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Even legends can fall short at the finish line. Join us as we explore the most disappointing career finales in sports history! From Muhammad Ali's sad farewell against Trevor Berbick to Zinedine Zidane's infamous World Cup headbutt, these sporting icons ended their careers with performances that failed to match their legendary status.
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00:00After more than two years away from the sport that made him famous,
00:031991 is the year that Ben Johnson is starting over.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 athletes
00:11who finished off their careers with a performance they would rather forget.
00:14You play for one team your whole career, you are the man.
00:18You put them on the map, you're awesome, you're loved, but that's not how it happened.
00:2510. Mike Tyson
00:26Pinpointing the exact time that Mike Tyson called it a day is tough,
00:30as he still competed in the 2020s to some degree.
00:32Tyson coming out aggressively. Tyson 7 of 34, 18%.
00:38So Tyson is averaging more punches than he did in that fight with McBride
00:44and in the exhibition against Roy Jones.
00:46But for all intents and purposes, his actual pro career finished in 2005
00:49when he lost to the unheralded Kevin McBride by quitting on his stool at the end of round 6.
00:54This version of Iron Mike was simply not the same beast
00:56that surged through the heavyweight division in the 90s.
00:59It's over. Kevin McBride is the winner. Mike Tyson quits all.
01:05He's not coming out for the 7th round.
01:08The hunger simply was not there anymore, and at 38 he looked slow, sloppy, and quick to tire.
01:12When Tyson took to the Mike afterwards and admitted that his heart simply wasn't in it anymore,
01:16it was easy to believe him.
01:18I'm just sorry I let everybody down. I just don't have this in my heart anymore.
01:22Number 9. Martin Brodeur
01:2321 seasons with the New Jersey Devils were enough to solidify Martin Brodeur's place as a legend of the NHL.
01:29In his 22-season NHL career, Martin Brodeur created a legacy few can match.
01:36He made nine All-Star Game appearances, won four Vezina trophies as the league's top goalie,
01:41and set the two most important career goaltending records in history.
01:44But the less we say about his one year with the St. Louis Blues, the better.
01:48The goaltender was a shadow of his former self, and by the time his final season was concluding,
01:52he was relegated to third choice in his position.
01:54I stayed for a few more weeks, just being the third goalie behind Jake,
01:59and so I knew that the writing was in the sky. I was not going to play much the rest
02:03of the year.
02:04Sure, age catches up with everyone, and a 22-season career is something to be very proud of.
02:08But we can't help but shake the feeling that Brodeur hung around a little too long.
02:12It was kind of a surreal moment a little bit to play for a different franchise,
02:16but you know, right away I got into the game, and it was fun.
02:19Number eight, Patrick Ewing.
02:21Nobody can doubt just how great the mighty Patrick Ewing was during his 15 years as a member of the
02:25New York Knicks.
02:26From the moment he entered the NBA, Patrick Ewing has been hailed as the franchise.
02:32And he's never backed down from the pressure that the role of savior can bring.
02:37He was as dominant as center as anyone in the game during his prime,
02:40but after leaving his New York home to join Seattle and then finally the Orlando Magic,
02:44the Magic, excuse the pun, was gone.
02:46Ewing was old and passed his best and struggled to replace his younger form.
02:50His final season saw him post numbers that were unrecognizable,
02:53and in his last ever NBA game his Magic side lost by 17 points to the Charlotte Hornets.
02:58So Patrick Ewing, maybe it's his finale.
03:02He retired from the game of basketball shortly after.
03:05Number seven, Mark Spitz.
03:06Mark Spitz's incredible seven medal performance at the 1972 Olympic Games
03:10was a revelation for the sport of swimming.
03:13So when he decided to retire at the age of just 22, it came as an unbelievable shock.
03:17But despite walking away before he had ever even come close to his physical prime,
03:21the Mark Spitz story was not finished, not yet at least.
03:2419 years later, at the grand old age of 41,
03:26Spitz decided to try to make the 1992 Olympic team.
03:29Unfortunately, time had not been kind to his athletic prowess,
03:32and he failed, coming in two seconds slower than the Olympic standard.
03:35His final retirement came shortly after.
03:38Number six, Zinedine Zidane.
03:40Zinedine Zidane was one of the greatest players of his entire generation,
03:43and he looked like he was about to cap off his career with one truly special World Cup campaign.
03:47It wasn't supposed to end this way.
03:50One of the game's greatest ever players,
03:53playing his last game as a professional in the biggest fixture on the planet.
03:58But in the final 10 minutes, some vicious taunting from Italy's Marco Materazzi
04:01led Zidane to headbutt him directly to his chest.
04:04This led to his dismissal from the game.
04:06Italy ended up winning the match after extra time,
04:09taking home the trophy in the process.
04:10If he scores, Italy have won the World Cup.
04:14They have!
04:16Little did we know would be the last time we saw Zizou playing.
04:19And while he was officially named the player of the tournament,
04:22we can't help but wonder if he could have done more in the final 10 minutes of the game
04:25if he hadn't been sent off.
04:27Zidane, the flawed genius with a final shocking chapter in his legacy,
04:32walked off never to play again.
04:35Number five, Bjorn Borg.
04:36When Bjorn Borg decided to retire in 1983 at the very peak of his powers at the age of 26,
04:42it was the last thing anyone expected.
04:44The only people who knew that I'm going to step away from the tennis
04:49was my parents and Leonard.
04:53My parents said, we support you whatever you want.
04:56So when he ended that retirement in 1991,
04:58it was a big deal and a source of much anticipation from the general public.
05:01However, the game had moved on and Borg hadn't even updated his old wooden racket.
05:05In the spring of 1991,
05:07when he had last decided to return to what he knew best,
05:10the technology he brought with him was long outdated.
05:14He failed to win a single match over the next two years.
05:17His final ever tour match at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow
05:19saw him come the closest to actually winning,
05:21but he still lost to Alexander Volkov in a spirited effort.
05:24I didn't win one match.
05:26He waited too long.
05:2810 years is too much.
05:31Even if you're Bjorn Borg.
05:32Number four, Ian Thorpe.
05:34When you have a special talent,
05:35you really need to strike while the iron's hot or risk losing it.
05:38When I decided to stop, you know, I was really happy with that.
05:42I was really pleased that, you know,
05:43I'd been able to step away from something that, you know,
05:47was really, you know, making me miserable.
05:50Ian Thorpe was as good as it got in the world of swimming
05:52during the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
05:54But when he took an eight-year hiatus from competition
05:56and tried to qualify Team Australia ahead of the London 2012 games,
06:00he simply couldn't do it.
06:00The more time I've had to digest, you know, the more disappointed I am.
06:05The special thing that made him such a dominant force earlier in life was gone.
06:08When he couldn't get onto the Olympic team,
06:10he still maintained his interest in competing at major tournaments in 2013 and 2014,
06:14but injuries forced him back into retirement.
06:17It didn't go my way, but that's life.
06:19It isn't always perfect.
06:22Number three, Ben Johnson.
06:23Ben Johnson had one of the most infamous falls from grace of all time.
06:26Everybody cheats.
06:27Who doesn't cheat in life?
06:30Everybody cheats in taxes.
06:31Everybody cheats in everything.
06:33Why Ben Johnson?
06:35I'm not the only one in this world.
06:36As a superstar sprinter who appeared to be a generationally gifted athlete,
06:40Johnson was a true superstar in the making.
06:42Or at least he was until he was exposed as a massive cheat.
06:45PEDs were rampant in athletics during his time,
06:47but Johnson quickly became a poster boy for them.
06:49The cost of Ben's cheating has been enormous.
06:52Personally, it has cost him an estimated $10 million in endorsements from 1988 to 1992.
06:57However, he did not let this fully deter him.
07:00And in 1991, once the heat had died down, he attempted a comeback.
07:03After middling performances in 91 and 92, he won the 50 meters in Grenoble in 1993.
07:09But any hopes of a true return to form were dashed when he tested positive for excess testosterone.
07:14He earned a lifetime ban and never ran professionally again.
07:16In accordance with the rules of the federation,
07:20the athlete is immediately suspended from any athletic competition.
07:25Number 2. Brett Favre
07:27Brett Favre's final season with the Minnesota Vikings made it very clear that he was on his way out of
07:31the sport.
07:32Throws back across the middle and he's intercepted.
07:35And Porter there to make the interception and Favre knows he made a huge mistake.
07:39Favre wasn't the same athlete, nor did the numbers make it look any better.
07:42But in his final ever game versus the Chicago Bears, he got sacked by the opposition's defensive end,
07:47suffering a concussion in the process.
07:49And while his arm was still potent, the hits were taking a punishing toll.
07:53As he staggered off the field, little did he know that it would be his last ever appearance in the
07:57NFL.
07:58He tried to get back out there in the team's subsequent matchups,
08:01but he needed more time to overcome his concussion.
08:03Eventually, the season ended and Favre announced that he was done.
08:06The most dynamic player of his generation ended his career in street clothes on the bench.
08:12But finally, at peace.
08:14Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
08:18Bernard Hopkins, knocked out of the ring by Joe Smith Jr.
08:21Is it over?
08:22Jim, it should be over.
08:24If you get knocked out of the ring, you've got 20 seconds to get back into the ring.
08:28Bernard Hopkins didn't do it.
08:30It should be over.
08:31Franco Harris looked like a shell of himself in his final game.
08:34It is truly immeasurable and certainly unforgettable.
08:40Don't forget us!
08:42Johnny Unitas utterly failed to impact his last ever Chargers appearance.
08:46There were a team at that point that had to be rebuilt,
08:48and then you're not going to rebuild with a 40-year-old quarterback,
08:51no matter how much of a god he is.
08:54Ian Botham, international career came to an underwhelming end.
08:57It's very frustrating when you can't perform as you had before.
09:00So it just made sense to me, well, get out.
09:02Joe Lewis, finished in his final fight by the great Rocky Marciano.
09:06Well, Joe Lewis was fighting clearly just for the money.
09:09He was fighting a much younger man.
09:11He had lost most of his skills,
09:12and we were seeing a shell of what Joe Lewis had been.
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09:32Number 1. Muhammad Ali
09:33There might not be a sadder retirement story than that of Muhammad Ali.
09:37The only thing that makes Muhammad Ali like other fighters is the fact that he went on way too long.
09:44Well past his prime and already showing signs of the Parkinson's disease that would define his post-fighting career,
09:49Ali was still fighting when he should have been protecting himself.
09:51This is the guy who beat Frazier.
09:52This is the guy who beat Foreman.
09:54He's going to do it again.
09:55This is incredible.
09:56And then they rang the bell.
09:58And within a round, you knew it wasn't Ali.
10:00After getting battered by Larry Holmes and his penultimate appearance in the ring,
10:04Ali then went out there in 1981 against Trevor Burbick, a fighter he would have mauled in his prime.
10:09But this was nearly 40-year-old Ali, and to see Burbick handle him so easily as the rounds went
10:14on was a truly terrible sight.
10:15When you consider that his brain health was only worsened by more head trauma,
10:18you have a retirement that most sports fans would rather forget.
10:21If all the time come, I, in my young days, wouldn't have had much trouble.
10:26But I think time gathered.
10:27Which truly terrible final performance do you think deserved a spot on our list?
10:32Let us know in the comments below.
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