The sight of Joe Louis? head dangling off the ring apron, right leg draped over the bottom rope, after his career-ending confrontation with Rocky Marciano, still ranks among the great cautionary tales for fighters who cling too long to the rapture of money and fame, against the greater will of their physical limitations.
Roy Jones found out, crumbled by a single punch from Antonio Tarver.
Oscar De La Hoya found out, left to quit on his stool in his last fight, against Manny Pacquiao.
Floyd Mayweather, the 34-year-old boxing sensation from Grand Rapids, has reached the point in his career at which he, too, could be playing fast and loose with his 41-0 record, leaving the biggest question of Sept. 17 — Is this the night Mayweather gets old before our eyes? — for him and 24-year-old Victor Ortiz to resolve.
Age remains boxing?s one ageless question, and Mayweather-Ortiz are merely the latest to test it.
Fighters train their bodies and minds to overcome people who intend them harm. Some become so convinced in their continuing aptitude that they do the harm themselves.
