To retire or not to retire???

[Dizaster]

Well, with the couple of "Floyd Retires" threads going on at the moment, I thought it's a decent topic..

Some fighters like Roy etc have copped a bit of crap for making comebacks. Tyson etc and many others have fought on, while the critics have said with passion that they should just hang up their gloves and be done with it..

But then you have someone like Floyd, who hasn't been beaten and doesn't look like being beaten.. He hasn't slowed or showed signs of really having any of his attributes diminishing.. But he has come out and said "I don't want boxing to retire me, I want to retire from boxing"...

Honestly, that's a pretty stupid sentence... The only meaning I can possible take from that is, "I want to retire unbeaten... I don't want to retire after a loss"...


My question is, which do you honestly prefer... A fighter like Floyd to retire like this, and go out at the top of their game... Or a fighter to fight, until they physically show signs that they just can't keep up with the top younger fighters anymore.. And possible do a few exhibition fights after retirement, just with fighters around their age...
It's a tough one in a way, because no one likes to see a fighter really trying to drag their career on to long... (However I personally have enjoyed Roy's latest fights.. And I wouldn't have asked for a second for Hopkins to retire anytime before today)... But at the same time, who wants to see a fighter like Floyd who is still possibly one of the best P4P, pack it in and never fight again...

I personally think he's aged himself more in his mind than he truely is physically.. He's tapering off his fights as if he's truely to old to keep fighting... I would have liked to have seen Floyd fight on a bit more during this time, and really show some true heart, as well as great boxing skills..

Others may disagree, but that's why I started this thread. Opinions on when a fighter should retire.

[Kel]

Retiring when still at the top of your game, in a division thriving with talent is pure chicken-shitness.

[Rican]

Floyd will be back-trust me. He is one of those "bling bling," money loving big spenders who live an expensive lifestyle. The money will soon dwindle to an uncomfortable point where Mayweather will feel like he has to make some more money. It happens all the time in boxing. You'll see. My only problem is that the longer he stays away the more his skills will decrease and when he loses in a comeback against one of the top fighters, excuses will be made-but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let him unretire first.

[killersheep]

Floyd will be back-trust me. He is one of those "bling bling," money loving big spenders who live an expensive lifestyle. The money will soon dwindle to an uncomfortable point where Mayweather will feel like he has to make some more money. It happens all the time in boxing. You'll see. My only problem is that the longer he stays away the more his skills will decrease and when he loses in a comeback against one of the top fighters, excuses will be made-but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let him unretire first.

Once he fails at promoting music and promoting fights he will be back.

[Put Em' Up]

In my personal opinion for what ever it is worth, If Floyd does or does not retire really matters none to the sport.

He does not take the top fights of significance. I am sorry but his fight with Oscar really meant nothing to the landscape of the sport. It was more out of interest then anything. The title was vacated almost immediately and Oscar really did not defend it anyhow.

Floyd does not fight the top or should I say most dangerous guys in the game. Yes Hatton was ranked P4P top 10 at the time but fact is it did little to the landscape of the sport. Hatton was going back to 140 win or lose. Again the fight perked interest but did little for the sport as a whole.

I think the top man in the sport should be fighting the top contenders on his heels. That means in his division. It does not mean novelty bouts and that is how you can class the ODH and Hatton bouts.

Miguel Cotto is fighting the best he can, Antonio Margarito is fighting the best he can. Wlad Klitschko is doing his best to unify. Manny Pacquiao has fought the best for several years now and has even sought out a new division of bigger men to help improve his stature and the sports scenery.

Floyd Mayweather has talked a lot and played dress up with the WWE. He even likes to have us think the KO over the Big Show was legit instead if just entertainment value.

As far as I am concerned good riddance to him. He is like a little kid looking for attention. Retire don't retire. Make up your mind instead of just making statement s to see if you will be missed and then try to make a dramatic return to the sport.

Floyd is ranked the best but in truth when was the last time he fought the best?

[Taeth]

Hatton's speed presented an unprecedented scenario for Mayweather. Hatton was situation Mayweather hasn't delt with before, but Cotto isn't the first slow pressure guy Mayweather fought, and while Castillo who was similar to Cotto gave Mayweather a hard time, I feel that Cotto doesn't have the same level of chin to walk in like Castillo did.

[Dizaster]

darnit... I knew if I used Floyd as the example it would turn into a thread purely about Floyd..


I'm wondering when YOU guys prefer/like to see a fighter to retire... There are plenty of threads that discuss whether Floyd is will be back or not...

And I agree with everyones comments on that subject.

[p4pking]

Well of course as a fan of the sport I want to see great fighters keep going, but who the hell am I to tell anyone what to do with their life? Good on him(or any fighter) if he doesn't want to fight anymore, from anyone but the fans standpoint it's obviously much better for a fighter to retire while they still have it, because otherwise they risk losing it, and yet still fighting on sustaining unneccesary punishment. It's kind of a dumb question you pose, what do WE prefer. Of course people who like boxing want to see great fights get made.. But what Floyd meant by not wanting the sport to retire him, doesn't just mean once he loses... It means he doesn't want to retire because he finds out the hard way that he has to, win or lose. Not that I think he's anywhere near that point, but I don't know how he feels about the sport, and I have no reason to. I don't think he really does plan on retiring, personally I feel it's a ploy to get more money.. But if it isn't, sucks for the boxing fans. But why the hell would a fighter care what fans think, if he no longer has a passion to box anyways?

[boozeboxer]

darnit... I knew if I used Floyd as the example it would turn into a thread purely about Floyd..


I'm wondering when YOU guys prefer/like to see a fighter to retire... There are plenty of threads that discuss whether Floyd is will be back or not...

And I agree with everyones comments on that subject.

Like Lennox Lewis. He is a perfect example of perfect timing.

[Dizaster]

darnit... I knew if I used Floyd as the example it would turn into a thread purely about Floyd..


I'm wondering when YOU guys prefer/like to see a fighter to retire... There are plenty of threads that discuss whether Floyd is will be back or not...

And I agree with everyones comments on that subject.

Like Lennox Lewis. He is a perfect example of perfect timing.

That's a good example.... I think there wasn't many more questions to be asked of Lennox, and that makes it a lot easier on fans I think...

I always think it's stupid how fighters say "I've got nothing more to prove in boxing".. Seriously, who gets in to boxing (or any sport) to "Prove" something??
Fighters continue on and take challenges, for the love of the sport.. Not to prove something

[Youngblood]

I think a fighter does owe something to his fans. To boxing fans in general. If he is driving a fancy car, and parks it in a big garage in a big house, who do you think helped make that happen?

When the issue gets brought into the topic of retirement, the line often becomes blurred, because as boxing fans it is hard to discern when is enough.

It is a tricky blend for the successful boxer to have both satisfied the fans and made his mark on the boxing world to the best of his ability, and being able to walk away gracefully. Why? Well, that is when it gets put back on us, the fan, and not so much the fighter. We ultimately will decide how we remember that person, their last fight, their last 4 fights, their beginning, and eventually their entire career. In this sport, one fight, on one night, can drastically change our perception. So we factor all of that in with the many other variables, how they conduct themselves etc, and we somehow need to ask ourselves, has it been enough? Am I okay with them saying, "Thanks fans, it's been great but I need to call it a day."

And so we count on the fighter making a decision that most of us will be okay with. Then if we can look at it objectively and honestly we won't ask more from our heros then what we are due. Then hopefully most of us will respect their decision.

This certainly isn't going to happen all the time, simply too many variables. But it is a thing of beauty when it does happen. And it is a big part I believe of why we are here, and we cheer our heros, and we argue, about who's better and why, and their legacies. We are all ultimately trying to sort it out for the history of our fighters, and the history of our sport.

That's my take on it, anyway.