Athletes Who Hung on Too Long

Roy Jones Jr. plans to step back into the ring at 45.

Roy Jones Jr. - You gotta be kidding. Last week, Roy Jones Jr. told ESPN he would step back into the ring July 26 to take on British fighter Courtney Fry in Latvia. Jones is 45 years old to Fry’s 39. Why man?Why...are...you...still...trying...to...fight? Roy, this is how boxers get hurt — they don’t know when to quit! Truth be told, Jones should have hung up his gloves up and called it a career after getting viciously knocked out by Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson in back-to-back 2004 fights. That was 10 years ago. There’s no good reason to put your health on the line here. Like Jones Jr., there have been plenty of sports stars who didn’t know when to call it a career and retire. Click on for more examples of athletes staying in the game too long.(Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
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Muhammad Ali - It’s sad, but true…Muhammad Ali fought well past his prime, prompting the tough question of whether “The Greatest” would have been in better health today if he would have retired earlier? Ali, 33 at the time, could have made his 1975 TKO win over Joe Frazier or his 15-round decision victory over Ken Norton in 1976 his last fight. However, he kept fighting, with back-to-back 15-round bouts against Leon Spinks in 1978 and the hard-to-watch 1980 fight against Larry Holmes, in which Ali’s pride held him up through a merciless beating at the hands of the younger boxer. Ali’s 1981 loss to Trevor Berbick served as his last fight. He was 39. (Photo: The Ring Magazine/Getty Images)14119091

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Roy Jones Jr. - You gotta be kidding. Last week, Roy Jones Jr. told ESPN he would step back into the ring July 26 to take on British fighter Courtney Fry in Latvia. Jones is 45 years old to Fry’s 39. Why man?Why...are...you...still...trying...to...fight? Roy, this is how boxers get hurt — they don’t know when to quit! Truth be told, Jones should have hung up his gloves up and called it a career after getting viciously knocked out by Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson in back-to-back 2004 fights. That was 10 years ago. There’s no good reason to put your health on the line here. Like Jones Jr., there have been plenty of sports stars who didn’t know when to call it a career and retire. Click on for more examples of athletes staying in the game too long.(Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

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