Old boxers

Should people be allowed to do what they want? Yes, within reason. I'm a libertarian, not an anarchist. People should basically be allowed to do what they want to do as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. If they make choices I don't approve of I can jump around, scream, tell them off, cry, ignore them-but in reality in a free society we shouldn't be able to stop them except under certain circumstances. Obviously being a minor is one of them. No, I don't want a minor smoking pot or trying to join the army at age fourteen. But an adult should be allowed to smoke pot, join the army, marry a member of the same sex, etc.

An adult should also be allowed to enter a boxing ring and beat the hell out of another adult if they so desire. I love boxing. It's a young mans sport that is loved by old men. While I'm not old yet I admit that only old people like boxing. Young people like MMA. I'm actually not much of an MMA fan. Some of my favorite fighters are Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De La Hoya, and Bernard Hopkins.

Bernard Hopkins was a genetic freak that fought at a high level up until an advanced age. In boxing, early thirties is over the hill. Hopkins fought incredibly well up until his late forties. Since boxing is so heavily regulated he didn't do it with chemical assistance either. He was a genetic freak, and I say that with the greatest admiration and respect. He'll always be one of my favorite boxers. His ring generalship, savviness and overall spectacular boxing ability is basically unsurpassed in this era and probably we won't see anything like it again.

Sadly, he's going to fight again. Like Roy Jones Jr (another one of my favorite boxers) they don't know when to quit and they are placing themselves in serious jeopardy. I'm scared, because I don't want anything to happen to him. I'm also torn. Should we protect someone from themselves? In this case no. If he's mentally all there (and he is. I'm obviously not a doctor, but I have noticed that in boxing a lot depends on how spaced out your fights were and the amount of punishment you take in them) he should be allowed to make his own decisions. It's very hard to watch though. I will not be watching his last fight. I want to remember him in his prime.