Pain and Suffering: The Physical and Mental Toll of Losing in Boxing

Boxing is maybe the most physically demanding sport and every round a fighter fights it damages them, they leave a little bit of themselves in the ring each time they fight, until eventually they can't give anymore of themselves. Most people don't like being hit it doesn't feel very good, so it takes a degree of mental toughness and bravery that most people including me do not possess, to even step in the ring. And when they do they are laying their life on the line, all for the masculine need to prove themselves to be better than their opponent, or for the economic benefits to provide for themselves and their family, and all the honor and glory that comes along with being able to say you are the best.

So what happens to a fighter psychologically when they lose, they wilt inside just a little or maybe a lot depending on how badly they are beaten, and the amount of confidence that they lose varies based on the severity of the beating. But if you walk around thinking you are unbeatable with your head held high, then to suddenly have the feeling that your not the best anymore, that you are no longer invincible, that being taken from you can be emotionally devastating to most people, because they have been humbled, which is an emotion that is very foreign to fighters who have to think they are the best at what they do, if they don't believe in themselves anymore it can become debilitating to any of their future endeavors in the ring. And quite often they will never fully recover from the beating they received and it will physically, mentally, and emotionally haunt them for the rest of their lives in and out of the ring, doubt in one's abilities is one of the worst feelings someone can have, it can be paralyzing.

Imagine being in Bute's shoes you're unbeaten and highly skilled and go into the ring the prohibitive favorite against a fighter who looked terrible in his last outing, there is nothing to worry about, but his expectations were badly shattered by reality when facing Froch, put yourself in his shoes imagine how helpless you would feel, how utterly small when you see someone like Carl looking you in the eyes and pummeling you within an inch of your life, and the thought that your life could have possibly been taken from you is a very scary feeling, Taylor felt the very same thing as well, how can someone emotionally recover from such a traumatic experience, in many cases they can't and it leaves them scarred for life. So every time they step back into the ring there is a recording playing behind their eyes of being utterly savaged by an opponent, that fear may prevent them from ever being able to fight the same way again, to know that you are vulnerable is a terrible feeling to have in the ring, and it can badly inhibit a fighter therefore you may never fully regain any semblance of your former self and you are mentally ruined.

Emotionally what kind of toll did it take on Mike Perez to know that he effectively ended a mans life with his hands, to see what used to be a strong bull of a man in Abdusalamov reduced to playing with a balloon gazing at it with less cognitive function than many animals possess, what toll does it take when it sinks in that you did this to him, and not only that, but the very same thing can happen to you, that would destroy even the most hardened person deep down from which they never be the same.

Danny was beaten in the ring and in his own mind by someone no one thought had a chance, his confidence was taken from him, what is the long term cost of the pride that was lost in that fight.
Broner was beaten down badly by Maidana how can someone recover from that. How many tuneups will it take to get his head right, but still knowing his chin is not unbreakable, and the same thing can possibly happen again.
Pacquiao's life was nearly taken from him, imagine the thoughts that went through his head of never seeing Jinkee and his kids ever again. Wouldn't that make someone very risk adverse, and not foolishly rush in to danger.
Marquez what goes through his head knowing that he nearly ended the life of his foe and may have cheated to do it, or maybe not, but it has to takes it toll. Mentally what effect has the close loses to Pacquiao had as well, did it push him to that extreme if he did.

There is also reasons to take into consideration as to why boxers lose sometimes or look terrible in winning, all the struggles and despair in their daily lives take a toll as well. It irritates the **** out of me when I see people on this forum who do not even attempt to understand why a fighter they dislike loses. They are so happy that their man wins, they are willing to overlook any glaringly obvious reason why his opponent may not have been on his game that night and lost. They accept no excuse, no matter how big and never let them live it down.
What person on this site doesn't have constant distractions, physically, mentally, emotionally that makes you lose focus, sometimes they are big sometimes they are little, but the littlest thing can derail you for weeks on in, even if you are trying your best to not let it.

Manny and Jinkee were having marital issues before the third Marquez fight.
Floyd was having problems with his father before the Cotto fight.
Donaire's wife was pregnant before the Rigondeaux fight.
Sergio was physically diminished before the Murray fight, and completely shot before the Cotto fight.
Froch was incredibly angry at Groves and let it get the best of him in the first fight.
Froch was jetlagged for the Ward fight.
Chavez was fat and out of shape and hadn't fought in a year for Vera1.
Danny was distracted by the hoopla in Puerto Rico.
GGG had the flu before he fought Rosado and didn't look great but won.
Brook wasn't focused and was buying into his own hype before Carson Jones, not a great excuse.
Oscar De La Hoya was a drunk and probably a crossdresser while boxing.
Boxers do get old overnight many of them.
Sometimes their excessive lifestyle prevent them from being in adequate shape.

Not everything a boxer says is a valid excuse for why they look bad or lose, but they are human beings with foibles like everyone else. I'm not saying there should be asterisks placed by their matches they don't look great in, but fans pro or con should acknowledge the reasons if they appear to be legitimate. Otherwise most fans are being intellectually dishonest with themselves or flagrantly propagandistic on the part of their favorite, when not admitting, maybe my guy beat your guy because he wasn't 100%.
This is a very physically demanding and mentally stressful sport, that could easily overwhelm anyone who attempts it, the idea of putting on a pair of gloves and stepping into a ring to fight someone who could permanently damage you and even kill you, might mess with your head just a little bit, and most people don't tend to be very psychologically fit to start with especially boxers, otherwise they probably wouldn't choose this sport to begin with.
So we should stop acting like we're watching rock em sock em robots and not lose sight of the fact that the people we look up to are very normal and very flawed, and they can't be expected to be perfect all of the time.

Granted that's part of the fun, us fighting about the sport, but some fans should attempt to be slightly more reasonable and not adverse to admitting maybe their guy lucked out, or had a slight advantage.

No one is infallible all of the time and fighters are just as imperfect as any of us they shouldn't have expectations placed upon them that they are not capable of living up to for a variety of reasons and treated like super heroes that have failed us when they don't, they are only regular people just like us, only a little tougher.

 

:goodThanks

 

I've covered that in one of my other threads

 

Yeah that sucks too, but that's not quite what I was talking about