Floyd Patterson, who Red Cobra already mentioned, is the first I thought of in direct relation to the question. He actually never did announce his retirement after the second Ali fight. Many speculated on his return. One magazine even suggested he may come back as a light heavy. But he just went quietly into the night without fanfare.
pathetic. It took3 pages to come up w the only true besides Tunney and Marciano who left on top and never returned. Wow. Kudos Red.
Hold on, I just notice that line. That ‘disappeared and never heard of again’ line kinda disqualifies just about every big name that’s been mentioned in the entire thread so far! Marciano died tragically early but up until then still kept a pretty high profile after his last fight and anyway I’m sure there must have been plenty of rumors, whether fake or not that he was coming back after he officially retired?
Jimmy McLarnin might fit this bill. He beat more HOF fighters than you could poke a stick at, won two undisputed world titles and retired after back to back wins over legends in Tony Canzoneri and Lou Ambers then walked away from the sport, financially secure and never contemplating a comeback. He also lived a very long and happy life afterwards. Fairly rare in boxing sadly.
Who knows. He had the skills and talent. But how much do you think that demolition job took out of him both physically and mentally. Can't imagine he's the same guy after.
Kostya Tszyu. Was like Lennox Lewis offered a bucket load of money to come out of retirement but never did .Tszyu with Wladimir Klitschko remain the benchmark for two fighters who lost the last fight with a loss and remain humble and never complained or were bitter like many former World Champions have being.