Mayweather the Bull? & the Aggressor? especially in that fight? hahaha now that is next level trolling. I still remember those long deep held hugs, elbows, ducking below the line & evading performance he gave out that night with his Extra added Ingredients administrated within his veins as well.
I disagree, however I believe you're post touches on the prevalence of boxing businessmen in the sport today. The overall culture of boxing has changed. You can see many instances when a fighter legitimately gives up during a bout. Garcia and Charlo being recent examples. They finish the fight to not get embarrassed with the hopes of making another big fight in the future. The brand is still sellable. There's a certain lack of desperation for lack of a better word, among a lot of the top fighters these days. If you can create a boxing brand that appeals to enough casuals you can sell what really amounts to a mismatch, keeping your health intact while facing minimal risk. While I can appreciate a great technical boxer, I find it extremely tedious watching such a boxer face a so called slugger who doesn't have one punch knockout power in both hands. I've watched boxing long enough to know how rare upsets are and have tired of watching a fight in the hopes of seeing happen. Boxing needs more competitive fights and the current economic model deters what boxing needs most right now.
Most boxers are poorly educated, have historically been victims of racial or ethnic discrimination, came from low-income households, etc. The desperation you see comes from a set of circumstances that motivates a man to dig deeper. A well-heeled youngster can get easily turned off from the sport after taking a haymaker to the skull.
Now this here really sums up the current State of Boxing unlike that lame weekly show that ESPN airs.
Yeah especially in the old days where the boxers were from poor backgrounds, etc but now i see it's more of a blend mix full of a lot of Middle class raised kids mixed in with the guys who want to get into due to the YouTubers influence as well, the newer generation being in better educational & financial space is a good thing to see though.
I think if boxers in the past got paid like they do now they would be ducking and dodging as well. They fought so often cause they had to.
This made me think of Jermain Taylor and how badly his mental health declined. It was the other day I re watched the highlights of the Carl Froch fight and the beating he took in that 12th round was pretty savage and no doubt would have done some serious damage. When Taylor started out he seemed like a polite gentleman but in recent years has become a maniac.
There could be some truth to that & another factor I will name is back then No Social Media makes a huge difference in how your perceived especially after a devastating loss & we know most fighters liked the rest of society can't help but join that game.
Delete your social media Easy fix oh & if it's solely for your promotions then get your manager/team to handle that part, done.
Your sentiments are unironically correct, but don't expect many here to agree with you. Boxing is a natural extension of the combat sports of yesteryear, in their various forms, from the gladiators of ancient Rome to medieval knightly jousting tournaments, etc. Back then, people were firm in the belief in the afterlife, in God, in honour, in something higher than themselves. So they were willing to put themselves, their bodily selves, on the line for those beliefs. Now, people do not really believe in those things, this life is all there is, material things are all important, and that includes ones own body. So they are not willing to put themselves on the line, because there is nothing above themselves, except maybe their children/family, but they aren't exactly helped either in a material universe by their husband/father becoming a brain-damaged mong. Boxing should ideally be largely governed by honour, boxers should be willing to put themselves on the line for glory, God, country, etc. It is a highly virtuous (derived from latin for Manliness) thing to do, showcasing not only honour but also bravery, loyalty, truth, beauty, and fearlessness. In a materialist world, these things are impossible because you stand to gain nothing in this life by demonstrating any of these qualities, in fact you stand to gain more by doing the opposite! No one here will agree with you because they are scared of brain damage, scared of disease, scared of risk, scared of cancer, scared of confrontation, and ultimately death; they also cannot see past their own fragile bodies. They wake up scared and they go to bed scared and they cannot possibly fathom why someone like say Derek Chisora* would go into every fight unafraid of punishment and willing to go to war with their opponent at the expense of their own physical health. I tell you I can fathom this, as can a few others who remain, that a long life is not necessarily a good life and the candle that burns twice as bright must necessarily burn only half as long. “Not to be born at all is best, far best that can befall, Next best, when born, with least delay, is to retrace the backward way.” ― Sophocles *Not to hold up Derek Chisora as the ideal man, I don't think he does what he does for the sake of values of the kind that I hold, but a man who did hold the values that I hold would act in some similar ways.
Aside from the obvious reasons, I think one of the factors has to do with the level of poverty not being where it was 30+ years ago. Fighters aren’t willing to put it all on the line because there’s no need to. Also the media/internet nowadays plays a huge part in putting fear everywhere. Back then it was out of sight, out of mind. But now, there’s so much info out there and it’s hard not to see or hear about boxers’ ailments after so many wars. One of the fighters that pops up a lot on my instagram is Prichard Colon. Tragic story, especially being so young, too. I’ve had my share of fights and still do some sparring here and there, and it’s hard not to think of him every time I take a flush hit to the dome. It really is scary and I’d hate to make my family go through that.