We hear so much of the sad endings for fighters Louis, Liston, Holmes, ect. But what are some of the best happy endings?
Holmes? - he closed out his career w/ a PPV win, & seemed to be enjoying retirement anytime I've seen him after that.
Foreman, after he retired from his comeback he was one of the wealthiest fighters in the sport. From boxing and his Foreman grills. Trinidad and Cotto appear to be enjoying their lives post retirement.
It's so common to see fighters retire on multiple losses (against lesser foes) that I consider anyone who retires on top a success. From my era Lennox Lewis springs to mind. He cleared out the majority of the division and had grudgingly gained respect from the boxing media. I know he was under pressure to take the Vitali rematch but, in my view, he was correct not to as he recognised he was declining. It wasn't a popular decision at the time, but history has shown it was a good choice and, to an extent, a 'happy ending ' as his stature his continued to grow. Joe Calzaghe as well, even though I'm not necessarily a fan. He gained wins over the two big names of his generation, Hopkins and Jones, even though they were past their best (particularly Jones). I would argue Calzaghe spent his best years defending largely against non-entities in Wales. But he had enough left in the tank to time his big wins correctly (I think he would have lost both of those fights a few years earlier). And the foresight, to his credit, to retire at the right time.
Holmes, barring the loss to Tyson, has had a good retirement. Healthy and financially strong. Lewis, Holmes, Foreman all had good retirements. Even Dempsey and Hagler, despite losing their last fights, went on to have successful and healthy lives. To me, a happy ending is when a fighter walked away from the game with their health, didn't get beaten too badly in their last fights, and went on to have decent finances and a good happy personal life after retirement. Perfection seldom happens. But Dempsey and Hagler are success stories to me.
Andre Ward has had a pretty happy ending so far, ball busting aside. He definitely knew when it was time to retire. He's left the sport with great health. He's had successful employment opportunities in the sport he loves and will have more in the future. Has an intact family. You can't ask for too much more than that.
Foreman is irreplicable. Acting gigs, the books, the entrepreneurship. He was a part of popular culture and got to enjoy it in good health.
Chavez got some coke and booze problems but he seems better rn, no? Both him and Ricardo Lopez retired with MRI scans showing their brains had no damage. Also bull**** exhibitions aside, Floyd definitely made sum smart investments. Also, I can't see any of the four kings except Hearns unfortunately being punch-drunk being unhappy with what they got.
