By Anthony Coleman: The greatest thing in sports is the joy of watching a transcendent talent. We marvel at the achievements of the greatest athletes who ever lived. We can remember where we were when they made a spectacular play, ran in for the touchdown, hit the game winning home run, or scored that awesome knockout. It is that quality that is the cornerstone in all of sports. And that is why is makes a person depressed when they see an all-time great gradually lose their talent until they resemble a shadow of their former self..
Nobody wanted to see Jerry Rice as a Seahawk, struggling to make receptions that he routinely made while as a Niner. Nobody wanted to see Willie Mays as a replacement level outfielder. Seeing Michael Jordan robbed of his otherworldly athletic ability to the point that he had to settle for jumpers caused many turn away from Wizards highlights on Sports Center. It is the sports fan ultimate heartbreaker, and no other sport has been witnessed to this sad narrative than boxing.
What makes boxing a special case is the fact that seemingly all of our top performers have gone out when they were also-rans and just a name. For every Lennox Lewis, there will be an Evander Holyfield. The former three-time Heavyweight champion of the world (I don’t count his fourth WBA title) is still fighting at the age 45, though there has been calls for his retirement since 2001. Ever since losing his re-match to Lennox Lewis in 1999 we’ve been witnessed to the “Real Deal’s” deterioration. As a kid, Evander was the first fighter that I truly followed and I jumped out of my seat when he defeated Mike Tyson in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history (yes, Mike Tyson was apart of two of the biggest upsets ever). Back in 1996, after his knockout lost to Riddick Bowe in their rubber-match, many thought right then and there that Holyfield’s career was over. But he came back against Tyson and showed that he still had the indomitable will, that courage, that belief in his ability to win the title. But that moment is clearly in the rearview.
In this decade Holyfield’s record stands at 6-5-1 and four of those six wins comes against awful competition (Fres Oquendo, Jeremy Bates, Lou Saverese, and Vinny Madalonne). Gone are the days when he could string together pinpoint accurate combinations to his opponent (as he did against Buster Douglass, Michael Dokes, and George Foreman), his knowledge of the sport is still in tact and he can see the openings; but his reflexes won’t allow him to the pull the trigger or duck out of the way of the lead right cross. In 2004 he would be put on medical suspension by the New York State Athletic Commission after getting shut out by Larry Donald. That should have been the end of the Evander saga, but instead he would regain his license and go on his farcical comeback tour which culminated in him losing resoundingly to Sultan Ibragimov for the WBO crown. The sad thing is that instead of seeing reality, the living legend is going to fight on, and sadly subject himself to more embarrassment and worse punishment.
In 1980, Muhammad Ali would get pulverized for 10 rounds against Larry Holmes in their title fight before Angelo Dundee threw in the towel. On that night, gone was his lighting hand-speed and footwork and he had no business fighting for the title. In 1981 he would lose to a man who is often considered one of the least skilled men to win a portion of the Heavyweight title, Trevor Berbick. In the end “The Greatest” had none of the skills left when he finally settled into retirement.
In 1997 Sugar Ray Leonard would come out of retirement for the 100th time and faced Hector Camacho, and got blown out in 5 rounds. In many ways, Leonard’s defeat was more embarrassing than any of Holyfield’s. Here he was fighting back at his natural weight class going up against a man who was at his peak as a 130 pounder, had been in decline since his near-death experience with Edwin Rosario, had been brutalized by Julio Cesar Chavez and Felix Trinidad…and Leonard wasn’t the least bit competitive. It was a sad sight to see a man who once made Roberto Duran quit being helpless to defend himself. Leonard would wisely retire after the fight and never attempted another comeback.
Conversely Julio Cesar Chavez shouldn’t have been in the ring with Kostya Tszyu when he was brutally KO’d in 2000. At one time “JC superstar” was considered by to many to be the best fighter on the planet. But against Tszyu he looked like a “mismandatory.” Much like Evander his combination punching was gone and he couldn’t land his legendary left hook to the body. He showed his heart by taking ridiculous punishment before the fight was stopped. Sadly, Chavez would go on to fight several more years, essentially barnstorming the west coast and southwestern U.S taking on woefully inadequate competition until being stopped in five rounds against anonymous never-will-be Grover Wiley in his last fight.
Many wonder to themselves why do boxers continue to fight on when the world can see their erosion. Should they be the first ones to know that they can’t compete with the young ones any longer? By now I think that you’ve all recognized the common link: all of these men believed that they could turn the hourglass upside down and return to their former glory. It is that arrogant belief when they put all of their energy and resources into their bodies they are still able to perform at the very best. Sadly this idea goes against the basic idea of nature. Many will call these athletes arrogant and foolish in adhering to this belief, but those making these observations fail to realize that it was that same arrogance and confidence that brought all of these men to the very top of this sport we love, so why would they stop now? Sadly, while athletic ability evaporates the competitive spirit will still burn, and often to the detriment of the fighters in discussion and to their fans.
This past Saturday, Roy Jones Jr. would defeat Felix Trinidad via lopsided unanimous decision. It was a good fight, and both men showed flashes of their former brilliance. Yet sadly it also proved that both men are simply not at the level they once were. Are both men shot? Not quite, but they are no where near the level they once were and their fight was of no historic significance. They proved that against Winky Wright, Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson. Yet if they keep going on this route, both will reach that point where Ali, Robinson, Holyfield, Leonard, Louis, Arguello and every other all-time great who stuck along too long past their glory days.
In a perfect world the best and brightest would go out on top. I applauded in seeing Lennox Lewis retire as Heavyweight champ. Rocky Marciano also retired as champion along with the satisfaction of knowing he went undefeated in his career. Both Carlos Monzon and Eder Jofre retired as champs in their respective weight classes. They spared the boxing world the pain in seeing them performing at a tenth of their former self. We only have an image of them at or near their dominance. In the end that should be the only way to ride off into the sunset. In 2008, I can only wish that Roy Jones, Felix Trinidad, Marco Antonio Barrera and Oscar De La Hoya can leave the game without buying the lie of turning the hourglass upside down.