55 year old Chris Byrd knocked out in 1st round

Definitely not Chris Byrd at all, this isn't the same person. You can clearly tell it's Byrd in the original video, he still (kinda) moves like Byrd. He also has the same exact frame Byrd currently has (there are some interviews with Byrd floating around).

 

Did anyone see that Chris Byrd fought this past June after a 17-year layoff? He got stopped in 1 round by Anthony Welsh, and they fought at middleweight for something called the WABA middleweight title. This guy that beat him had a record of 3-1 going into their fight, and the fight was held in Zambia of all places. There's even a short YouTube video of the fight that I'm not posting because it's not that good.
Now what is Byrd doing back in the ring. Byrd had a great professional and amateur career, he had a lovely wife and kids, he didn't seem like the partying and gambling type. His family worked his corner when he was fighting. As a person he seemed nice, knowledgeable, and humble. I can see Byrd staying around boxing as a trainer, commentator, manager, or promoter, but not boxing at his age. Is he broke? What is going on with him? Does anyone know what's going on with him? Honestly, I always liked Chris, and he should be enjoying life at his age, not getting beaten up by club fighters.

 

i read his wife divorced him. Sad.

Male athletes often face this issue. When the money isn't coming in at the same rate anymore post retirement, women often bail. It happens to NHL players, soccer players, NBA players etc. and of course, to fighters.

I feel bad for male athletes. Unless there are some major changes in law, they will continue to get robbed.

Byrd was indeed a very admirable character. He was no more than a natural 168 lber. I still think it would have made more sense for him to start at 168 or 175, win a world title there and work his way up to cruiser and maybe heavy when the right time came.

Obviously i am concerned about his health. He took a ferocious beating from Wlad in their second fight. He also took some big hits of Wlad in their first fight. And while he beat Tua, he took some heavy shots there as well. And the tko loss to Ibeabuchi was brutal. All of these men were naturally in the 220-240 lb range and were exceptionally heavy hitters. Its a miracle Byrd had any success vs them.

I hope he retires for good and focuses on coaching and his kids. He was defensively skilled and he could help a lot of cruisers and heavies develop his type of defensive skill.

 

I saw it and it was pretty bad. His legs were all over the place even before he got hurt.
Sometimes,especially as we age, people are desperate to catch that last sliver of youth before it too goes away like everything else does.
I can picture him just sitting around not doing anything worth while by his standards. Essentially just waiting to take that final ride.
And then it hits him. What if I could fight just one more time and for the first time in awhile he feels alive. Excited.
I don't blame him for trying and I understand why he did.

 

The Women's Ampersandium Basketball Association (WABA) title is one of the greatest achievements in all of sports. Show some respect.

 

Chris actually announced he will be returning to the ring when I interviewed him in April. He was aiming even at junior middle. Sad to see him like this, but hey, he always felt he had something to prove and it didn't change.

 

Bareknuckle incoming.

 

Sometimes it's just in the blood. I started training muay Thai at 49. At 55 i had mu last fight. 2 years later I still want to get back in there. I tell my trainer it's not about winning or losing, just the need to compete.

 

I saw it back in June.

As a poster already said, Chris’ legs began betraying him even before he really got hit - a very bad sign.

Fortunately, it appeared that he took as minimal damage as was possible before it was stopped.

I know some people are pro choice when it comes to boxers wanting to continue fighting but it wouldn’t be possible without an infrastructure governed by rules, due safety regulations etc. that should be responsibly enforced notwithstanding a fighter’s own desires.

 

We are seeing this more and more with retired fighters well into old age. And the problem is that the community is pandering to it.

 

He's got zero chance even in the senior circuit there. If he was actually smart he'd go on a "strength and conditioning" regimen for a year or so. Gain some mass and muscle back and then start looking to comeback against names like Rahman, Ibeabuchi, McCall, Briggs, Belfort, Anderson Silva, Rampage Jackson etc. He could make some money in novelty fights there. Even if he loses it's a bit more dignifying losing to someone from his generation and not a mediocre journeyman. But Byrd sounds a bit delusional ngl. Vegan diet and boxing comeback well into your 50s close to 20 years since you were last in the ring sounds like a recipe for disaster.

 

Upon rewatching, its kinda crazy how good he looked until he got tagged clean.

 

Pre-nup.

 

I remember Angelo Dundee saying exactly the same about Muhammad right before the Larry Holmes fight in an interview (could have been ESPN's 30 for 30 "Muhammad and Larry").
And he was right. Bodily "The Greatest" looked rejuveniled and in great shape, trimmed down to his perfect fighting weight. That's why many observers gave him a good chance to pull the rabbit out of the hat one last time.