A Quote by Naseem Hamed
I do think I retired too soon. I just felt at that particular time in 2002, after winning a fifth world title belt, why not be one of the smart ones in boxing and get out.
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The situation right after the fight wasn't too good; I believe I'm still the only champion in the world who never received the belt inside the ring once you've won the title. I held that against the English fans for a long time but I felt that also motivated me.
All the times they put tag titles on me, Intercontinental titles on me, or the world title on me, the only time I couldn't defend the title was when I had to forfeit the belt when I quit WCW and retired from wrestling forever.
During my boxing career, you did not see the real Muhammad Ali. You just saw a little boxing and a little showmanship. It was after I retired from boxing that my true work began.
Science fiction has done a really good job of scaring us into thinking that computers shouldn't get too smart, because as soon as they get really smart, they're going to take over the world and kill us, or something like that. But why would they do that?
I think the mixture of pressure and elation after winning the world title took some getting used to and that impacted on my personal life big-time.
When I retired in 2002 I had retired to stay home with my family and didn't necessarily think my playing days were over.
All the talented and smart actors, they get it: as soon as it comes out of their mouth, they know if it's right or wrong. If the writing has a particular voice, they get it, and they can hit it.
It makes me very, very happy to get someone a world title shot, which I've done with a few fighters, or a European title shot or a British title, and I see them lift that belt above their waist and they come to me and say 'Thanks Ricky. I've just paid my mortgage off with that.' That's what its all about.
After a time," said old Mathers disregarding me, "I mercifully perceived the errors of my ways and the unhappy destination I would reach unless I mended them. I retired from the world in order to try to comprehend it and to find out why it becomes more unsavoury as the years accumulate on a man's body. What do you think I discovered at the end of my meditations?" I felt pleased again. He was now questioning me. "What?" "That No is a better word than Yes," he replied.
The thing is, in the WWE, we have the WWE title, the World title, the United States title, the Intercontinental title, the Divas title, the Tag Team titles. And I feel like, in this business, when Mr. Perfect had that Intercontinental title, that was the belt we saw as the stepping stone to becoming 'the man.' The franchise of the WWE.
As a professional athlete and someone who has spent almost his entire life in boxing, not a day goes by when I don't think about coming back, but I am retired, and after speaking to my family and following a great deal of introspection, I have decided to stay retired.
I don't think we can fully understand just how much pressure is on these fighters' shoulders once they win the UFC title. It's a grind just to get to the title fight. You're not earning a lot of money, and the sport takes a real toll on your body. And then once you get the belt, you've got an army of fighters coming for you right away.
If I just got up in the morning and had no place to go and was retired or something, I would be sitting there and be thinking, "Gee, what is the purpose of life? Why are we all finite? Why do we get old and die? Is there nothing out there? Why is it so tragic? Why do our loved ones perish? Why do we generate?" Who wants to think about that stuff?
A lot of people, especially performers in wrestling, feel that winning the title is the only statistic that matters, but it's always about the journey. If you don't have the people behind you, believing in you, and the start of a new chapter after winning the title, then you don't have anything.
Some people are faster than others; I'm just figuring it out later, that's all. I'm getting smart too late and old too soon.
I'm looking at the belt on the top of the bag across from me, and it still hasn't fully hit me. There are multiple stages to all of this, but I know that every time I walk into a gym or go to a new locker room since I won the title, I've felt like the world champion.
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