“Fought to support their families” immediately triggered me into the name Billy Miske - vs Bright’s disease, vs opponents in the ring atop the responsibility of supporting his wife and children. Incredible.
Bobby Chacon- the amount of punishment he was willing to endure was insane. Autro Gatti- his tremendous heart along with his punch propelled him to many victories in which most other boxers would have quit.
Throw Rocky Marciano in between and that is one exceptional brave fighter. Down 3 times in the 1st round to Durrelle and came back to win says a lot about his bravery.
Right,...it's totally worthless to indulge in comic book, childish hyperbole when discussing boxers and their bravery .It (bravery} is inherent to being a boxer. As necessary and commonplace an attribute in this great sport as you can get. It's like having a thread about who's the tallest midget in the room.
I think intrinsically stepping into the ring takes bravery. But 'comic book childish hyperbole' is misrepresenting the point that I and other people are making I think. Anything inherent is not equal in everyone. I like the sentiment and agree on the inherent bravery of boxers, but you'd be certainly incorrect thinking all boxers are equally brave. Not that I think you're saying that but it is what is implied. The 'hyperbole' people have used in this discussion is genuine admiration for the fighters not exaggeration. Calling it worthless it disingenuous to the game, there is no hyperbole about the bravery of men who fought for peanuts to support their families for decades, with no real hope of status or glory. Someone has to be the journeyman and the men who know the purpose they serve in the sport, and continue serving it are brave.
I think there's an interesting difference between brave and courage. I checked out the definitions. Brave: "Someone who is brave is willing to do things which are dangerous, and does not show fear in difficult or dangerous situations." https://www.collinsdictionary.com/de/worterbuch/englisch/brave This, of course, implies classic brave fighters ala Johnson, Frazier, Ali, Holyfield, Marciano etc.... Courage: "Courage is the quality shown by someone who decides to do something difficult or dangerous, even though they may be afraid." https://www.collinsdictionary.com/de/worterbuch/englisch/courage Of course, there are also more sensitive people who are more plagued by fear. They need a lot of extra strength to overcome their doubts and anxiety. For instance, there are actors who still suffer from stage fright after many years or even decades of professional experience... Others, however don't care at all... From that point of view, Floyd Patterson was a very courageous fighter, although he arguably wasn't the "bravest".
Old Jack wasn’t perfect but IMO, I wouldn’t call him slimy. Considering the non supportive, oppressive environment he was born into he could’ve turned out a lot worse.
Being a flesh salesman and abusing your wife into suicide is slimy. He could have also turned out a lot better.
It takes more than just a few lines to address those subjects. There were far many more than Johnson, himself a a first gen. from slavery, who were born into social and monetary privilege who did far worse - and it was no small cause to Etta’s chronic depression that she was made a social outcast due to her marriage to Johnson. Besides, the subject here is bravery, we could meander well of course if we stop to examine the not so flattering personal lives/traits of several that have already been cited here for the their bravery.
