Fighters With Tragic /Sad Ends?

Way too many. Joe Louis, the greatest and longest reigning champion of any division, ended up broke and addicted to heroin. Ezzard Charles was wheelchair bound and paralyzed due to his Lou Gehrig's disease. Sam Langford was blind, broke and practically homeless for most of his life after he retired, thankfuly he at least had people looking out for him in his final years. Muhammad Ali could barely form a sentance for decades. Lou Brouillard retired with the label of ''quitter' stuck on his back after his trilogy with Marcel Thil. Joe Gans died from Tuberculosis only at 36. Very few fighters get their Hollywood ending.

 

Unfortunately, there are probably mores stories we haven't heard, than have. Boxing is a really low reward, but heavy price sport for most. You're getting plugged for a pittance, unless you're box office, even then you've got to deal with all the pitfalls of the big time

 

There are sadly a long list of boxers who died at time or soon after bouts, and a even longer list of fighters who lost lives due to long term effects of boxing.

However a few who died away from our sport.

Bill Brennan challenger for Dempseys title, shot dead three and half years after the bout by the mob outside a club Brennan owned, i liked Dempseys reply when told of Brennan demise "Guess Bill bought the wrong beer."

Jimmy Wilde who spent his final years in a psychiatric hospital following a assault, a cruel end for a ATG and more importantly by all accounts a decent guy.

Pancho Villa who of course fought Wilde, died 17 days prior to his 24th birthday after a dental infection caused respiratory complications

Stanley Ketchell whose roving eye caused him to over dose on fast moving lead,

Corrie Sanders shot in armed robbery, remaining the warrior to the end shielding his daughter from gunfire

 

Most of them, I’m afraid.

 

Gerald McClelland comes to mind, tragic end to such potential.

 

Willie Classen. The fight and the whole lead up to the fight with Scypion (the previous KO loss to Sibbo just a few weeks before) are so sad.

 

Mostly the ones that ended up mentally / physically impaired and penniless. Johnny Bratton is an example of a sad ending.

 

To grasp a very small positive from a very big tragedy, is that measures were taken following the fight to bring in better boxer safety rules.

 

Yes, really good point, including the Classen Rule, have done the world of good.

 

Eddie Machen and Zora Folley, Machen from an apparent suicide, Folley from a fall in a Tucson Arizona motel pool.

 

That McIvanney book's really good is n't it,Fergy? Yes the Johnny Owen story had one of the saddest ever endings.

 

Young Perez - dying in a nazi concentration camp

Esteban DeJesus - dying of Aids in prison

Rocky Lockridge - ending up on the streets of NJ (although I think there was some family reconciliation at the end of his life)

Jimmy Bivins - found living in squalor in his daughter's attic ( at least when found, proper meds helped him back - but he didn't have the heart to press charges against the daughter)

 

All sad endings.

 

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I suspect that there used to be many more boxers with health disorders as a result of professional boxing.
Not boxers but Kevin Randleman (age 45) and Andy Hug (age 36) died too young IMO.