Part 2: EGO!

In the last post we spoke about humility. It's only right that we discuss the opposite of being humble, and of course, that is the undying larger than life ego that some fighters carry around. Unfortunately, some fighters deem it necessary to maintain this "I'm kickass" attitude outside of the ring or cage. I believe that you have to hold your skills in high regard to be successful in combat sports but where does it stop? When does it start to affect the relationship with fans or family? A prime example came on national television when the egos of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Sr. clashed on the behind the scenes documentary 24/7. What started as a small disagreement ended with a full fledge family arguement that the two have yet to recover from. This is of course unusual only because you seldom have two egos that big in the same room, let alone the same family. When you have egos like those two, who needs enemies?

One of the largest egos to ever enter the ring, and everyone surely knows, belongs to none other than,"the greatest of all time". That's right! None other than Muhammed Ali, who once claimed that he flipped the light switch and was in bed before it got dark, when explaining how fast he was. Other than his meaness to Joe Frazier it seemed that Ali would do more joke cracking and rhyming about his upcoming opponents, than egotistical s@%t talking. I had the opportunity to speak with Khalila Ali(Ali's former wife), who is a regular at the gym. She told me that Ali was very humble when in public and that he had sort of a cocky humbleness. As we know now, Ali has become an ambassador for Islam, the underprivileged, and this country as a whole. I'm not sure the other fighters that carry that cockiness around will ever evolve beyond the fighter mentality into the humanitarian world. Can Mayweather Jr. do that? Not likely!

What about the new cocky, the young and so far unbeatable, Jon "Bones" Jones. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Jones. He is a nice guy but I didn't detect an ounce of humbleness. Although he may seem humble in some of the interviews, it is becoming more evident from things that I have heard from other fighters and seen for myself, he is becoming less humble with every victory. I don't think you should hide your feelings about how great you might be. All I contend is, there is a time and place for everything. Maybe taking a step back and realizing that some aren't as fortunate, blessed, or even in some cases, as lucky as you.
Know when to leave your ego at the door and remember that we all put on our pants one leg at a time. You'll want your fans to still be there when the flame starts to fizzle and at some point it undoubtedly will.