BoxRec

Why do some undefeated prospects suddenly retire and are never heard of again? I know injuries can be a factor (Pierre Olivier Cote, Alexander Abraham) But aside from injuries, what are some reasons that boxers would just quit? After all that training and hard work to get into a position where they can ranked and in a position to finally make some money - why walk away without trying to cash out at least once?

Examples

Alexander Frenkel knocks out Enzo Macarinelli and never boxes again: http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?cat=bo ... _id=372190

JD Chapman goes to 29-0 (albeit fighting scrubs), gets ranked by the WBC in their top 15 making him eligible for a title shot and never fights again:
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_ ... &cat=boxer

Abraham Lopez - 17-0 suddenly retires. I reached out to his manager on twitter and was told he retired to pursue a career in nursing. http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?cat=bo ... _id=447010

Arman Sargysan: http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_ ... &cat=boxer
Volodymyr Lazebnyk http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_ ... &cat=boxer

I guess they just fell out of love with the sport and decided to call it a day .

Pretty sure that Frenkel was suffering from depression so took time out

littlepug wrote:Pretty sure that Frenkel was suffering from depression so took time out

Yeah i remember reading that,i never knew Abraham and Cote retired,i was actually thinking about Alexander the other week(nothing sexual)

Very interesting topic.

Lee Canalito and Kenny Klingman are two others that retired with undefeated records.

My theory, and it's only a theory is that they saw their limitations in sparring.

Jemal Hinton retired I believe due to religious reasons

British Heavyweight hope Andrew Flintoff retired despite looking sensational

sometimes life happens

Can understand why many pack it in its a very solitary life and quite a slow moving career plus the purses are usually pretty low, fact is these prospects are usually young lads with not enough patience or discipline to keep grounded

I'm guessing most eventually come to the realization that they're not going to make big money, and that getting a 9-to-5 job is a more steady way to pay the bills, especially with a family.

Frenkel is obviously a bit different as he was already a top-10 rated guy who probably could have gotten a big fight with one of the elite cruisers like Hernandez/Huck/Lebedev. Sounds like he had mental problems.

handsofstone wrote:British Heavyweight hope Andrew Flintoff retired despite looking sensational

Looked him up, said he was in another sport. A Freddie Flintoff was 1(0)-0.

Tony1244 wrote:

handsofstone wrote:British Heavyweight hope Andrew Flintoff retired despite looking sensational

Looked him up, said he was in another sport. A Freddie Flintoff was 1(0)-0.

The guy flintoff beat was 2-0 after Freddie he lost 1 of his next 6 and Freddie looked worse than awful that night hmmm......

Sometimes it's due to legal issues. This is sometimes the case when you see a long gap in a young fighter's career as well--they spent a little time behind bars then make another go of it when they get out.

I made a thread about Gabor Veto recently, had no replies. God knows what happened to him.

jujigatame wrote:I'm guessing most eventually come to the realization that they're not going to make big money, and that getting a 9-to-5 job is a more steady way to pay the bills, especially with a family.

I agree.

Even if someone is paid what seems like a sizable total of $130k a year in purses, after payments to trainers, managers, etc. how much is left for them? Considering that most boxers won't come close to making that type of money in the sport and that it's a relatively unstable career in which you can spend months training for a bout only to go unpaid if it falls through at the last minute, I can see why some get out even when they've shown promise.

That said, boxing is just like any other sport or profession in that one can lose interest in it and decide that they've had enough of it. I think there's a strong possibility the finances are the main factor, but I'm sure there are some boxers who leave the sport even if they don't think it's the optimal financial move, just as many people change professions knowing they may not receive such a large paycheck in the future.

Pretty sure in most cases it's because they become so obsessed with protecting their undefeated record that they become afraid to put it at risk. It becomes a source of pride, but they don't believe they have the substance to defend it legitimately.

It seems as though some don't want to "step up," so they retire.

Lackeos wrote:Pretty sure in most cases it's because they become so obsessed with protecting their undefeated record that they become afraid to put it at risk. It becomes a source of pride, but they don't believe they have the substance to defend it legitimately.

There you go.

I thought Chapman had a big opportunity to fight Haye in England, but decided to squander it riding 4-wheelers and playing country boy instead.

I'd imagine that you cant generalise. There will and would be a whole array of reasons why a fighter would retire undefeated.

JCS wrote:I thought Chapman had a big opportunity to fight Haye in England, but decided to squander it riding 4-wheelers and playing country boy instead.

I believe Chapman's quote was "I'm not going all the way over there to get knocked out."

It may have to do with promotional problems.

Sometimes promoters force boxers to remain inactive. Don King is an example, he's ruined many promising up-and-comers by not letting them fight.

Universum forced Golovkin and several others to remain inactive for a time.

jujigatame wrote:I'm guessing most eventually come to the realization that they're not going to make big money, and that getting a 9-to-5 job is a more steady way to pay the bills, especially with a family.

This make sense.

handsofstone wrote:British Heavyweight hope Andrew Flintoff retired despite looking sensational

I lolled

British Heavyweight hope Andrew Flintoff retired despite looking sensational

DD

Hopefully Kevin Pietersen gets the sudden urge to put on the gloves.......I was thinking 12 round fight with big Anthony J with small, puncher's gloves and no three knockdown rule and someone nicking the towel from KP's corner. Tickets sold in a flash