Boxers that Retired on their Own Terms

[Ruthless-RKO]

Some went out on a win, some chose easy opponents, some went out on a loss. Some took tougher fights than others.

I just want to gather some thoughts, My knowledge only goes back to the 90's..

I can start the thread off..

[Ruthless-RKO]

Floyd Mayweather - I'm going to skip McGregor.. And say Andre Berto was his last boxing opponent. Berto, who was (3-3) in his last 6 fights, was picked by Mayweather has his last opponent before retiring. We all knew Berto wasn't going to beat Mayweather.

Bernard Hopkins - He was out for 2 years and hadn't officially confirmed his retirement. He spoke to ESPN's Dan Rafael, and he chose Joe Smith Jr., knowing he had some power behind him and being so much younger than him, as his last opponent. He wanted one last outing. Even though the fight favored Smith, Hopkins was still in good condition, came in at 174 pounds and got KO'd out of the ring. He did dispute the loss, but that's just typical Hopkins.

Miguel Cotto - Only took place last night, He knew it was his last fight and he chose Sadam Ali has his final dance partner. I think we can agree that we thought Cotto was going to go out on a win. Some even disproved Ali being a legit contender, moving up from 147.

Shane Mosley - Special shout here. He was scheduled to fight Magomed Kurbanov (10-0, 8 KOs) in December 2017. The fight wasn't going to be his last, but he had to pull out and eventually the fight cancelled. Mosley then decided to retire.

Joe Calzaghe - No disrespect to the man, but I really don't like his career. He chose to fight a clearly past is Roy Jones Jr. (who is still fighting today) as his final opponent. On paper, it looks great.. Win vs. Hopkins and win vs. RJJ. Took him 9 years to have a unification fight. But that's another thread. Calzaghe retired unbeaten. He said he had achieved everything he wanted. Fiar play. all faculties in tact.

[gilgamesh]

Gene Tunney - Retired as Heavyweight Champion with a 65-1-1 record.

He defeated Dempsey for the title in 1926, and defended it twice. Once in a rematch against Dempsey in 1927 and then in a KO win against Tom Heeney in 1928.

After that. He retired still on top.

[gilgamesh]

I kinda doubt we've truly seen the last of him, but if we indeed never see him fight again then you'd have to add Andre Ward to this list.

[gilgamesh]

Floyd's last Boxing opponent was Conor McGregor. The Conor fight was much bigger, and much better than the Andre Berto fight.

[BoxBuzz]

Surprised Marciano wasn't mentioned yet.....he seems the most iconic name for this particular subject matter.

Lennox as well. I mean he timed it perfect....he recognized when it was time....and snuck one last very meaningful win in.....some feel just barely......but it's on his record.

[SteveO]

Some former heavyweight champions to kick off with:
Wladimir Klitschko
Vitali Klitschko
Ruslan Chagaev
Nikolai Valuev
John Ruiz

[Ruthless-RKO]

I kinda doubt we've truly seen the last of him, but if we indeed never see him fight again then you'd have to add Andre Ward to this list.

He didn't really pick Kov as his final opponent. He kinda made the decision himself few months later. Can give him a pass though

[Ruthless-RKO]

Some former heavyweight champions to kick off with:
Wladimir Klitschko
Vitali Klitschko
Ruslan Chagaev
Nikolai Valuev
John Ruiz

James Toney said Mike Sheppard would be his last

[gilgamesh]

Some former heavyweight champions to kick off with:
Wladimir Klitschko
Vitali Klitschko
Ruslan Chagaev
Nikolai Valuev
John Ruiz

James Toney said Mike Sheppard would be his last

I wouldn't say that's Retiring on your own terms exactly. That's just a guy that hung around so long that nobody really cared to see him anymore. Toney's one of my all time favorite fighters, but that fight with Sheppard was pretty embarrassing the KO at the end was obviously fake. Sheppard just felt down from a nothing punch, and took the count. Why somebody would bother to fix a fight like that I don't know, but they did.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Surprisingly, bowe. You gotta remove Mosley. He was absolutely gutted when he suffered a career ending injury.

[scartissue]

My favorite 'retirement' was that of Floyd Patterson. After giving a credible performance at the age of 37 against Ali - in a fight that everyone knew he was going to lose - everyone waited for the forthcoming retirement announcement. And they are still waiting. Floyd just never made any kind of announcement and always kept everyone dangling on his return, which never happened.

[giacomino]

Monzón

[Kalan]

Surprisingly, bowe. You gotta remove Mosley. He was absolutely gutted when he suffered a career ending injury

Bowe didn't retire on his own terms... He's obviously brain damaged -- and he let that kickboxer beat the living crap out him... Sad.

[gilgamesh]

If Tyson Fury never fights again, I'd say losing your Title in a haze of Cocaine and Food is Retiring on your own terms

I'd say George Foreman retired on his own terms the 2nd time around

[Ruthless-RKO]

I'd say George Foreman retired on his own terms the 2nd time around

Yeh, he got stripped of all his titles eventually for not fighting mandatories. He only had the Lineal championship, which is not even physical.

[gilgamesh]

I'd say George Foreman retired on his own terms the 2nd time around

Yeh, he got stripped of all his titles eventually for not fighting mandatories. He only had the Lineal championship, which is not even physical.

I'm sure he could've done without the robbery against Shannon Briggs, but with all the endorsement deals and sh*t he's still doing great.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I'm sure he could've done without the robbery against Shannon Briggs, but with all the endorsement deals and sh*t he's still doing great.

He didn't even need to come back after 10 years.. Maybe if he had invented the Grill in the 80's.. Unfortunately, he invented it 94'.

[SteveO]

I'd say George Foreman retired on his own terms the 2nd time around

Yeh, he got stripped of all his titles eventually for not fighting mandatories. He only had the Lineal championship, which is not even physical.

The lineal title is probably the most important though.
All the other champions are just belt holders.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I'd say George Foreman retired on his own terms the 2nd time around

Yeh, he got stripped of all his titles eventually for not fighting mandatories. He only had the Lineal championship, which is not even physical.

The lineal title is probably the most important though.
All the other champions are just belt holders.

I agree. There is only 2 Lineal champions right now. Rigo and Adonis. Crawford obviously won't be any more. But he started a new lineage by beating the #2..

[gilgamesh]

Yeh, he got stripped of all his titles eventually for not fighting mandatories. He only had the Lineal championship, which is not even physical.

The lineal title is probably the most important though.
All the other champions are just belt holders.

I agree. There is only 2 Lineal champions right now. Rigo and Adonis. Crawford obviously won't be any more. But he started a new lineage by beating the #2..

Not really. It's only really a lineage if it keeps going. It stopped basically a week after he achieved it. Which is often the case these days when a guy becomes a true recognized Undisputed Champion unfortunately.

[Tinnie]

Johnny Famechon. Promptly called it a day after losing his title to Saldivar. Still relatively in his prime, there were probably a few good match ups available but chose to get out of the game with his health intact.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jean Pascal fights for the final time tonight...

Pascal said,
“Not me. It won’t happen to me. This is it for me. This is going to be my last fight. I’m 35 and I think my tank still has some gas in it. I think it’s the right time to hang up the gloves, because most boxers have their last fight and their tank is already empty. It’s when serious injuries happen. My teeth are good. My brain is good. My body isn’t damaged. I think it’s the right time to end it.”

Pascal saw what happened when “B-Hop” fought Joe Smith in December 2016, with Hopkins getting knocked out of the ring in the eighth round. Last weekend he witnessed Sadam Ali defy the pundits and spoil the going-away fight of another future hall of famer, Cotto.

“I made some money and treated my money well, so I figure the best way to end my career is against a prospect like Elbiali, who is 16-0,” Pascal said. “I don’t want what happened to Bernard Hopkins to occur to me. Hopkins had a great career and in his last fight was a knockout loss. Even Miguel Cotto, he didn’t go out on the right note. He chose the right guy, but for me, I didn’t even choose Elbiali. They chose me and I accepted the challenge. He needs to prove himself.”

“I know why they chose me — because they think they can beat me. I’m the better man. I’m a former world champion. Elbiali has said that I’m his biggest challenge ever. I’ve been there already, and I feel the lesson Bernard Hopkins taught me. This time, I’m the teacher and he’s the student. He still needs skills to get on my level. I still have one big fight left in me. I want to leave boxing with all my teeth. And my mom wants me to retire, and I have to keep my promise to her.”

Pascal has plans on becoming a police officer in Laval, Quebec, after he fights Friday night. He has gone through the Canadian education system for criminal justice.

“Fighters always come back because they have nothing else to do, because boxing is the only thing they know,” Pascal said. “It’s not just in boxing, either. You see it in hockey, basketball, and all other sports where the athlete feels they have to come back, because they have nothing else to do. I have something to do when my career is over.”

“I’ve planned my career and I’ve planned my way out. I want to become a cop and do some things in the media. First, I’m going to win my last fight. I want to go out with a smile on my face. I’ve been there and done that, and I’m ready to do something else.”

[Tony1244]

Michael Spinks

[Bodyshot3]

I'd suggest that Lennox pretty much retired on his own terms and always had a clear-cut personal plan.

For my money, he was never entirely in love with the fight game but understood that he had the talent to make a great deal of money and be successful. Boxing was simply his best option and I am not sure he craved the gym/training camp like other fighters did.

Lennox effectively made the commitment to maximise what he had got and appreciated that as a relatively late-starter there was a 'window' to do this in and then it would be time to move on.

When he ended-up in a nasty war with Vitali I think Lennox realised that it was time to clock-off and close down his project. He'd got as much out of the sport as he could and the risk-reward odds were no longer that good.

You could almost hear him saying.....I've signed-off with a win of some note against a dangerous guy who is on the rise, I've made the money I want and I am not going to get back into the ring just for the pure sake of entertaining folk or for my own ego.