Quote:
Originally Posted by IDES
I'm afraid that I have to be included in the group that wishes not to talk about it.I've had the book Hard Knocks about Jerry on the bookshelf for two years and can't bring myself to read it.It's such a sad case and certainly not an isolated one,not even within the Quarry family. I know that nobody forces someone to choose boxing as a profession,but should we,as fans,feel culpable in any way for what has happened to these men that we cheered for,and in some cases,idolized ? I can so clearly see Quarry masterfully defeating Mac Foster,Earnie Shavers and Ronnie Lyle.Conversely,the second Frazier,second Ali and Norton fights are also sickenly vivid as well.Athletes in all sports notoriously stay around too long after their skills have diminished.Unfortunately in boxing,the price that is paid for that mistake can be deadly.
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No, I don't think we're necessarily culpable. My point is similar to yours. I do think, nevertheless, that we should take into consideration what happens to them in the end.
Anyone, who in my opinion, fails to recognize the incidence of dementia pugilistica as a result of a boxing career is walking around with blinders.
Ali was my hero. Seeing him after he retired broke my heart. Many try divorce it from all the punches he took during his career...they're just fooling themselves.
And I totally agree with you that no one compels someone to become a boxer. Yet, it's always been a sport where the lower classes have seen it as a quick step-up to fame and fortune.
I'm hard-pressed to think of any other sport so corrupt, disorganized, and indifferent to their fellow human beings as boxing.
Then again maybe I've watched
Requiem for a Heavyweight,
On the Waterfront, and
The Harder They Fall too many times
.