If a fighter did not have heart and courage he would never step into a ring. The boxer's mind is a fragile item. Case in point, Roberto Duran. He was and still is my favorite boxer. Therefore you can understand how I felt when he uttered the now infamous "¡No Mas!"  My God, not Roberto. Not Duran. He later came back. He did not quit against Benitez or Hagler. He took his whoopin' like a man against Hearns. No excuses. He sucked it up and came back to upset Barkley. He was battered from pillar to post by William Joppy. He could have quit but he didn't. Finally a compassionate referee intervened.

   Corrales could have gave up against Castillo but he didn't. He ended up winning. What I am trying to say here is that courage is already woven into the fabric of every fighter. At times though the mind out rules the spirit. Sometimes for the best, sometimes not.

   One more example... Buster Douglas was considered a "dog" after he gave up against talented Tony Tucker. Yet this is the same Douglas who got up off the canvas and whipped the "baddest man on the planet," Mike Tyson. Yet in his next fight the "dog" was to have returned when he was humiliated by Evander Holyfield. Go figure!
 
    Did Leavander Johnson have too much courage for his own good ? Probably, and now his family and friends live with the horror of his passing. Still we all admire his tenacity and his will to overcome all obstacles. His courage...
 
      Jim Amato                                                         

9-23-2005

 

Brought to you by Saratogamist copyright 2001-2005