I just don't see a correlation between letting boxers kill one another and allowing professional athletes to enjoying their success. The whole "act like you've done it before" stands against what most people want when they're watching sports.
So often you here people say "I enjoy watching college sports more than pro because they actually act like they love the game", or "college kids just play cause they love it, and haven't been ruined by the $". Well, once those "kids who play cause they love it" go pro, they're told to "stop having fun", "act like you've done it before", "stop being such a thug".
Sure, there can be a level of respect. One of those is just going "station to station" if you've already got a huge lead, not stretching singles to doubles, not stealing bases, etc. But never have I seen this "you can't swing 3-0 but it's ok to swing 3-1" nonsense.
And hey, if you wanna throw Albert a 3-0 fastball down the plate and he crushes it, that's no ones fault but the pitchers (and I say that as a former pitcher)