Are Comebacks Ever A Good Thing?

By Stuart Brown


With the recent talk around the globe of some big-name fighters making a comeback I thought it would be interesting to delve a little deeper into this intriguing phenomena and the particular allure it has for fighters.
 
Why?
 
Why indeed. There strikes me as two main forces behind a comeback;

• Finances,
  
  
• Mentality.
  
  

Financial
 
This doesn’t really need much explanation. A boxer has ran out of cash. A boxer can get back in the ring and earn some cash.
 
We don’t need to look too far too see the levels of cash and levels of spending available to some of the big names in the sport. Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather rules supreme as the almost universally recognised pound for pound king and as the king of the coin.
 
The lifestyle Floyd enjoys is all well and good when a boxer is fighting. When a boxer is pulling in the big cheques and endorsements. However, these riches are soon gone and if there’s no plan for the future disaster can strike. There has been genuine talk from those close to Floyd of him actually running out of cash at some point. He if continues to spend at the current rate this could well be a sad, but hopefully improbable reality.
 
Unfortunately boxing is surrounded by a cloud of greed and greedy hangers on. The guys putting their bodies and well-being on the line are quickly separated from their hard-earned purses, if they either don’t have the nous to protect themselves or have someone else watching their back. 
Mike Tyson is a great example of a fighter running out of cash, ending up bankrupt after earning in excess of $500m in his career. Mike Tyson was also reportedly considering a comeback, although thankfully this was one rumour that was quickly dismissed. Tyson actually looks to be making a very healthy living through other means.
 
Mentality
 
This to me is the truly interesting motivation for a comeback, one unique to individual competitors, particularly in the fight game.
 
I would split mentality as the motivation into two;

• The ‘drug’/exhilaration of fighting,
  
  
• Hard to put into words, but an “I’m better than what’s out there, I should still be out there” attitude.
  
  

The Drug
 
I can only imagine what it must feel like to walk out into a packed arena, thousands of voices shouting your name. It’s the culmination of weeks of hard-training, months, even years of talk about the challenge in front of you. You climb into the ring to further admiration. You look into the eyes of loved ones that are ringside, look into the thousands of faces around you.
 
Never mind the result – how can that be beaten?
 
The pure exhilaration of being the ‘main-man’, the centre of the Universe for 12 rounds must be a driving factor for some to make a comeback.
 
I’m better than them
 
This is an attitude that I’ve started to note in recent times. From the talk of Sky Sports Jonny Nelson last year, to the actions of Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock making an astonishing comeback at the age of 51. The motivation for some is simply seeing the current standard in their division, making the conclusion that they have at least one more big fight in them and stepping back into the ring to prove a point.
 
I’d say this is the ego-driven motivation to get back into the ring. Given the nature of individual combative sports there’s plenty of ego to go around and therefore not a surprise that even years after deciding they couldn’t physically go on, fighters are making the division to return to the sport.
 
Rumblings
 
As noted above, there are a number of high-profile comeback rumours in circulation. Most notably Oscar De La Hoya. What on earth?
 
Oscar De La Hoya. This has come completely out of the blue, to myself at least. I get the impression he is very much THE Golden Boy. Very rich, very successful ex P4P contender, promoter and Hall of Fame member and it’s not as if the welterweight division is lacking top-level contenders. From the options above, he must be yearning for a return to the big fight atmosphere. One more camp, one more push for the title. He misses it. Being a promoter isn’t enough. Something is missing for him.
At 42, with a poor run near the end of his career I sincerely hope that this doesn’t come to fruition. I can’t see him coming back for anyone other than the best and the best will win. For his own sake I hope he listens to sense and moves/stays in the next phase of his life.
 
Benn vs Eubank III
 
Another fight touted has been Benn vs Eubank III.
 
This is a strange one. It’s almost as if two souls have merged and as one decided on a comeback. That, or they are once again stirring the media pot to get some more attention. I have to admit that they are both in good shape given their years out of the ring, but to me, any come back would be a bit of a mockery to the sport. No disrespect intended to either, who both have given so much to the sport, but surely if this was to happen, it should’ve happened years ago.
 
I don’t want to see this fight, however much of a spectacle it would be. I think it would be bad for the sport and both should move forwards.
 
Comebacks
 
All of us face set-backs in life, changes of direction, regrets and have to call things a day when the time is right.
 
Admittedly, there have been some great comebacks in the history of the sport, to me most notably the ‘Lean, mean grilling machine’ himself George Foreman. But for the positives there are many negatives, many tales of physical degradation, loss of respect and of legacy.
 
I wish anyone who takes the decision to comeback all the best, but I hope it’s for the right reasons and with sound support and advice. 


http://www.v2boxing.co.uk/#!Are-Comebacks-Ever-A-Good-Thing/c1xmj/558d13d70cf2ef0f928d0deb

Sugar Ray Leonard beat Hagler, Duran, Lalonde and Drew with Tommy........

Making over 50 million in the process...........

If you're going to make a comeback years later.......Be a legend that way you'll get plenty of bucks for risking both legacy and health..........

You could consider it 'missing the drug' but I'd add another mentality motivation as being simply lost after retirement. No reason to get out of bed, no sense of purpose. For some it's missing the routine, the comfort of having a job.

I don't think the 'being better than the current lot' is really a motivation'... I think that's part of the justification given whilst kidding themselves they can still cut it.

Self delusion is a key factor, but not a motivator.