Does this even resemble James Toney?
EX-FIGHTING PROFESSOR THINKS DIFFERENTLY THAN MOST
Charlotte, NC– In an interview with Sky Sports Ringside six weeks or so ago, former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis said he believes it is time that “aging heavyweights like Hasim Rahman, Evander Holyfield and Shannon Briggs should all hang up their gloves and retire.” The discussion goes the same among many boxing fans about Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Antonio Tarver, Brian Nielson, Marco Antonio Barerra, James Toney, Shane Mosely, and Jose Luis Castillo.
AGING BASEBALL PLAYERS DON’T HAVE “SPEECH OR NEUROLOGICAL” ISSUES
For athletes in other sports it’s not that big a problem; the team or owners will trade or cut players when it is perceived that they are passed their prime. In boxing, the managers and trainers can advise, plead, cajole, even quit, if they believe that a boxer is continuing too long and doing damage to himself, but since a boxer is an “independent contractor,” and most promoters have a “pimp-like” mindset, not to mention that different licensing authorities have different standards (read, different levels of greed), a fighter can keep going as long as he isn’t wearing an Oxygen mask to get around.
TAKE ONE LOOK TODAY AT BOBBY CHACON OR JOE LOUIS 25 YEARS AGO!
Unidentified woman with Bobby Chacon
It is rare for a fighter to retire willingly, and stay retired. Boxing’s history is long and storied with fighters who stayed active far too long, and paid a precious price. Yet even boxing’s elder statesman, Bernard Hopkins told Ring Magazine that, “Fighters should be protected from themselves.” A part of what makes a fighter a fighter is that there is a part of his DNA that has “DO NOT QUIT” embedded in it. And that’s great…to a point. But yet it’s something that can’t be cut on and off, and that’s part of the problem. In public, it’s sad to hear Bobby Chacon boasting about his being brain damaged from boxing. Why, he once thought Pedro was his old rival Cornelius Boza-Edwards. The two men don’t even slightly resemble one another.
FEDERAL BOXING COMMISSION SORELY NEEDED!
Another part of the problem is that there is not any single governing body in boxing. We have many sanctioning bodies, and we have many licensing authorities, but not one single entity that truly looks after the long term interests and well being of the fighter. And until that happens, then The Professor thinks that the first sentence in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence gives a fighter, or anyone else for that matter, the right to do what they want to do for a living, as long as its legal, even if it winds up harming them. Simply put, I believe the Constitution gives us the right to be stupid, if we so choose, and we don’t need a “Nanny State” telling us that that we can’ t, if its legal. Shoot, I believe that If I chose to come out of boxing retirement after 40 years, and laced them up one more time, if I passed the physical, and got licensed, I should be allowed to fight! I believe so did the founders of this Nation. Then again, they also fostered the separation of “church and state,” and today that is no longer applicable.
PROFESSOR TAKING YOU BACK TO THE LATE 1700′S
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they all have certain rights, most notably, these are “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
FIGHTERS THAT TALK LIKE CARTOON CHARACTERS (JAMES TONEY) ARE ABUNDANT
Do I think certain boxers ought to retire? Absolutely! Do I think I have the right to tell them they must? Absolutely not! Now, if I were currently managing or training a fighter and I honestly thought my guy needed to retire, I would tell him so. And if he refused, I would no longer manage or train that fighter. Period.
PEDRO & THE PROFESSOR DISAGREE ON THIS ONE!
Is being a Police Officer or a Fire Fighter, or a Coal Miner dangerous? Do you hear anyone arguing about mandatory retirement for these professions once their reflexes begin to slow? Do these people have the right in America to pursue their chose career path? Are these careers dangerous? I hate to see a fighter hang on too long and suffer permanent damage. Former fighter and Policeman Pedro Fernandez disagrees with me here. “I see guys void of any cognizant skills, the ability to communicate, etc., Police Officers are not being repeatedly getting hit in the head.” Yet, both Pedro and I also believe in personal freedom. Thus the conundrum. On this one, I’m stumped! If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them.
Professor Chuck Marbry