Barry Hall has thrown in the towel on his professional boxing career before his first fight.
The ex-AFL star announced in December that he was becoming a fighter, and he was scheduled to fight Sydneysider Ben Wrotniak in May in his first bout. After an impressive career as an amateur, albeit 20 years ago, a lot was expected of Hall.
But the 35-year old has pulled the pin before lacing up his gloves, citing a lack of motivation. Hall says the decision is final, and it is the right call. He is reportedly giving up a half a million dollar payday by not continuing.
I wrote back in December – that Hall’s move to boxing was problematic, that he had left his decision to enter the ring took late and that it would take too long for him to train up, learn and develop into a proper professional fighter.
I wrote that him would need to enlist a world-class trainer to get him ready, and at that time iconic boxing trainer Johnny Lewis was reported as saying that Hall might not have enough fight left in him.
Lewis, the man who guided Jeff Fenech, Jeff Harding and Kosta Tszyu, was right once again.
The mountain proved too hard for Hall to climb, and there were just too many obstacles in his way. Credit for him though to walk away before the first fight, not robbing anyone of their money by continuing half-hearted or without total dedication.
Hall looked deep inside himself and realized he didn’t have enough left in him to compete in the ring, arguably the toughest sports arena there is.
There is no shame in that, and while his proposed opponent Wrotniak calls him a “chicken”, Hall at least had the courage to call time before he disappointed himself, fight fans and the wider boxing community.
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