No athlete envisions ending a career on a loss, but in the brutal sport of boxing it is sometimes the only way to convince the boxer that his or her time has arrived. Chris Byrd (40-5-1, 21 KOs), the 37-year-old Flint native who now lives in Las Vegas, may have gotten the call to hang up the gloves with his ninth-round TKO loss to Shaun George (17-2, 8 KOs) earlier this month before a national audience on ESPN2.

Dropping 37 pounds from his last fight, Byrd, a two-time heavyweight champion, moved down to the 175-pound light-heavyweight division in pursuit of winning another world title. In a way, it seemed a bit backwards as Byrd, the 1992 Olympic silver medalist as a middleweight, bypassed the division along with the light-heavyweight and cruiserweight to compete as a heavyweight in his fourth professional fight. Byrd silenced his doubters on April 1, 2000, when he became the new WBO world heavyweight champion with a TKO-9 victory over Vitali Klitschko. Byrd would lose the title six months later (Oct. 14, 2000) to Wladimir Klitschko, the younger brother of Vitali. He would become the IBF heavyweight champion two years later, however, by defeating Evander Holyfield on Dec. 14, 002). In the 14 years prior to moving down to the light-heavyweight ranks, Byrd faced a virtual who’s who of ranked heavyweights, losing only to three – Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin and Ike Ibeabuchi.

Entering the ring at a svelte 174 pounds, Byrd appeared to be in exceptional physical condition. But looks can be deceiving, and in a phone conversation the next day, a very pained Byrd told me, “When I got into the ring I had nothing. I was flat. I wasn’t tired or anything. I was just flat.” Unable to establish his rhythm, Byrd was dropped near the end of the first round when George connected with a straight right hand. A dazed Byrd got up and finished the round, but the damage done in the knockdown may not have come from the punch to the head, as Byrd explained: “I dislocated my shoulder in the first round when I got knocked down.” The injury would later be intensified when in the ninth round George, once again, knocked down Byrd. Byrd landed awkwardly, landing full force on his injured shoulder. Byrd beat the count again and the referee gave him one more chance. The referee, however, quickly moved in and stopped the fight when he realized Byrd was unable to defend himself.

As scary as the knockdown was to watch, the real nightmare, according to Byrd’s wife, Tracy, began in the dressing room. “Chris was in a lot of pain,” she said. “He dislocated his shoulder and may have torn his rotor cuff. I don’t know how it happened and it never should have happened, but one medical personnel (attendant) gave Chris some morphine for pain, then another medic turned around and gave him some Valium. Chris went out and we couldn’t wake him up.” Byrd was transported to the hospital where measures were taken to counteract the drugs administered in the dressing room. He was scheduled to have his shoulder examined for a torn rotor cuff.

In closing our conversation, Byrd said that he would be deciding soon whether he would be ending his boxing career. Should he do so, then I would hope that he realizes that a career that has seen an outstanding amateur record, an Olympic silver medal and two world heavyweight titles is a career worthy to get one inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. Now that doesn’t sound like ending on a losing note, does it?

Of course, if Byrd decides to retire, then getting him into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame may be his biggest fight. Since losing Dr. Stuart Kirschenbaum, former boxing commissioner, from the Hall’s nominating committee, the voice of our boxing elite has been stifled. Case in point, it’s been six years since Detroiter Tom “Boom-Boom” Johnson laced up the gloves and, to the best of my knowledge, he has yet to be considered for the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. Johnson won the IBF featherweight title, defeating Manuel Medina on Feb. 26, 1993, and he defended it 11 times before losing to Naseem Hamed on Feb. 8, 1997.

Time to make some calls. Are you with me?