I don't like prize fighting, but I think it's a fundamentally useful metaphor and even analogy for a lot of human activity -- same evolutionary forces at work, you know?

I am particularly taken with the observation of Warren Zevon in his homage to Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini (a song well worth owning):

When Alexis Arguello gave Boom Boom a beating
Seven weeks later he was back in the ring
Some have the speed and the right combinations
If you can't take the punches it don't mean a thing