Why aren´t boxing prizefighters allowed to quit?

By Boxing News - 10/25/2013 - Comments

alvarado62By Gerardo Granados: A friend of mine believes that Mike Alvarado should have kept fighting until the end and not have quit on his stool because he was still throwing punches in the end of round ten. The strange thing is that my friend is also a big mixed martial arts fan and by now he should be accustomed to see a fighter surrender when in danger of an imminent risk of a serious injury. It is not the same to quit for a fighter when he has the risk of breaking his arm due a strong arm bar than to get brain damage due receiving one more punch.

The pride and courage that a prizefighter possesses is just immense but there are a couple of ring warriors for who to quit is simply not an option. When the referee stopped Vitali Klitschko due the severe cuts when he was giving hell to the then defending champion Lennox Lewis, he was really upset and wanted to continue but the stoppage was the right call to protect him.

Every fighter that climbs in to the ring takes a risk and on times there have been tragic endings and there have been severe injuries and even deaths due the punishment received in a fight. Antonio Margarito received a severe beating from Manny Pacquiao for the full twelve rounds and that might have shortened Margarito´s boxing career. Does the reader can recall the name of a fighter slur his word after retiring?

It is the referee, ring doctor and corner to protect the fighters. At the heat of the battle the adrenaline will flow and will push a brave lion to keep moving forward but when he is hurt he might not be able to take the decision to stop the fight even more if he has that warrior instinct inside of him.

For sure the reader can recall more than just fighter who quit. The infamous No Mas among others thru the years but most of them received severe punishment until they reached their limit and decided to stop fighting. Miguel Angel Cotto took a knee against Antonio Margarito; Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. quit on his stool against a young Oscar De la Hoya; The Golden Boy quit against Manny Pacquiao; and Joe Frazier did it against Muhammad Ali (The Thrilla in Manila), but can anyone criticize Smoking Joe for stop fighting after such war? There have been disappointing quitters such as when Victor Ortiz decided to not to continue fighting against Marcos Maidana or when Devon Alexander quit against Tim Bradley.

The expectations for the boxing prizefighters are big and the fans are demanding for acts of bravery and courage but on times we the fans might forget that it is not us who are inside that ring getting hit. If at others combat sports the contenders are allowed to quit and there is no shame on it when they are injured, then why are boxing prizefighters not allowed to quit?



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