11/05/24
November 14, 2004
Holyfield should give it up: Evander Holyfield should retire instead of letting his supersize ego obscure reality. The guy was a great boxer, but now he is a shadow of his former self. He should stop making a fool of himself and bow out. It's at the point now where he gets pummeled every time he steps into a ring.
How about the increasing chance of serious injury? Seems like a reasonable concern to me.
posted by rodgerd at 04:08 PM on November 14, 2004
$$
posted by rushmc at 07:33 PM on November 14, 2004
What good is $$$ if your mind is mush??
posted by daddisamm at 08:55 PM on November 14, 2004
Daddisamm, who says Holyfield (or other athletes in similar situations) are willing to acknowledge that's even a possibility?
posted by billsaysthis at 09:29 PM on November 14, 2004
At least he might still enjoy his job, whereas millions of people are mired in jobs they hate but for whatever reason aren't willing to make the change. Frankly, mental mush is much much worse than physical mush.
posted by jmd82 at 01:20 AM on November 15, 2004
If he keeps fighting too long, he ends up mental mush - but if he stops before he's ready to change his view of what he is, he'll suffer a mental mush problem too. He can't need the money. He just can't give up the job title.
posted by JJ at 06:13 AM on November 15, 2004
He made $150m in his career - he can't need the money.
posted by JJ at 06:16 AM on November 15, 2004
Well...there are an awful lot of sad stories in the world of boxing, of champions who ended up penniless as well as, ah, cognitively impaired. So, yeah, he could need the money. Dunno if he does, though.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:09 AM on November 15, 2004
He can't need the money. He shouldnt need the money- However, doesnt he have a large family??? many kids multiple mothers--that can take alot of cash to maintain! He can't need the money. He just can't give up the job title. Didnt we use to say the same thing about Tyson????
posted by daddisamm at 07:31 AM on November 15, 2004
Daddisamm, who says Holyfield (or other athletes in similar situations) are willing to acknowledge that's even a possibility? posted by billsaysthis at 9:29 PM CST on November 14 They aren't. For whatever reason, they keep on playing. Some need they $, others dont. MJ certainly didnt need the money, but he did miss the attention! In Holyfield's case, its a tough question to answer. Whatever his reason for contuing is, he certainly seems to be endangering his "after boxing" health.
posted by daddisamm at 07:42 AM on November 15, 2004
Didnt we use to say the same thing about Tyson???? Yes, we did. But Holyfield comes off as, you know, smart and sane and stuff. Which makes his playing-out-the-stringness a little more puzzling. You get the feeling Holyfield could go into any line of work (or no line of work, or charity tours, or the pulpit, or whatever he chose) and continue to be more or less fine. You never got that with Tyson.
posted by chicobangs at 12:58 PM on November 15, 2004
Uh, how the fuck does Golota knock Ruiz down TWICE and still get a unanimous decision against him?!
posted by StarFucker at 01:42 PM on November 15, 2004
What about Holyfield versus a kangaroo? Seriously though, you always hope they'll have the sense to hang it up when they can't get it done anymore. Despite his effort to re-populate the human race on his own, I always thought Holyfield had more going for him than just boxing. I guess when they weigh their love for the sport versus their own health and safety, their own health/safety loses everytime. And THAT is why Jesus shouldn't have healed Holyfield's heart problems, so he could have hung his gloves up for good back then...
posted by chris2sy at 02:36 PM on November 15, 2004
I wish he'd quit because he's tarnishing what was once a great legacy.
posted by vito90 at 12:28 PM on November 16, 2004
I don't think boxers are capable of retiring. I think it's conterintuitive to the nature of the sport. I can think of two exceptions - Marciano and Lewis. The rest cannot avoid having their careers die in the ring. That's part of what makes the sweet science so fascinating - the combination of the strength and fragility of these guys.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 01:06 PM on November 16, 2004
wow. holyfield suspended indefinitely. has this ever happened before?
posted by goddam at 02:30 PM on November 16, 2004
I figure, he should give up whenever he doesn't enjoy boxing anymore. Suggesting that in a single-person sport that somone should give up for any reason other than that is silly.