BoxRec

Hearing about the news of Kevin Finnegan and thinking about retired boxers in general...

Why does boxing seem to be so hard on it's retired ex-pros in comparison with other sports. I mean the stroies of retired boxers falling on hard times is so common place that a guy who does well out of the ring is a stand-out story.

When you think about guys at the top of the sport like Joe Louis and Jimmy Young... How they didn't have it easy. And these were guys at the very top.

And it's not just greedy promoters that use them up and throw them away... Look at the way fans talk about boxers... "He's a bum" "Tomato Can" etc... Thse are pretty harsh ways to describe guys often get in with much better fighters without much chance of a victory but put it all on the line anyway.

Okay, some of the hard men who visit the site might think I'm a bleeding heart on this one, but guys who get in the ring deserve a bit more respect, and a better life when they retire.

Ezzard wrote:Hearing about the news of Kevin Finnegan and thinking about retired boxers in general...

Why does boxing seem to be so hard on it's retired ex-pros in comparison with other sports. I mean the stroies of retired boxers falling on hard times is so common place that a guy who does well out of the ring is a stand-out story.

When you think about guys at the top of the sport like Joe Louis and Jimmy Young... How they didn't have it easy. And these were guys at the very top.

And it's not just greedy promoters that use them up and throw them away... Look at the way fans talk about boxers... "He's a bum" "Tomato Can" etc... Thse are pretty harsh ways to describe guys often get in with much better fighters without much chance of a victory but put it all on the line anyway.

Okay, some of the hard men who visit the site might think I'm a bleeding heart on this one, but guys who get in the ring deserve a bit more respect, and a better life when they retire.

Kevin always had a drink problem, even when when he was fighting. Inevitably, it got worse as he struggled in vain to find any meaning in his life outside the ring.

Ezzard,
I think that should be mentioned is that in other sports (NFL,MLB,NBA) there are pensions for their retired athletes. It's usually not big money, but certainly can make a difference.

Boxing of course is run mostly by sleazy promoters and immoral "governing bodies". The only thing they care about is making a quick buck for themselves. They have no interest in helping ex-boxers.

Physically, too many boxers fight far too long and do have brain injuries.

Another factor is that boxers are often even more ill prepared for the "real world" after they retire than other athletes. They usually have even less education and even less experience in the workplace.
There are also a lot less openings for cushy jobs as announcers for ex-boxers than there are for ex NBA or NFL players.

You also have to consider the fact that there is no "middle class" in boxing. Only the stars can really make a living. A backup NBA player makes a few hundred thousand $ a year.

Unless you are a star in boxing, you simply can't save/invest much $ because you aren't making that much.

As for the terms tomato can and especially bum- It isn't always meant to rip a fighter personally. It's probably not a good way to describe an inferior fighter, but for whatever reason it's part of boxing vocabulary. (I myself occasionally use the term tomato can and probably shouldn't.)However, those are the terms that people recognize. In basketball we might call a guy a stiff or a scrub. Of course when most people call someone that it's in the context of comparing them to other athletes in the sport.

That people can be so mean toward ex-boxers who struggle is sad. People can be cruel.

Ezzard wrote:Hearing about the news of Kevin Finnegan and thinking about retired boxers in general...

Why does boxing seem to be so hard on it's retired ex-pros in comparison with other sports. I mean the stroies of retired boxers falling on hard times is so common place that a guy who does well out of the ring is a stand-out story.

When you think about guys at the top of the sport like Joe Louis and Jimmy Young... How they didn't have it easy. And these were guys at the very top.

And it's not just greedy promoters that use them up and throw them away... Look at the way fans talk about boxers... "He's a bum" "Tomato Can" etc... Thse are pretty harsh ways to describe guys often get in with much better fighters without much chance of a victory but put it all on the line anyway.

Okay, some of the hard men who visit the site might think I'm a bleeding heart on this one, but guys who get in the ring deserve a bit more respect, and a better life when they retire.

I think you'll find in an awful lot of circumstances, the fighters bring it on themselves. How many sob stories about so-&-so becoming a cocaine addict, especially during the 80's, for instance? That sort of thing --- & the events which build as a result of that lifestyle --- amount to a, "tough shit" from me.