Physical attributes and a boxing brain are not enough to make you a great fighter. There is more, a desire or somethign that drove them on. What I want you to do now is, give me a great fighter and tell me what you think drove them on to desire greatness. Like with Monzon and Duran it´s their vicious nature. Hagler the chip on his shoulder and his bitterness. But what makes a Hopkins continue to fight today? He has enough money, is it just the love for the sport? What drove Ali on? What a Robinson?
Buchanan planned to retire early, always said he never wanted to be an over the hill fighter trying to grasp at former glories (in fact as a young man he pitiyed them), yet he came back time and time again. Heard of many getting the itch after they retire, almost like it's an addiction. For many it's all they've ever known, certainly no reason why Duran went as long as he did, but he did and i can only assume for love.
For most of them, particularly those that came from ghettoes and other lowly stations of life,(many, many examples here) it was a holistic, very satisfying, even metaphysical outlet or vehicle for self-expression...like that of a painter, poet or musician, and the best and only real way to escape from poverty. The pain and the physical drudgery of training was a part of the whole that led to immense satisfaction..culminating, in most cases, of course in the monetary rewards and the adulation of the fans from being the ultimate and most basic kind of athletic hero..the guy who can impose himself physically on his ooponents..the baddest guy on the block, so to speak. For some, however, like the Gene Tunneys and the Ezzard Charles of the sport (and others), it was mostly a means to and end..meaning being financially set for life, with no real love for the sport.
A guy like Hopkins I think suprisingly has a lack of self confidence and still has this desire that he needs to prove something. He needs to have that competition to reinforce himself and it allows him to train stay fit and compete like he does. Whether its breaking a record or achieving the unthinkable, theres always something they can use as a catalyst to keep going. You cant be his age or Holyfields age and perform like they do when its only driven by financial gain. There has to be a deep rooted drive to allow them fight like they do. I think that pretty much goes for most fighters in some ways, and the worst place you want to be is in a fight if your not mentally prepared for it.
Why do fighters come back or keep going? In most cases fighting is all they can do, it is very easy to make allot of money for 1 fight when you're established, its just tempting to throw your hat in the ring time and again And then there is their egos, loving the crowd's adoration, the fame. Everyone has different motives, some simply love to fight and love the romance of the sport but they are a rarer species
As for Hopkins I think he's in love with the game, it defines who he is, hes a historian who studies the old timers
Very nice post mate i agree with almost all of it except maybe the last handfull of words, guys dont get that far without love. That said alot of guys who wear their hearts on their sleeves and leave it all in the ring and go toe to toe with anyone do seem to have unfortunately short careers
