Maybe They Did And Maybe They Didn't

By Rick Farris

Maybe they did, and maybe they didn't. You either have it or you don't. Most don't, but somehow believe they did.
A lot of fighters have been taken advantage of, good fighters that almost had what it took, but 99% wouldn't have made it with every advantage on their side.
The Dempsey's, Ali's, Robinson's, Duaran's, Leonard's etc. are very, very rare. Lots come close, but even with all the edges couldn't make it.

I have to say that excuses are much more common than talent in boxing. It's always somebody else's fault.
That's not to say that those prelim guys, club fighters don't have worth, as they often provide the action that saves a show, makes people want to come back and buy a ticket.

There is a fine line seperating good from great in boxing. Anything less than great deverves nothing better than second place.
In boxing, coming in second means you finished in last place.
In such a situation, aside from his purse, a boxer deserves the same prize awarded to those who bet him to win- Nothing.

I've opened the show, been the crowd chaser, semi-main and even had a couple featured events.
I didn't like to lose, got a raw deal on a couple of occasions, stole a decision once, generally fought on even terms, have had my nose busted several times, eye brows sliced, eye's swollen shut, urinated blood for a day or two, woke up with headaches that made me wish I could yank my head off and toss it out the window . . . and I've made other guys feel the same. I was stopped once, but finished on my feet, never knocked out cold, never, not in the gym, not in the ring. I've had my bell rung, stepped out of the ring with no memory of what I'd done during the previous several days leading up to that moment. I've fought blind, one eye swollen shut, blood dripping into the other from a cut. I've had concussions (all of us have).

The greatest moments I've ever experienced in life took place in that ring. I wasn't a punching bag, despite the facts above. It comes with the territory. I didn't fight with the success of the Baltazar's, and they didn't fight the with the success of Leonard or Duran. We all got what we deserved. I had some brilliant moments and have some great memories. More good than bad, a lot more good than bad.

So what? Sometimes I did my best, sometimes it wasn't good enough. Life is unfair, some people have a real problem when it comes to that reality.

I got what I deserved, and so does everybody else in boxing. I don't feel sorry for any boxer that ever walked the face of the planet.
We made a choice, and we did what we wanted. Boxers ALL have nobody to blame but themselves.

We all got we deserved. Nothing more-Nothing less. When a boxer dies in the ring, it's a tragedy. It's also their own fault, all of them.

Would I do it again? You bet I would. You just have to know when to quit. Those who don't, well, it's their own fault, they got what they desereved. And just for the record, I didn't have somebody waiting to give me a job in the studios when I retired, my grandad had been dead eight years. I got in on my own, and it was not easy. I got what I deserved, we all do.