Quote:
|
Originally Posted by merlin
Jaybee it`s not that I always disagree with you but it`s twice in a row now..........anyway to not go on with the fight is not exactly "giving up" Johnny Lewis(trainer) could see he Kostya was about to be pummelled big time and wanted to spare his man the indignity of getting knocked out,I think we have to understand and trust the knowledge he has of the punishment already taken and how much more his man can take....
btw I also heard that the split bw kostya and trainer is not really a spat or even a surprise really as Lewis wanted him to retire undefeated after the last fight he won......it`s amazing really how age catches up,last time I saw Kostya he was awesome but this english guy made him look old and slow
|
Yours is a valid viewpoint, but not one that I agree with. With the kind of money that these guys get paid, I don't think they have a right to take a round off for the sake of preserving their dignity. I think that they owe it to their fans and to the guys who paid the big bucks for a ticket to give it their all for 12 rounds, and if that means getting pummeled, so be it.
How many guys knew, if not before they ever stepped into the ring, then certainly after the first round or two, that they were going to get their asses kicked, and that the sweat would be wiped off the mat with their dignity, by Mohammad Ali, who, in his lean, mean days, would not only beat a man senseless, but give him a tongue-lashing as well, and make a complete fool out of him. There was a white guy named Chuck Wepner, who he beat to a bloody pulp, but Wepner never quit, he fought like a man to the bloody end. That IMHO is dignity. In my eyes, Tyszu surrendered his dignity when he threw in the towel. Dignity is something you have to fight for when necessary, especially, if you are getting paid the big bucks. Especially, if you call yourself a professional. Quitting is for amateurs.
The greatest fight movie of all times, IMHO, is "Raging Bull." In the movie, as well as in real life, Sugar Ray Robinson beats the living hell out of Jake LaMotta. He knocked him senseless, and gave him a horrible, wicked, savage beating. But at the end of the fight, LaMotta went over to Robinson, and said something like, "What's the matter? Couldn't knock me down, could ya?" That is the kind of fighter I like, win or lose.
Speaking of movies, there is a new fight movie just out called "Cinderella Man" about James J. Braddock, a great Irish/American heavyweight from the the 1930's IIRC. I saw the previews and it looks like an awesome movie. A kind of real life "Rocky" story. I can hardly wait to see it, and am going to go as soon as I can get the time in the next few days.
JayBee
