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| Hubert Robert, Incendie à Rome |
Gallons of lamp kerosene have been sizzled during many a late night in futile attempts to pinpoint why exactly boxers fight.
Perhaps a fighter was born into a "fighting family," like being born a Spinks, a Mayweather, or even a Judah. Or maybe having no other option, and being forced to enter a field of masochism to find a path to stardom, like a Flash Elorde or Jack Dempsey. Some fighters may just not know how to do anything else.
Others fight because they love it -- the adrenaline rush and the semi-blinding, teeth-rattling sensation makes one feel alive, doesn't it?
Martin "Fiddler" Neary had only six professional fights, according to his BoxRec record. But the ring wasn't where Neary lived his life.
By the time he passed away from pneumonia in November of 1903, Martin Neary wouldn't even have gotten to enjoy a full three years of senior discounts at local watering holes, as he was gone at 57-years-old.
Whether or not you would describe Neary's life as a "full" one depends on what you consider worthwhile adventures. But a bastardized Chinese saying and curse has over the years and through many translations become, "May you live in interesting times." Martin Neary made his own times interesting.
