It’s hard to imagine this boxing gym without Pacquiao being a part of it
November 20, 2013 11:32 PM Subscribe
One of the oldest sayings in boxing, the first warning every aspiring fighter hears long before they've ever entered a ring, is that the most dangerous punch, the one to fear most, is the one you never see coming. While the cliché is certainly true at the start of a career, it rarely holds up toward the end. This is because almost none of the great fighters in history ever stopped after that punch — and the history of the sport suggests that few can ever escape it. Manny Pacquiao, despite earning a reported $174 million since 2009 from boxing and endorsements deals, is no different. Why? Because, of course, boxing's not so well kept dirty secret is that, financially, most fighters can never stop. Requiem for a Welterweight.
Well this is pretty much exactly the same story presented in League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis. The opening segment on Mike Webster and the Pittsburgh Steelers is beyond tragic. Imagine a Hall of Fame hero with four Super Bowl rings, broke, divorced, living out of a truck and unable to utter complete sentences. Supergluing parts of his body that are falling off, and tasing himself just to fall asleep. Imagine Junior Seau unable to have relationships with his kids.
The mythology of boxing is that boxers are fighting for too long, but if that documentary had anything scientific to offer, and if CTE and Dementia Pugilistica and Parkinson's have anything in common, then these boxers are toast well before they enter the latter stages of their career. It's not the hit you don't see coming; it's the hit you've seen coming and absorbed a million times before that.
In a world where boxing as a sport continues to exist, I'm not sure why the NFL has been the focus of such controversy, beyond the obvious: that they covered up warnings signs, denied payouts and promoted bunk science. In general, they are a corporation making billions of dollars, that has chosen to protect their investment by denying causation and culpability. Turns out that strategy just didn't pan out.
But not even that is happening in boxing, proving that there is no intrinsic moral failing in simply letting one person bash another person's head in, in the name of entertainment. Nobody to blame, nobody to sue. No union. The greatest voice in boxing living for decades in complete silence. Deaths and career-ending injuries left and right. This has all happened.
Pacquaio's the humblest fighter in boxing. Freddy Roach has Parkinson's. If these two guys, with their combined experience, can't get together and A. keep their money straight, and B. get Manny to stop fighting before his brain turns into pudding, then what hope is there for the rest of boxing?
posted by phaedon at 2:46 AM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
The mythology of boxing is that boxers are fighting for too long, but if that documentary had anything scientific to offer, and if CTE and Dementia Pugilistica and Parkinson's have anything in common, then these boxers are toast well before they enter the latter stages of their career. It's not the hit you don't see coming; it's the hit you've seen coming and absorbed a million times before that.
In a world where boxing as a sport continues to exist, I'm not sure why the NFL has been the focus of such controversy, beyond the obvious: that they covered up warnings signs, denied payouts and promoted bunk science. In general, they are a corporation making billions of dollars, that has chosen to protect their investment by denying causation and culpability. Turns out that strategy just didn't pan out.
But not even that is happening in boxing, proving that there is no intrinsic moral failing in simply letting one person bash another person's head in, in the name of entertainment. Nobody to blame, nobody to sue. No union. The greatest voice in boxing living for decades in complete silence. Deaths and career-ending injuries left and right. This has all happened.
Pacquaio's the humblest fighter in boxing. Freddy Roach has Parkinson's. If these two guys, with their combined experience, can't get together and A. keep their money straight, and B. get Manny to stop fighting before his brain turns into pudding, then what hope is there for the rest of boxing?
posted by phaedon at 2:46 AM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
If you want to see a similar story playing out as we speak, albeit in MMA, go no further than this past week's brouhaha regarding welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre's break/semi-retirement following a well-disputed split decision victory over Johny Hendricks. GSP has given years and a knee ligament to the sport, nearly gave it an eye, and he was almost certainly concussed in the post-fight interview, yet Dana White still saw fit to shame him and say he "owed" the sport and the company (!) a near-immediate rematch.
There are internal pressures--the desire to prove a loss was a fluke, that one still is that champion one was--but there are external pressures as well.
posted by daveliepmann at 3:29 AM on November 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
There are internal pressures--the desire to prove a loss was a fluke, that one still is that champion one was--but there are external pressures as well.
posted by daveliepmann at 3:29 AM on November 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
Reconciling a Sport’s Violent Appeal as a Fighter Lies in a Coma — Russian heavyweight Magomed Abdusalamov remains in a medically induced coma after a 10-round fight with Mike Perez at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 2, 2013.
"Violence is not simply a part of boxing, it is the best part, the most visceral part, the backbone of the sport. It is what people pay to see."
posted by cenoxo at 3:53 AM on November 21, 2013
"Violence is not simply a part of boxing, it is the best part, the most visceral part, the backbone of the sport. It is what people pay to see."
posted by cenoxo at 3:53 AM on November 21, 2013
the most dangerous punch, the one to fear most, is the one you never see coming
Nope. I know you moved on and did not imply that this is the most dangerous punch (the one you never see coming). the conventional wisdom, and I think these guys are right is that the the most dangerous punch? the 2nd punch.
posted by jdaura at 5:52 AM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Nope. I know you moved on and did not imply that this is the most dangerous punch (the one you never see coming). the conventional wisdom, and I think these guys are right is that the the most dangerous punch? the 2nd punch.
posted by jdaura at 5:52 AM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Great piece. Anyone with an interest in boxing and these sorts of issues should watch the 30 For 30 about the 1980 Ali/Holmes fight. Ali was having trouble touching his nose in medical tests leading up to the fight, and yet he was still cleared to get in the ring. One of his trainers, I believe, quit in protest rather than have anything to do with the fight, but everyone else was just working to prop Ali up long enough to collect another fat paycheque.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:24 AM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:24 AM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
In a world where boxing as a sport continues to exist, I'm not sure why the NFL has been the focus of such controversy, beyond the obvious: that they covered up warnings signs, denied payouts and promoted bunk science.
Football is practically unavoidable in the American pop culture landscape. It consumes entire weekends from September through December, and the Super Bowl has been the most watched program of every year in this century. Billions of dollars are spent on it, and kids start playing before they're tweens. There are huge swaths of this country where Friday nights are for high school football, even if you don't have any kids who attend the school, much less who play.
Boxing, though? Boxing is a thing that some people still like, and there's a fair amount of money in it, but ask most Americans to name three current boxers and odds are you'll hear "There's that Mexican guy... what's his name, Pacman... Does Mike Tyson count?" Pacquiao's most recent fight made about $75M; ESPN pays the NFL more than $100M for each Monday Night Football game.
Plus, as you note, the NFL (which is the sole standard-bearer of professional football in the U.S.) covered it up. Boxing (which doesn't have a single organizing body that can do such a thing) has always been known to be a risk. It's kind of boxing's thing.
posted by Etrigan at 7:45 AM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Football is practically unavoidable in the American pop culture landscape. It consumes entire weekends from September through December, and the Super Bowl has been the most watched program of every year in this century. Billions of dollars are spent on it, and kids start playing before they're tweens. There are huge swaths of this country where Friday nights are for high school football, even if you don't have any kids who attend the school, much less who play.
Boxing, though? Boxing is a thing that some people still like, and there's a fair amount of money in it, but ask most Americans to name three current boxers and odds are you'll hear "There's that Mexican guy... what's his name, Pacman... Does Mike Tyson count?" Pacquiao's most recent fight made about $75M; ESPN pays the NFL more than $100M for each Monday Night Football game.
Plus, as you note, the NFL (which is the sole standard-bearer of professional football in the U.S.) covered it up. Boxing (which doesn't have a single organizing body that can do such a thing) has always been known to be a risk. It's kind of boxing's thing.
posted by Etrigan at 7:45 AM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
For MMA, there's also a great article on NJ.com talking about the dangers of the sport. The rationalization is that it's safer than boxing because there's less head shots.
posted by FJT at 11:08 AM on November 21, 2013
posted by FJT at 11:08 AM on November 21, 2013
The mythology of boxing is that boxers are fighting for too long, but if that documentary had anything scientific to offer, and if CTE and Dementia Pugilistica and Parkinson's have anything in common, then these boxers are toast well before they enter the latter stages of their career. It's not the hit you don't see coming; it's the hit you've seen coming and absorbed a million times before that.
It's conjectured that the reason James Toney's speech is so slurred so early is that the guy did not like to work out. So, what did his trainers do to get him in shape for his fights? Tons and tons of sparring.
The window of time in which you take shots to the head definitely needs to be shortened. I know a few people that boxed at an amateur level for periods of four years or so and are fine decades later. So, I'm guessing the window that should be dictated by athletic commissions should be greater than four years, but probably less than eight. Much less if you spar a lot, as pros do.
George smiled. "Being champion of the world meant a lot to me. For a short period. You're up. You're famous. You're rich. Then you lose," Foreman laughed. "You lose a boxing match and you crawl into a hole and there's hardly anything that can get you out of that hole. Then you're on the verge of ‘I don't care anything about life.' I know what success is and failure is and success was short lived. Some of us had all kinds of riches, but that didn't mean we found any kind of happiness. There's a loneliness to being the heavyweight champion."
As soon as you become a champion, you should be forced to talk to a bunch of other former champions that drive home just how fleeting it is. Pacquiao, GSP, Fedor, and Anderson Silva were all regarded as basically invincible and amazing and worth supporting financially while they're winning, but as soon as they lose a few, they're all terrible and doggin' it. The human mind just seems to be incapable of imagining a winner losing and eager to pedestalize.
posted by ignignokt at 12:19 PM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
It's conjectured that the reason James Toney's speech is so slurred so early is that the guy did not like to work out. So, what did his trainers do to get him in shape for his fights? Tons and tons of sparring.
The window of time in which you take shots to the head definitely needs to be shortened. I know a few people that boxed at an amateur level for periods of four years or so and are fine decades later. So, I'm guessing the window that should be dictated by athletic commissions should be greater than four years, but probably less than eight. Much less if you spar a lot, as pros do.
George smiled. "Being champion of the world meant a lot to me. For a short period. You're up. You're famous. You're rich. Then you lose," Foreman laughed. "You lose a boxing match and you crawl into a hole and there's hardly anything that can get you out of that hole. Then you're on the verge of ‘I don't care anything about life.' I know what success is and failure is and success was short lived. Some of us had all kinds of riches, but that didn't mean we found any kind of happiness. There's a loneliness to being the heavyweight champion."
As soon as you become a champion, you should be forced to talk to a bunch of other former champions that drive home just how fleeting it is. Pacquiao, GSP, Fedor, and Anderson Silva were all regarded as basically invincible and amazing and worth supporting financially while they're winning, but as soon as they lose a few, they're all terrible and doggin' it. The human mind just seems to be incapable of imagining a winner losing and eager to pedestalize.
posted by ignignokt at 12:19 PM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Boxing has always been known to be a risk. It's kind of boxing's thing.
And I think we're publicly in the process of figuring out if this is a football thing as well. CTE scandal aside, the NFL has implemented a lot of safety measures and incentives to minimize explosive hits on defenseless players.
But the shocking report in League of Denial is that kids as young as 14, with limited time on the field, are showing symptoms of CTE right out of the gate. That of the limited number of NFL brains studied, 99% of them are showing CTE.
The brain was not designed to participate in this sport and survive. Period. Unfortunately, we've got a long way to go before that statement becomes a matter of overwhelming public opinion, can be shown to be scientifically conclusive, or proven in court. And until that becomes the case, young gladiators from around the country will sign up for an opportunity to be a hero, and NFL Inc. will gladly run them into the ground and milk them for all they're worth.
posted by phaedon at 1:12 PM on November 21, 2013
And I think we're publicly in the process of figuring out if this is a football thing as well. CTE scandal aside, the NFL has implemented a lot of safety measures and incentives to minimize explosive hits on defenseless players.
But the shocking report in League of Denial is that kids as young as 14, with limited time on the field, are showing symptoms of CTE right out of the gate. That of the limited number of NFL brains studied, 99% of them are showing CTE.
The brain was not designed to participate in this sport and survive. Period. Unfortunately, we've got a long way to go before that statement becomes a matter of overwhelming public opinion, can be shown to be scientifically conclusive, or proven in court. And until that becomes the case, young gladiators from around the country will sign up for an opportunity to be a hero, and NFL Inc. will gladly run them into the ground and milk them for all they're worth.
posted by phaedon at 1:12 PM on November 21, 2013
FJT, it's not a "rationalization", it's a recognition that boxing's big gloves, standing 8-count, and nearly total focus on head-punching is more conducive to concussions than MMA's smaller gloves, immediate no-count referee stoppages, and fighters' ability to clinch freely. This is almost perfectly analogous to comparing football, with huge amounts of padding and helmets counterintuitively making for harder impacts and more concussions, to un- or minimally-padded rugby.
That article is a purely one-sided hit piece: it says MMA is "brutal" in the headline, spends the first page demonizing weight-cutting (which as distasteful as it is, is distinct from MMA and practiced in boxing and wrestling as well), and quotes someone ignorant enough to say "It's like bare-knuckles fighting again" and mean it as a bad thing. There are criticisms to make of the sport--we should end the night-before weigh-ins that produce dramatic weight cutting practices, the culture should shift such that coaches are more willing to throw in the towel in a fight like Velasquez/JDS III, gyms like Militech's used to be shouldn't train so recklessly, we should better monitor fighters health, and the UFC shouldn't goad its fighters into another match while they're recovering from head injuries--but we're talking about elite athletes. These guys want to compete at the world level--of course they're going to do bad things to their bodies. So do world-class powerlifters, footballers, boxers, wrestlers, runners, cyclists, whatever--pick a sport.
Top-level athletic success is rarely congruent with long-term health. The same goes with many recreational sports--I mean, rock climbing is condensed insanity--but the fact is that we're not here on this earth to sit at home and ban other people from the eternal joy of testing oneself. Let's make MMA safer, sure, but let's not fearmonger.
posted by daveliepmann at 1:52 PM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
That article is a purely one-sided hit piece: it says MMA is "brutal" in the headline, spends the first page demonizing weight-cutting (which as distasteful as it is, is distinct from MMA and practiced in boxing and wrestling as well), and quotes someone ignorant enough to say "It's like bare-knuckles fighting again" and mean it as a bad thing. There are criticisms to make of the sport--we should end the night-before weigh-ins that produce dramatic weight cutting practices, the culture should shift such that coaches are more willing to throw in the towel in a fight like Velasquez/JDS III, gyms like Militech's used to be shouldn't train so recklessly, we should better monitor fighters health, and the UFC shouldn't goad its fighters into another match while they're recovering from head injuries--but we're talking about elite athletes. These guys want to compete at the world level--of course they're going to do bad things to their bodies. So do world-class powerlifters, footballers, boxers, wrestlers, runners, cyclists, whatever--pick a sport.
Top-level athletic success is rarely congruent with long-term health. The same goes with many recreational sports--I mean, rock climbing is condensed insanity--but the fact is that we're not here on this earth to sit at home and ban other people from the eternal joy of testing oneself. Let's make MMA safer, sure, but let's not fearmonger.
posted by daveliepmann at 1:52 PM on November 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
But not even that is happening in boxing, proving that there is no intrinsic moral failing in simply letting one person bash another person's head in, in the name of entertainment. Nobody to blame, nobody to sue.
Well, sort of. I mean the descriptions in this thread of what people did to allow Ali to continue fighting when it should have been obvious he should not seem to me like a pretty good basis for blame and legal action if one were so inclined. It sounds like there would have been no shortage of negligence, misrepresentation, and reckless disregard for health and safety from people who ought to have known better, and I'm not sure any waiver or consent form would suffice to free any of the people responsible from facing some degree of liability for that.
posted by Hoopo at 4:40 PM on November 21, 2013
Well, sort of. I mean the descriptions in this thread of what people did to allow Ali to continue fighting when it should have been obvious he should not seem to me like a pretty good basis for blame and legal action if one were so inclined. It sounds like there would have been no shortage of negligence, misrepresentation, and reckless disregard for health and safety from people who ought to have known better, and I'm not sure any waiver or consent form would suffice to free any of the people responsible from facing some degree of liability for that.
posted by Hoopo at 4:40 PM on November 21, 2013
I live in the Philippines where Pacquiao has a near God like status. He's in everything, vitamin commercials, motor bike commericals, energy drink commercials, he's a Congressman - he's a national hero. Its hard to imagine him broke (especially given that being a politician seems to give access to a lot of means to obtain wealth). But living here has taught me anything is possible.
posted by Admira at 11:40 PM on November 21, 2013
posted by Admira at 11:40 PM on November 21, 2013
These guys want to compete at the world level--of course they're going to do bad things to their bodies. So do world-class powerlifters, footballers, boxers, wrestlers, runners, cyclists, whatever--pick a sport.
"Want" is a troubling word to use in this context. I mean, yes, they say they want it and sign long and complex contracts saying they do. But, we can't ignore the fact that most of these people come from poor and lower class backgrounds with little to no economic stability and no economic opportunity. We can't ignore the large payouts, the endorsements, and all the other perverse incentives that even seasoned celebrities have struggled with. Is anyone still going to say that they "want" it, when everything around them funnels them into this role?
Top-level athletic success is rarely congruent with long-term health. The same goes with many recreational sports--I mean, rock climbing is condensed insanity--but the fact is that we're not here on this earth to sit at home and ban other people from the eternal joy of testing oneself.
If it were as simple as testing your limits, that's great. But there's a clear difference between someone that tests their limits FOR FUN and CHALLENGE and a person who does it because it's their JOB and LIVELIHOOD.
Let's make MMA safer, sure, but let's not fearmonger.
Let's make it safe enough so the owners and sponsors can cover their asses, but let's not do something hasty like harm profits.
posted by FJT at 1:20 PM on November 22, 2013
"Want" is a troubling word to use in this context. I mean, yes, they say they want it and sign long and complex contracts saying they do. But, we can't ignore the fact that most of these people come from poor and lower class backgrounds with little to no economic stability and no economic opportunity. We can't ignore the large payouts, the endorsements, and all the other perverse incentives that even seasoned celebrities have struggled with. Is anyone still going to say that they "want" it, when everything around them funnels them into this role?
Top-level athletic success is rarely congruent with long-term health. The same goes with many recreational sports--I mean, rock climbing is condensed insanity--but the fact is that we're not here on this earth to sit at home and ban other people from the eternal joy of testing oneself.
If it were as simple as testing your limits, that's great. But there's a clear difference between someone that tests their limits FOR FUN and CHALLENGE and a person who does it because it's their JOB and LIVELIHOOD.
Let's make MMA safer, sure, but let's not fearmonger.
Let's make it safe enough so the owners and sponsors can cover their asses, but let's not do something hasty like harm profits.
posted by FJT at 1:20 PM on November 22, 2013
"Want" is a troubling word to use in this context. I mean, yes, they say they want it and sign long and complex contracts saying they do. But, we can't ignore the fact that most of these people come from poor and lower class backgrounds with little to no economic stability and no economic opportunity.
First of all, I think this is way more true of boxing than it is of MMA. Many UFC fighters have college degrees. I think this is partly due to the tremendous advantage given to MMA fighters (but not boxers) with wrestling pedigrees, which are often earned in college.
Secondly, what exactly is your proposed solution to this problem? I'd be in favor of a fighter's union, except that would be tremendously hard to establish in a sport like MMA. (How would they deal with a fighter like Jon Fitch getting cut from the roster? Maybe they could just establish health insurance, retirement savings plans, and education about money management and sponsorship.)
Let's make it safe enough so the owners and sponsors can cover their asses, but let's not do something hasty like harm profits.
Who, or what position, is this aimed at? My position is to end weight cutting, make it culturally acceptable to throw in the towel during multi-round beatdowns, create fighter education programs, establish a concussion-screening regimen, and have ring doctors actually stop fights instead of pretending they can't tell a fighter is concussed or unable to see. I don't think I'm particularly motivated by profit here.
In Pacquiao's situation, I think the only external factor that could've helped is money-management education. To some extent, we have to trust people to make their own mistakes. With MMA being so dominated by one company, forced retirement (like the UFC did with Chuck Liddell) would work, but I don't think boxing, being so Balkanized, is anywhere near that being a possibility.
posted by daveliepmann at 3:15 AM on November 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
First of all, I think this is way more true of boxing than it is of MMA. Many UFC fighters have college degrees. I think this is partly due to the tremendous advantage given to MMA fighters (but not boxers) with wrestling pedigrees, which are often earned in college.
Secondly, what exactly is your proposed solution to this problem? I'd be in favor of a fighter's union, except that would be tremendously hard to establish in a sport like MMA. (How would they deal with a fighter like Jon Fitch getting cut from the roster? Maybe they could just establish health insurance, retirement savings plans, and education about money management and sponsorship.)
Let's make it safe enough so the owners and sponsors can cover their asses, but let's not do something hasty like harm profits.
Who, or what position, is this aimed at? My position is to end weight cutting, make it culturally acceptable to throw in the towel during multi-round beatdowns, create fighter education programs, establish a concussion-screening regimen, and have ring doctors actually stop fights instead of pretending they can't tell a fighter is concussed or unable to see. I don't think I'm particularly motivated by profit here.
In Pacquiao's situation, I think the only external factor that could've helped is money-management education. To some extent, we have to trust people to make their own mistakes. With MMA being so dominated by one company, forced retirement (like the UFC did with Chuck Liddell) would work, but I don't think boxing, being so Balkanized, is anywhere near that being a possibility.
posted by daveliepmann at 3:15 AM on November 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
Possible money problems aside, I suspect this is a large part of why Pacquiao feels a primal urge to keep fighting. From a round-by-round of last night's fight against Rios:
Also, this Judo Chop (Connor Ruebusch) analysis of Pacquiao is pretty swell.
posted by daveliepmann at 12:53 AM on November 24, 2013
Pacquiao is at his best with strong shots and athleticism in the ring....Pacquiao just proved he's still got it, that he's not a slow, old, washed-up loser whose career ended with the wrong end of a highlight reel knockout. That's got to be worth so much to him, especially after being dominant so long.
Any doubt that Pacquiao’s loss to Marquez was going to define the end of his career were sadly mistaken....
Anyone who doubted Manny Pacquiao needs to reconsider the future of the 34-year-old boxer. He looks young and fresh, and his left jabs seems sharp as ever.
Also, this Judo Chop (Connor Ruebusch) analysis of Pacquiao is pretty swell.
posted by daveliepmann at 12:53 AM on November 24, 2013
Follow-up: MMA culture against brain damage. After the recent amazing brawl between Mark Hunt and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, I was very glad to see one commentator calling for there not to be a rematch. From Frank Curreri:
I'm sure millions of people will watch a rematch between Hunt and Silva, but I won't be one of them. Friday night's main event produced beautiful art. But it also may have taken years off both men's careers (as serious boxing and MMA fans have witnessed many times over the years, the Ali-Frazier trilogy being one famous example among many). I love this sport - but I also love to see fighters leave the sport some day with all their wits and powers of intelligence.posted by daveliepmann at 12:45 AM on December 10, 2013 [1 favorite]
« Older So It's Come To This: The Case for the Simpsons... | Flexible posturing around religion Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Well, putting it all on the boxer is unfair. The problem is not the man in the ring; The problem is the huge entourage that he supports financially and the business of boxing. Look at Ali. After defeating Foreman in 1974, he had nothing left to prove as a boxer. He had earned millions of dollars, he was the most famous person on the planet and he had huge opportunities outside of the ring to earn even more. But no. His entourage could not survive on that and other boxers needed Ali to keep fighting too:
“A fight with Ali gave me a chance at life, period,’’ said Norton, who tells how he was unable to feed his son before he faced Ali, so little money was coming in.
After the Thriller in Manila, the final fight with Frazier in 1975, Ali's kidneys were in a state that he was peeing blood and kidney. He never should have been allowed to continue, but Ali fought ten more times in five years and that took a heavy toll. It wasn't the epic battles against Frazier and Foreman and Kenny Norton that left the Greatest of All Time punch drunk... it was those final fights with guys like Ernie Shavers and Leon Spinks and Larry Holmes that turned Ali's brain into mush.
“You could see when Ali fought Holmes he was shot,’’ Chuvalo said. “He was not the same fighter in any way, shape or form. The run was over. Time to quit. Time to go. Time to call it a day…but they all knew at one time he was The Greatest.’’
Pacquiao is in the same trap. He's one of the few premier names in the sport that will fill an arena and sell pay-per-view seats. Boxing needs him, other boxers need him, and to say that he is till fighting because he wasn't sufficiently spendthrift is ridiculous.
posted by three blind mice at 12:38 AM on November 21, 2013 [6 favorites]