2017, perhaps destined to be a year of myth shattering and legendary end, this year is just halfway through, several fighting competitions in the field, the legendary gods who have been traversing for many years have lost.
First, at the end of April, the hegemon of an era in boxing, the heavyweight champion Klitchenko Jr., was defeated by newcomer King Anthony Joshua Ko in London, England.
Then, in early June, one of the greatest players in MMA history, "Fighting Czar" Fido Emilenko, was smashed by Matt Mitterrio on the bellatornyc.
Then, just recently, last Sunday, the asian boxing flag, the hero of countless boxing fans, one of the greatest champions of the century, Manny Pacquiao, in Brisbane, Australia, was defeated by homegrown rookie Jeffrey Horn Points.
Watching these champions who were once as radiant and invincible as gods, swallowing the bitter fruit of failure, watching the heroes in their hearts, and ending with his legendary stories, many people felt empathy and wept sadly.
However, in addition to sighing and sighing, I did not have the slightest sadness, but on the contrary, I was somewhat relieved, and even felt that sometimes, failure is also a kind of beauty.
Little Klitchenko, who has ruled the heavyweight boxing world for more than ten years, with his strong physical and mental qualities and utilitarian playing style, ruined the suspense of the sport and made many new and old boxing fans hate it to the bone.
Now, in the face of a younger, stronger, and faster descendant than him, he shows a side that has not been seen for many years - tenacious fighting spirit and cold heart.
In an unfavorable situation, the little Klitschenko almost succeeded in turning the tables, with a defeat, to win back the most lacking thing in many years - the respect of the world.
Fido's failure, on the other hand, is stunning.
The electric flint between the fighters allowed Fido to keep up with the size and physical condition of mitrio, after losing the speed on which he was most famous, and gave the audience a rare top-level event double-double fall.
Although regrettably defeated, the "Tsar" exchanged years of dormancy and two years of preparation for the only thing missing in his legendary career - a great defeat.
Although, this was not the result he himself expected.
As for Pacquiao, he didn't need to prove anything, and in the face of a rising star who was nearly ten years younger than him and 10 centimeters taller, he was as brave as ever.
Although the speed and explosiveness were not as good as it was then, Pacquiao still caused great trouble for the opponent, and the ninth round almost ended the opponent.
After the game, in the face of controversial defeats, he did not get frustrated, did not complain, but only congratulated his opponent lightly, politely and rationally asked for a replay, showing the demeanor that a king should have.
These three great champions, who once harvested victories irresistibly, now maintain their due standards in the face of defeat and maintain the dignity of their kings.
Therefore, I am very pleased to see that as long as I cope properly and fail, it is not so terrible.
However, I don't know when it began, in the competitive sports circle, especially in the fighting arena, "failure" has become a sensitive word that cannot be mentioned.
The general who wins the long and undefeated record has become the goal pursued by every player, and has also become the basic requirement of the scouts and the audience for the fighting star;
Many potential newcomers must brush monsters in the "safe waters" for a few years under the careful care of coaches and brokerage teams, in order to take the undefeated golden body and enter a higher stage;
And those who have a losing career and a flawed player are usually looked down upon and subject to various pressures in terms of personal value and future development.
So, that's what I want to discuss, is it really so unacceptable for our tournaments and players to fail?
In fact, victory has never been the only value of competitive sports, and undefeated players, always victorious generals, are not necessarily the real great champions.
Victory and defeat, success and failure, are originally inseparable sides of the same body, and while we focus on victory, we have long forgotten the value of failure.
Learning to accept and appreciate failure is to truly understand the spirit of sportsmanship.
First of all, failure is more clear about the essence of a player.
Most of the winning players are equally satisfied and have unlimited scenery, while the losing players have their own reactions.
Some people are unacceptable and depressed, some people are calm, they are not moving like mountains,
There are many excellent players, in the face of sudden failure, caught off guard and collapsed, and the really great players can think about the pain and make a comeback.
Failure itself is not shameful, and it is only sad and shameful to be crushed by failure.
UFC's first women's youngweight champion, "Queen" Ronda Rossi, once unstoppable and invincible, won great fame and interests for herself, but also raised the women's MMA sport to an unprecedented height, making great contributions to the development of UFC and the entire MMA movement.
However, after her fiasco defeat to Holly Holm, she fell into the shadow of defeat and could not extricate herself, and when she returned to the field again, she sentenced the two of them, completely missing their original firmness and self-confidence, and was completely destroyed by the new champion Nunes in 48 seconds, and after leaving, she never came back.
Although people did not deny her merits, the evaluation of "great champion" has since disappeared from her.
Another UFC superstar, Hall of Famer Randy Kotoor, is just the opposite.
The 33-year-old veteran who has only just started his career, can be described as a losing champion in UFC, due to his older age and technical stereotype, Uncle Randy has quickly been taken off the throne by stronger young people every time he wins the championship, however, he has never been confused and confused, saying that the real enemy is actually only himself, as long as he is still improving every day, he will continue to fight.
As a result, this gritty "old man", in his career, has won the UFC championship belt five times (heavyweight 3 times, light heavyweight 2 times), bending and not being discouraged, fighting unyieldingly, and achieving brilliant achievements that have never been seen before and are estimated to be unprecedented.
When people select the strongest MMA player in history, they often exclude Uncle Randy, but when it comes to the greatest champion, they always put him first.
Second, honorable defeats are more valuable than cheap victories.
As a boxer, with outstanding strength and superior skills, it is admirable to be able to defeat opponents weaker than himself, but no one can be invincible in the world.
When faced with people of equal strength, even stronger than themselves, in the face of a difficult and cruel real fate, how to deal with it is the true meaning of sportsmanship.
In the face of a strong enemy, whether to choose to escape, or to face it calmly, whether to tie your hands and wait, or to let go, whether to live on your knees, or to die standing, has always been the ultimate question that can never be avoided in the fighting arena.
The most precious thing in human nature, sometimes in the great defeat, is only shown, this quality, than many players ambiguous major victories, water-filled undefeated golden body, brushed out of the winning streak, are more worthy of praise.
One of the four kings of the eighties boxing, "Cobra" Hernes, the most notable achievement, is not to ko over Robert Duran, nor to draw with Shugre leonard, but the loss to Marvin Hagler, the "amazing three rounds" that cannot be described in words.
In one of the best boxing matches of all time, the most exciting and fierce confrontation, Hernes was the final fallen side, but no one ever saw him as a loser.
He and Hagler, at the best age, with the best state, showed the world the ultimate charm of boxing.
Thirty years later, it is still celebrated by the world.
Finally, the level of the industry, the height of the champion, is precisely determined by the losers.
To judge a person's level, we must look at who his opponent is, a great opponent, in order to create a great champion.
Ali is known as the greatest boxer:
Not because he set any streak, Rocky Marciano's 49 wins were much more dazzling than his;
Nor is it because of the number of times he has defended his title, senior Joe Luiz and junior Larry Holmes and Klitschko Jr. have defended the title more than he has.
Rather, it was because Ali defeated three great rivals of his contemporaries:
There is both Shengyu and He Shengliang, the great champion Joe Fraser who pulled him off the altar with the best left hook punch of the century;
There is Ken Norton, who was born to restrain Ali, smashing his jaw with a bone crusher-like fist;
One day, the wizard, the young and violent, cruelly harvested the new generation of demon kings George Foreman.
It was these three great losers who ultimately achieved Ali's unparalleled historical status, just as the great achievements of "X-Men" Mirko made Fido, and the exploits of Matt Hughes and "prodigy" BJ achieved GSP.
In short, in the fighting arena, failure is not so terrible, but the fear and escape from failure makes people seem and panic.
The charm of a fighting match is not the strongest in the world. No matter how powerful the fists and feet are, they cannot resist a bullet, and no matter how powerful the fighters are, they cannot defeat all the armies and change the fortunes of the country.
The audience watched the game, in fact, not to invigorate the national spirit and cultivate national pride, but to explore the possibilities of life with the players.
On the field
Some people strive to strengthen themselves and defeat the enemy
Some people carelessly underestimate the enemy and lose a good situation
Some people are indomitable and tenacious
Some people bully the soft and fear the hard, and when they are strong, they will collapse
What is staged in the arena is not only the game, but also the right and wrong, the success or failure, the trade-off.
Regardless of victory or defeat, as long as it is a true expression, it can get the audience's understanding and attention, so that the world can feel the shock of the impermanence of the world, the rise and fall of the world. And these feelings, experiences, qualities, will become a part of the audience's heart, silently spread, this is the real charm and significance of sports competition.
If you blindly create a false prosperity and strength, blindly promote your own star, beat up a boxing king today, beat up a champion tomorrow, and spread a cheap illusion of "winning beautiful, only because I am invincible in the world", then you will really lose the most important essence of sportsmanship.
So, Fido and Pacquiao lost, I will only sigh, but not sad, if the failure can not be avoided, just face it, face it calmly, this is also a good ending.
(Cut off, the original title of "When the Legend Finally Ends")
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