I agree with everything you said....

who never liked getting punched in any of the boxing matches or even sparring I engaged in, I'll speculate that you are agreeing with my reasons I do not want either my son or daughter who competed in the ring to do so again. My older brother suffered and eventually died as a result of being a boxer who would take five punches to land one -- because with that one, he usually won. But that isn't good for the human brain. And while mst people recognize the sport is corrupt, they tend to associate it with the money involved in big fights. After 60+ years in the sport, I can say without risk of error that it is just as corrupt at every level.

The strange thing, of course, is that I find boxers to be the most interesting people I encounter. Most -- though certainly not all -- are actually gentle people outside of the ring. I remember a show (either Mike Douglas or Merv) from either the late 1960s or early '70s) where a psychiatrist was a guest. He was talking about how complex human beings are. At one point, he noted that while boxing was the most violent of sports, he found boxers to be the moat gentle of people outside the ring.The host questioned him on how that could be? He said most had suffered in their early life, in one way or another, and by bocing, were telling the world, "Don't touch me in an aggressive way."

and with your reasoning too

as usual, H2O Man.

I'm assuming that the two veterans that Morrison beat past their primes are Razor Ruddock and George Foreman? Or maybe you mean Carl "The Truth" Williams?

Because the rather ironic thing about Foreman, of course, is that he became the HW champ in his very next fight against Michael Moorer.

Tommy's two big name wins were over James Tillis and Pinklon Thomas. Both were serious fighters in their primes, and Pinklon had held one of the division's titles, before losing it to Tyson.

His wins over Williams and Foreman came a couple years after the loss to Mercer, so they weren't factors in my thinking when Morrison was facing Ray. And Tommy did have a few other good wins in the years after Ray devastated him. He was good, but there are levels to the sport. He wasn't on Ray's level.

Mercer gave Lennox Lewis a heck of a fight too! It came down to the judges.

won that fight. I've watched it several times, and still think he won. And I really like Lewis. (In my lone interaction with him shortly after he retired, I thanked Lennox for bringing class to the sport. Nothing but great respect.)

Just too brutal.

At least the amateurs -- now USA Boxing, rather than AAU -- are a bit less brutal than they used to be. Some commissioners are solid, others not so much. Most promoters are as crooked as ever ...... as they have been forever. I've only ever met one honest promoter at any level, and I've had my guys fight on his cards ever since.

When I was 15, my brothers and I were headed home after competing on an amateur fight card. A friend of our's died that night when a fight went on too long. I remember thining, "Poor Frank! That sucks!" But not connecting that both my oldest brother and I had fought in that exact same ring on that card a couple hours earlier. A couple years ago, my brother, who also fought pro, died from complications from taking too many punches to the head. He won almost all of his fights, but was a prime example of a short Irishman who would take five punches to land one.

boxing, current events, opinion, etc. So professional (IMHO).

As someone who fought 329 voxing matches, I'm happy that I can still write my own name! Ha!

Why is Anthony Joshua taking this fight against Dillian Whyte if losing it could mess up his huge payday against Deontay Wilder in December? And why would he turn down the chance to fight Tyson Fury in September?

I wish I had good answers, but we'll have to settle for what I think. (grin) I don't see the advantage of fighting Whyte now. Though AJ can, and should, win, it's not what I'd pick for him as a tune-up. Whyte can fight, and has the ability to score not just the upset, but to inflict both mental and physical damage in doing so. In my opinion, even if AJ wins, there is a risk of damage.

Now, I think AJ is a very good boxer-puncher. I had supported Tim Witherspoon's attempts to train him after both of AJ's first two loses. It has less to do with phyical conditioning than mental preparation. I know Tim well enough to know he could do that better than the others around AJ. And that's no knock on them. It's a matter of Tim being better for the job, at least in my opinion. And I base that on a number of conversations with Tim about this -- the man has the persoal ring experience, as well as dealing with promoters and fans who love you when you are winning, but not as much after a loss.

I am sure Tim would have advised AJ to fight a less dangerous opponent, not in the top ten. Possibly followed by a top ten guy, then roll the dice with Wilder. Again, just my opinion, but if AJ beats Whyte, then fights Wilder, he will get counted out in about four rounds. With two fights to build him up, the odds would be even.

Sorry to babble on so long! Ask me great questions about boxing, and I can't shut up!