Rarely in sports do we see a team or individual go through the rigors of deft competitive action and remain poised enough to enjoy the arduous task of finishing undefeated. As witnessed with last year in the NFL with the New England Patriots, being close to perfection in the end doesn't always secure a victory when it counts the most. Throughout the rich history in the sport of boxing, there were a few who managed to earn this rare mark of perfection, with the most notable being the late great Rocky Marciano. In modern times, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Joe Calzaghe remain in contention, but both silently remain one mega-fight offer away from returning, so it's pretty safe to say their chapter isn't quite sealed just yet.
When you look at the current trend in the sport where promoters and fighter camps spend more time honing in on the categorical low risk/high reward mega fights, one can't help but lose a little respect for the accomplishments of those today who do remain in contention. Once upon a time in the sport, the best fought the best and there was very little in the way to prevent it from happening. In today's culture of the fight game, what the public demands and what they often get typically pale in comparison because as the old adage goes, "if it doesn't make dollars, it doesn't make sense".
When you examine the records of Joe Calzaghe and Floyd Mayweather in particular, one can't help but wonder how things would have been had they taken greater risk in their respective careers. For Calzaghe, the criticism of facing the likes of Jones and Hopkins while in the twilight of their careers will forever hunt him; for Mayweather, the decision to walk away from arguably the sports deepest division during peak season will serve him no better. What's even more ironic is the fact that all of the men that presented greater risk to both Mayweather and Calzaghe were fighters who themselves had already been defeated, yet those moments of adversity propelled them to the high risk category in which they now remain.
When you look around the sport, it's the battle tested fighters who lost in adversity and turned those trials into triumphs that get the true respect of the fans, regardless. Fighters like Glen Johnson, Nate Campbell, Manny Pacquiao, and Bernard Hopkins. Each of those men have been on
both sides of the spectrum, achieving greatness after defeat, while also basking in the glow of victory. It was nice to see a youngster like Kelly Pavlik dominate, but had he not tasted the experience of a Bernard Hopkins, his elevator of perceived greatness would have remained at a mere basement level, capping off well before he reached the penthouse level that his true potential embodies.
The agony of defeat prompts those that are hungry to reinvent themselves and establish new ways to survive in a sport that leaves no room for the weak. It's a brutal sport, and it's great to remain blemish free, but the next time you see a fighter enter the ring with an "O", ask yourself is he just that good, or has he simply never had that opportunity to advance to the next level? It often seems that's what separates the undefeated from the defeated that they tend to run from.
Think about it.
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