They’ve been out for a year. Maybe two. Injury, burnout, promotional gridlock—or just a brutal, unexpected defeat that knocked the momentum clean out of their career.

Walk into any boxing gym worth its salt, and you’ll see them. Sun-faded, tattered at the edges, but still standing proud—posters of the all-time greats. Ali and Frazier glaring at each other in the legendary Thrilla in Manila artwork, Foreman and Ali frozen in history before the Rumble in the Jungle, Tyson’s menacing stare, Mayweather’s cocky smirk, Pacquiao’s quiet intensity.

In boxing, the decision to retire is as much about the heart as it is about the head. Fighters are wired differently—unwavering in their belief that there’s always one more fight, one more shot at glory. But as careers stretch into their twilight years, the question becomes: are boxers holding on too long, risking their health and legacy for dreams that might never materialise? And who, if anyone, has the right to tell a fighter when to hang up their gloves?