"I've always said I'll retire when I'm 35. I don't want to fight past 35. There are young guys coming in and doing good. I've been fighting for a long time and it's no secret that I don't fight the same way I used to.
"I've got a lot of injuries, one or two things that bother me. But when I'm fighting, the injuries don't bother me, it's the training that gets old. Going through each camp I go through all these pains and think, 'Man I don't want to do this anymore'. But after the fight I say, 'OK, I'll give it one more'. So who knows?
While I've always enjoyed Jackson as a fighter, it would be very interesting to see a fighter follow through on a long term plan to get out of the game before getting too old. This is a combat sports world that sees a horribly faded (and flat out shot) Roy Jones Jr. traveling to Germany this weekend, the same combat sports world that saw Gary Goodridge hang around MMA and kickboxing taking beatings for years past the time to call it quits. This is a line of work that tends to hang on to men for far longer than makes sense."I've got a lot of injuries, one or two things that bother me. But when I'm fighting, the injuries don't bother me, it's the training that gets old. Going through each camp I go through all these pains and think, 'Man I don't want to do this anymore'. But after the fight I say, 'OK, I'll give it one more'. So who knows?
If Jackson finds his way out at a reasonable age and can still make money to support his family, who am I to begrudge him that?