Ray Mercer and the ageing boxer with no money syndrome

Could Ray Mercer still be competitive in boxing? There was talk of him fighting David Haye before he chose Monte Barrett. Before that he was to fight Rahman. I believe he could give a good fight to both those guys still. Apparently he needs the money so wouldnt boxing commisions and some decent promoter be better off letting him have one last big fight with a live opponent where he will get paid real money instead of him having to chase around after these freakshow cage fighters to make less money than he potentially could in one fight against Haye!

RAY: "This was supposed to be a boxing match then they changed it 2 days before the fight. I need money, so we knocked this mf out!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvG5Pl0Ypnk

This all harks back to what happened to Joe Louis, when will boxing sort out how to help boxers when they retire so they dont need to keep coming back into the ring? In NRL rugby league they are making all players do educational courses for that very reason so as to give them something for when their short sports careers end.

 

I dont know if giving a former millionaire a retirement package will solve the problem.

Most of these guys screw themselves over and it's hard for a regular working Joe like most of us to really feel sorry for most"not all" but most of them.

 

Whats wrong with getting a job after boxing?

 

they'd be fine if they could get over the need and want feeling of having an entire entourage staying at the hotel the night of their big fights...

you know these boxers when they take their team out to dinner .. their crew.. when it comes time to pay the check ..nobody is grabbing for their wallets ...the boxers are...

when you gotta buy one ice cream you gotta buy one for the whole team ...

you live a life of paying for everybody .. and that's how it goes ... you ever try buying dinner for 4 kids? ... try doing it with a whole team of 10-15-20 people .. and then do it every other night...that's enough to make anybodys accounts run low

 

wow i didnt know about this 2 day notice thing

 

Wlad took that punch a couple of times in there fight,,,an well, we know, wlad whipped his ass, an help put him in the poor house,

 

In most other walks of life people have to plan for their retirement themselves, invest in a pension or plan an alternative career, boxers are grown men, they should be able to look after themselves, unless they're brain damaged by boxing or something in which case a benevolent fund to help them out would be good.

 

I would of thought that Mercer would get a pension from the army? He was in the army until age 27 or something. Do you need to serve a certain amount of years to qualify?

 

I find it impossible to feel sorry for a guy who had much more money than I'll ever make in my lifetime and pissed it away. So sorry, best of luck. McDonalds is hiring.

 

heavyweight boxing is more than a 1 punch MMA heavyweight 'fight'.

 

What a great achievement beating an over the hill Ray Mercer is.

 

I am not a MMA fan, i only watch it some times on spike,,,but to the fans out there, how big is this win, i mean if he can beat this guy, what is his chance against the next level up, an what level was this guy,,,,was he the klitschko of the division, or monte barrett of the division

 

You have to retire to be eligible. at least 20 years, or have been retired for medical reasons. Also, the money the pension provides would never be enough to live off of, unless the retiree were a general, or another very high rank.

 

I wouldn't call it a great achievement, but it was a good body of work by wlad, he pounded him for 6 rounds, an i give respect to mercer, cause he took a beating from hell,,,,,but no it was not a great achievement,,,todays victory will be a great achievement

 

I agree with others---it's really hard for me to feel sorry for MOST of these guys over money. They make more in one fight than most people make all year. If they can't handle their business any better then that's on them. I got 2 kids and a wife and my job is to be sure I can meet the basic needs. I've been saving for retirement AND college funds since I was in my late 20's.