IN boxing, it only takes one bad night. One punch. One slip. And suddenly, the same fans who screamed your name are calling you overrated, exposed, or finished. Anthony Joshua has been a fighter in recent years, where this has been most apparent.
The nation’s sweetheart, a household name, brand deals, chat shows, the heavyweight champion. But it took a bad fight with Andy Ruiz in 2019 for people to question Joshua’s validity and time left in the sport. Fast forward to his losses to Oleksandr Usyk and an emotional display in the ring and suddenly the greatest name in boxing is being criticised, challenged and his legacy called into question.
He isn’t the only fighter to experience this narrative and my question is, why?
A football team is not written off with one bad game. When did we base the quality of the fighter on an unbeaten record?
The obsession with the “0” is something that has developed over time, becoming a valued legacy metric with the great Floyd “Money” Mayweather using his unbeaten record as a publicity statement in the lead-up to all of his biggest fights.
Mayweather retired with a staggering 50-0-0 record, which wasn’t a common occurrence, only being achieved by a handful of other fighters such as Joe Calzaghe 46-0-0 and Laila Ali 24-0-0. These metrics started to shape the way people studied success.
Although having an unbeaten record is a fantastic achievement, it is rare and unnecessary as a metric for fighters to be considered elite in their sport. Not only does the fighter’s ability come into question, but it also raises questions of whether or not the fighter should hang up their gloves.
Words that are damaging and dismissive of a journey that has been hard-earned and hard-fought to reach that point. There are psychological studies around why this can occur, why humans like people to fall from grace and even ENJOY the viewing and feeling of it occurring.
There is a German word, Schadenfreude, which loosely translates as Schaden (“harm/damage”) and Freude (“joy”), which sums up the feeling of witnessing someone lose for a handful of reasons.
Why, you ask?
Self-Evaluation Threat: A dominant, flashy, or undefeated boxer can make fans feel inferior — their loss restores balance.
Deservingness: Fans often judge fighters harshly if they appear arrogant, overhyped, or “don’t deserve” their fame, so when they lose, the public feels it’s “justice.”
Dominance Regulation: Boxers often project toughness and invincibility; seeing them beaten brings symbolic relief, lowering their perceived dominance.
Group Rivalry: Nationality, gym loyalty, or fan allegiances intensify schadenfreude when “the other side” loses.
In short, it makes people feel better about their own position in the world to watch another fall. This isn’t just in boxing, but across the world in a multitude of different areas of life. These reactions have become worsened by modern media and social platforms, knockout reels, memes, quoting a fighter’s trash talk and watching them fall from grace.
Something that fuels the fire for the buzz and excitement of the sport, but it begs the question of the impact it is having on the fighters themselves. Boxers leave their heart, soul, pride and body on the line for our entertainment.
In another sport, a loss is just a bad day, in boxing, the narrative pulls apart their legacy, legitimacy and future. This can create extreme pressure, mental health issues, boxers retreating or retiring prematurely, because although as humans the goal is to stay solid regardless of outside noise, criticism over time, especially when sensitive or vulnerable, can do irreparable damage.
So, how do we change it? Unfortunately, it is not an overnight fix; however, collective change can happen. Not focusing obsessively on the rare x-0-0 record. Losses are part of the journey in boxing and in life, and usually teach us our greatest lessons.
Media focusing on comebacks, resurgences, the lessons learned instead of narratives of their whole career, sitting on one fight. Recently, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez lost to Terrence ‘Bud’ Crawford, a sensational superfight with two of our generation’s greatest fighters.
A question that came up repeatedly in the fight’s aftermath was “Will Canelo’s legacy be intact?” after the loss?! Years of incredible performances, one of the greatest of our generation losing to an even greater fighter is not the loss of legacy, but a gift to the sport.
This is also the responsibility of broadcasters and pundits to be mindful of the questions they pose and the inflammatory wording they use. In short, boxing is gladiatorial; there will always be a winner and a loser, and the crowd will always call for blood, but it’s our responsibility to remember they’re humans.
They put their life on the line for our entertainment, so if we can support them in doing so, we are more likely to have longevity in their performances and protect their mental health in the long term.
