from barry mcguigan, apologys if already done....


Boxing must protect old fools looking to fight on from themselves By Barry Mcguigan 6/03/2010

Well done to all those who are showing no interest in shelling out for next month's pay-per-view bout between Roy Jones Jnr and Bernard Hopkins.

There is not a sane voice in boxing that supports the idea of Jones boxing on.

It is a shame that view does not extend to Evander Holyfield, who was inexplicably granted a onefight licence last week by the Nevada Commission.

Frans Botha is the man lined up to meet him. Who cares? Ditto Jones-Hopkins. With the exception of 45-year-old Hopkins it's over.

And he does not have long left. Boxing has to stop this seniors' tour. It's rubbish. More than that, it is dangerous.

You can do it in golf when you are not taking punches to the head. Allowing these old guys to box each other demeans and tarnishes the sport.

Jones, 41, is a shambles. His reflexes are gone. His punch resistance is shot. Three months ago he was blitzed in two minutes by Danny Green.

That defeat was not unlike his hammering at the hands of Antonio Tarver six years ago. Yes that's right, six years ago.

It has largely been a tale of woe since. For the moment Jones retains his faculties but with the punishment he is taking these days there must be some concern for his long-term health.

It takes years for the consequences of sustained beatings to show themselves. It is not just the blows taken in championship bouts.

It is the punishment sustained in preparation for them. Boxers spar hundreds of rounds before they get in the ring. As Ricky Hatton puts it, this isn't a tickling contest.

I listen to Holyfield and my heart sinks. At 47, he needs saving from himself.

His speech is seriously impaired, yet here he is seeking to satisfy some absurd desire.

The sanctioning bodies bear responsibility for this nonsense. The Nevada Commission are, like the British Boxing Board of Control, supposed to be one of the finest governing bodies in the sport.

It is shameful that they have allowed Holyfield back into a ring. He would not get a car park pass in England, never mind a permit to box.

Fighters like Holyfield and Jones are high on affirmation. They cannot bear the silence in their lives when they are not boxing.

The idea of walking away from the sport destroys them. They are defined by boxing and cannot leave it behind.

I know how difficult that is. There is no feeling on earth like walking into a room as the champion of the world.

You can see the effect it has on people. It is like switching on a light. That feeling is massively seductive. Holyfield at his best was one of the greats. The Jones that beat Hopkins first time around, the Jones that beat James Toney was an incredible fighter.

What we are seeing now are caricatures. They have done untold damage to their reputations and risk further humiliation.

If that were not bad enough they bring the sport down with them. It does no one any credit when they step into a ring.

If the sanctioning bodies won't act then it is down to us to lead the way by not endorsing the product.

Keep your money in your pocket.

It is the only language they understand.