Boxers can be cowards

First topic message reminder :

Touchy subject I know, but one I feel could be debated sensibly.

I personally dont buy 'no boxer who steps in the ring can be a coward' argument.

In the same way a police officer can be labelled a coward for failing to protect a colleague or member of the public. In the same way an army trooper can be labelled a coward for refusing to fight. Past acts of bravery are not taken into consideration, it is at that point in time they are a coward, or at the very least have committed a cowardly act.

Boxing has its cowards, why it is they get away with being labelled as such?

That one's already bin done.

wow

Anyway, sorry for assisting in the rapid derailment of your thread, Johnson!

Back to topic, I think boxers can be scared, most certainly. They're only human, and certain situations bring out the best or the worst of us. I would never use the word coward, though, purely for the reason I stated earlier in that stepping through those ropes alone is more than a coward could ever do.

As somone who objected to the choice of word in the first instance and still does should perhaps articulate my views. Think there needs to be a distinction made, every fighter irrespective of who they are will at some point experience trepidation or nerves, end of the day you are about to go into the ring with someone trained to punch you in the face really hard, it is a perfectly human reaction. However I would still feel uncomfortable describing an inability to control and get on top of that fear as cowardice because I feel it is massively disrespectful and a true coward such as myself would never find himself in such a position to start with.

boxers are not cowards as they have chosen a dangerous career. doesnt mean they cant lose their bottle or their ambition from time to time though. especially when in against another boxer who has a stronger will. cotto marg 1 is a prime example. cotto didnt suddenly become weak, but in comparison to marg that night i just dont think he believed he had it in him and decided he'd had enough

What a disgraceful thing to say that Cotto is a coward, it wasn't just a beating he received against Margarito it was a savage beating, he kept going and going until he physically couldn't take any more, a coward takes the easy option as soon as possible.

A sense of perspective is needed here in my eyes. Cotto went through an entire fight getting punched in the face by possibly cement filled gloves. About half an hour of getting the **** punched out of him when he reached his limit. Cotto is a warrior, not a coward. I've had 1 amateur fight and have no idea how pro boxers on a world level feel but I do know that I was bricking it. It takes balls to get in the ring but an act of cowardice can be committed in the extreme cases but that doesn't make the fighter a coward. A fighter that takes a dive in round 1. Maybe. A fighter that has made a career of fighting the best and not backing down. Not a chance in hell!

Cotto is not a coward imo he took heavy beatings from Margarito and Pacquiao he was busted up badly but he still tried his best he also beat lots of good fighter. He did not quit he just had nothing left.

Look at Duran many people think he is a top fighter but he quit shamefully against Leonard when he was getting schooled he did not want to to take the beating so he just quit and pretended he was feeling sick even his trainer said this was rubbish.

Bowe was shameful for not facing Lewis imo he threw his belt in the bin rather than take him on this is why he is called Chicken Bowe. Wold this make him a coward? I am not sure maybe some wil say yes and some will not blame him for avoiding Lewis because Lewis had beaten him up in the amateurs so it was not Bowes fault he was scared but a true champ would have taken on Lewis even if it meant losing.

Duran was not getting schooled.

Waingro wrote:
Look at Duran many people think he is a top fighter but he quit shamefully against Leonard when he was getting schooled he did not want to to take the beating so he just quit and pretended he was feeling sick even his trainer said this was rubbish.

To be honest, Waingro, I reckon Duran had a mini nervous breakdown that night.

The fight was very competitive and pretty even until Leonard started showboating and I'm pretty sure that Leonard knew it would unhinge Duran, who simply wanted a tear up.

Nobody knows for sure, of course, but I would doubt very much that fear had anything to do with Duran's walking away.

Imperial Ghosty wrote:Duran was not getting schooled.

Yes he was because if he was not getting schooled he was getting robbed, no other result is possible.

rowley wrote:

Imperial Ghosty wrote:Duran was not getting schooled.

Yes he was because if he was not getting schooled he was getting robbed, no other result is possible.

I thought it would have been a destruction seeing as it didn't go the distance.

I was interesting to see how coward is defined, and one dictionary uses the terms “fearful and uncourageous”. What’s interesting is the use of the conjunction “and” in this definition. One has to be fearful and lacking courage to qualify for such an unflattering moniker. It could be argued, as some have already pointed out, that stepping through the ropes is courageous enough to make the terms “boxer” and “coward” mutually exclusive. I agree with this. If a fighter is scared then stepping through the ropes was a brave act and not a cowardly one.

Imperial Ghosty wrote:What a disgraceful thing to say that Cotto is a coward, it wasn't just a beating he received against Margarito it was a savage beating, he kept going and going until he physically couldn't take any more, a coward takes the easy option as soon as possible.

i didnt mean for a second that cotto was a coward. cotto was brave that night, very brave. the point is margarito was even braver and more determined and he won the battle of wills. so one boxer can make another look less brave, such as maidana did to ortiz, but im saying that neither could ever be considered a coward, just because they were less brave in relation to their opponent.