Calculated risk: Probably the single toughest thing for a professional athlete to do is comeback from a long period of inactivity either to to injury or retirement and come back into the competitive arena. Inactivity is death to an athlete. Combat sports in particular are very unforgiving of those who step away and then try to return into the maelstrom. History reveals a mixed bag of success and failure. Muhammad Ali came back after a three year hiatus and even with the benefit of warm up fights, lost his first title fight back in action. Sugar Ray Leonard took three years off and came back to edge Marvin Haggler in a controversial decision, then had other comebacks with mixed results. Floyd Mayweather had some brief retirements of around two years and came back successfully. Dominick Cruz had two years off for knee surgery and came back to win again. Study of great comeback success and failure convinced us of several things. If the athlete had maintained a rigorous training schedule throughout the time off and worked to develop new weapons then success was certainly possible, despite the obvious disadvantage of ring rust. Mr St-Pierre attacked the skills required for FINISHING ability – harder striking and submissions. The time off meant that he was not under constant demand to ready himself for a next opponent, but could develop new skills. He developed very strong leg submissions from bottom position and excellent back finishes from top position working with the squad. Working with his striking coaches he blended boxing, Muay Thai and karate with increased emphasis on punching power and accuracy. The question was HOW to return. As a Welterweight? That would do little to enhance what he had already achieved. It would just be more of the same. I pushed for a match at middle weight as this would represent something genuinely new in his career and add to his legacy in a significant way. This was however, a big risk. Four years is a LONG time, plus a new weight, with no warm up. In the end, you can juggle risk and reward as much as you want – the final step is always into the unknown- and in that realm courage and self belief are your ultimate guide and refuge.
