Goodnight, Irene wrote:I'm not being unsupportive, or critical. Simply, to say you don't know why fighters lose momentum given how great it feels to be working out & setting goals when you're twenty & have been in the Gym less than a month is fanciful, idealist thinking. Really, put in the simplest terms, it's plain silly.
I'm just asking the question --- does it not occur to Barry things may get astronomically more difficult from the point he's at now to the point many Boxers find themselves in over the years?
Take a guy like Iran Barkley and yknow Barry does remind me a lot of Iran in terms of his enthusiasm for fighting and attitude.
Iran is almost 50 he still wants to fight. He still has boundless enthusiasm , the internal warrior and beleif he can beat anyone out there even now etc. But Iran is crippled by an ageing body which wont obey the commands its given, countless broken bones, scar tissue on the eyes which opens up with one slight backhander, and a detached retina in an eye.
When your 20 you dont realise by the time you are 35 or 40 your body cant be expected to be relied upon always for a sport as hard as boxing. YOur reflexes start to let you down, your speed goes. Road work starts to kill you more than the actual fighting
Fighters dont neccesarily "get out of shape" out of choice, injuries force it on them.
I remember what Marlon Starling said about why he retired and bear in mind he was only 31-32. He said he went over to spar with some new prospects. He sparred them and than had to go to sleep for a week. He decided to retire right than.