Except humans figured out different sports that extracted different and specific talents/traits/athletic gifts were far more than circus shows. If they were done right - even as nothing more than a pointless game, they proved, repeated, captivated, polarized,and left populations in awe. They extracted beautifully and developed the gifts/traits/athleticism all different societies place the most value on. Sports are in a way a highly controlled, regulated and refereed game with a long and specific rule book that requires strict adherence to by all participants. So in a way, they are the closest form to actual war and combat as their is in the civilized world. As horrific and awful and inhumane and downright terrible war and combat are, they are the only unfailingly and definitive events and circumstances that can be viewed and analyzed by a far where very certain and specific traits are not just lauded and celebrated they are actually actively made to cultivate those very special gifts and strengths, and talents so they can put out the best war fighters in the world(hypothetically) and win wars. There are few if any other sports besides boxing that have such attention paid to such areas. An in the grand scheme of things - sports are close enough to combat to bring out and develop these amazing traits and give children and adults these amazing intangible and hardly quantifiable traits to celebrate more than most anything else, bring them passion and emotion that in many cases, nothing else could ever bring them. It's these truly amazing and precious generally mental and emotional strengths and gifts that society has made a ruling throughout the world that these strengths/gifts/traits are some of if not the most valuable commodities in all the world if not the most valuable, and seeing/witnessing them happen real-timeis so amazing, life changing,and unforgettable that it has long made little childrens recess games into some of the biggest events in the world that generate as much revenue as almost all others, because nothing else - besides war/combat, and repeatedly at that - isolate those most amazing things from whatever else left unblemished and perfectly able to appreciate and dream about and be inspired by. in boxing, though there is NOTHING wrong with quitting, that fighter and their actions will never inspire anyone in a positive way and will be forgettable most their career save for when they kicked it in like a chump and walked away. Modern sports in general are set up and highly adept at recognizing those traits of greatness, but anytime they see someone quit - rightfully so or not - probably get a solid chuckle over the incident and lets be real we all look seriously down on any fighter who quits, especially on their character and toughness.
When Alexis Arguello went down for the final time against Pryor in their second fight he could have gotten up but he knew he was finished. There's nothing wrong with that after the effort he put up. But the most infamous quit, Duran Leonard had nothing to do with punishment, it was a mental breakdown sort of like Oliver McCall but less emotional. This whole subject of quitting is very subjective and depends on the specific circumstances.
So true. A lot of the time these people haven’t even stepped inside a boxing gym, let alone climbed into a ring.
It depends on the amount of punishment a fighter takes, how much effort the fighter puts up, or if the fighter is too mentally weak to continue. Quitting can be seen as a negative because the people that paid to watch the fight expect the fight to go on much longer. However, most people don’t even understand exactly what these fighters go through and there can be varying factors to it. Guys like Morales and Arguello have been dropped and decided to not continue because they knew they would get more punishment from Pryor/Pac. When Golota quit against Tyson people booed him out but had no idea that he had a life threatening injury. Quitting shouldn’t be looked down upon if it means preserving someone’s health. However, if a fighter quits without taking much punishment and giving a low effort in the ring then that’s when a fighter should be criticized, much like Rigondeaux.
