Fighters You Were Happy They Retired?

Most of them, but Duran especially he fought a good 5 years too long.

 

Lennox Lewis. I know some people criticise him for not rematching Vitali but, for me, he knew he was slipping and should be applauded for being aware enough to recognise the signs. One fight too far can undo years of previous good work.
Instead of criticising instances like this, we should be praising fighters who are brave enough to walk away when the drug of further glory is still in front of them. Many fans - and critics - always want more - but these are hard fought legacies which can be damaged in an instant. Boxing is a fickle game sometimes. We should celebrate those who walk away at the right time - or even earlier - more. Very few exit on good terms.

 

Although at the time I wanted to see more of him but Wilfredo Gomez retired at the perfect time, he had won his last two fights after losing to Alfredo Layne and retired at the age of 33.Had he continued he'd have received a bad beating sooner or later from a seriously lesser fighter than he was.

 

I’m so used to seeing boxers go on too long that I’m pretty much always happy when they retire, presumably with their health intact.

 

Roy Jones Jr so the nightmare could finally end

 

Marvin Hagler. Definitely Marvin Hagler. Jeff Chandler as well.

 

Hopkins

 

I agree that LL retired at just the right time.

The “one fight too many” always looms in potential for every fighter, an undesired outcome that virtually beckons them in.

Tough for LL since it came after a difficult fight vs VK but, imo, some obvious decline in LL’s game was already obvious and contributed to his difficulties during his last fight.

Even when fighters do retire before it’s too late, their fights naturally become more difficult but that doesn’t necessarily recommend the opponent as much as it illustrates the decline in said fighter.

Therefore, when they wisely bite the bullet and do retire, they’re not necessarily avoiding the last guy who happened to be there at nearly the right time - that tough last fight will happen a lot anyway, notwithstanding the quality, or lack thereof, of the opponent

Fans can be fickle. They will lament well known historical instances of fighters who fought on too long, but in real time, those same fans can be the very ones who don’t accept, or expressly reject the obvious reality of when a fighter should retire.

In terms of forecast, I think Usyk should retire right now.

Excellent performance vs Fury in his last fight but using Fury as an absolute metric for what Olek might still have left against other contenders may be a flawed reference.

Usyk has clearly lost a step or two and that might spell disaster in his next 1-2 fights against an otherwise unworthy opponent - and that would be a shame and provide for unnecessary risk to Uyk’s future health.

 

Wayne McCullough

 

Arturo Gatti

 

Evander Holyfield

 

I completely agree with this assessment. I thought Roy Jones vs Tarver was a good example of this, with Jones showing signs of decline in their first fight and then getting KOd in their second. Not to say Tarver isn't a good fighter - he was - but I think Jones's diminishing skills compounded the situation. That was certainly the case in the Glen Johnson loss too. Yet some critics will now being these examples up of RJJ being 'chinny ' or 'overrated.' And this is why fine margins can have such a huge negative impact on a person's career. Far better to leave 'too early' than too late. Lennox Lewis is an excellent example of exiting at the right time

 

CZ. The dominance was unbearable.

 

Charlie isn’t as dumb as he looks. He always knew exactly when to “get out”, often before the fight had even finished.

 

I wasn’t around for Jones but the first time I looked at his record and became interested… I understand your sentiment