Rory McIlroy foolish for quitting Honda Classic

"No mas." No more. Boxing fans will recognise the Spanish words as two of the most famous ever uttered inside the ring. On November 25, 1980, in New Orleans, the Panamanian fighter Roberto Duran shocked the boxing world when, having endured seven rounds of abuse, both verbal and physical, from "Sugar" Ray Leonard, he quit the fight in the eighth round, turning his back on his opponent. "No mas," he was reported to have said by the legendary American journalist Howard Cosell. Duran, the winner of five world-title belts across several divisions, has not been allowed to forget his exit from the ring. It is a scenario that might have crossed the mind of in recent days. Last week at the Honda Classic, the world's top-ranked golfer was in the middle of a nightmare, seven shots over par after eight holes - and that was before his second shot on the ninth hole found the water. The Northern Irishman, 23, called it quits. He walked to the car park, where some reporters caught up to him, and he said he was not feeling right mentally. Later, needing a legitimate medical reason to avoid censure, he claimed a toothache had forced him to quit. The reaction from golf fans and analysts has been less than sympathetic. On Twitter, McIlroy hit back with a crude jibe at the "begrudgers", leading many fans to question what has happened to the smiling, affable young man who won their hearts. The well of goodwill that he has accumulated for being, , seems to be draining away. McIlroy has a chance to put this behind him this week, when he is paired with Tiger Woods and Luke Donald in the opening round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Florida. Another poor show and those dentist jokes are likely to become more excruciating. Gambling, partying, even infidelity: fans are willing to forgive many of their heroes' sins. Quitting, however, is not one of them. Especially if it is explained as a physical problem. Rugby and ice hockey players must have had a good laugh at McIlroy's toothache-based lapse in judgement. There are no shortage of examples of athletes who have lived to regret taking the easy way out when things were not going their way. In baseball, a sport that like golf demands a certain code of ethics, the former LA Dodgers outfielder Mike Marshall's low threshold for pain became the stuff of legend during the 1980s. Famously, he once asked to be left out of the team for "general soreness". The ridicule he faced after his ill-thought-out excuse must have hurt far more than any physical discomfort, as would have his nickname of "General Soreness". Sometimes the heat a sportsman receives is undeserved. But, unfortunately, the labels of malingerer or quitter are hard to shake off. At the unforgettable 2005 Uefa Champions League final in Istanbul between Liverpool and AC Milan, the Australian winger Harry Kewell, having been surprisingly included in the first XI, asked to be substituted after only 23 minutes. Liverpool fans were furious. It turned out that he had picked up a genuine groin injury, but Kewell, who also limped off in the two other finals he started for the Reds, ever since has had to live with accusations of being "soft". Meanwhile, the former Liverpool striker Michael Owen has long become the butt of football fans' jokes for his seemingly endless series of injuries and his passive acceptance of sitting on the bench. His declaration that he would rather win trophies at Manchester United as a bit-part player than play for a "smaller" club was seen as disrespectful, arrogant and lacking in ambition. These days, he sits on the bench for Stoke City. and said the pressure of meeting expectations as golf's No 1 player had got the better of him when he quit and walked off the course. He said he has . He also said his toothache was not bad enough to keep him from finishing the round. Such a backtrack is nothing new, either. Duran, nicknamed "Manos de Piedra" (Hands of Stone), has denied he ever said "no mas", but claims that, having endured Leonard's antics and jibes, he had actually said: "No quiero pelear con el payaso." I do not want to fight with this clown. Duran, considered by some experts to be the greatest lightweight boxer of all time, retired in 2002 at the age of 50 after suffering broken ribs, a punctured lung and a broken finger in a car accident. And yet, whatever was actually said on that day in New Orleans, the "no mas" legend has endured for 32 years and remains a stain on an otherwise wonderful career. McIlroy will be hoping that his antics last week do not live as long in the memory. Follow us

Rory McIlroy foolish for quitting Honda Classic

Fans will forgive most failings about their heroes, but not throwing in the towel, as former boxer Roberto Duran will attest to.