Question about late career wins

[Sugar Adam Ali]

We have a thread going about how Tyson would be ranked if he pulled the miracle and knocked out Lennox.. It got me thinking..

Does having a big win late in your career when your considered past prime really that impactful on a resume.. How do you guys judge it..

A few examples
If foreman never does the comeback, is he still an atg or just a hall of famer

Did Duran beating Barkley really elevate him in atg rankings.

When Holyfield upset Tyson, did that take Holyfield from hof to atg

What does it do for Shane mosely to beat margarito


How do you judges these types of fights in regards to a guys ultimate legacy..

Do you give extra credit, not just for the win but also the stage of their career

[creekrat77]

It depends how that win compares to their career wins over all. Holyfield's wins over Tyson put him at a new level for me but his subsequent losses bring him down a notch. Duran's win over Barkley is like the validation of his greatness much like Cotto's win over Martinez (Duran was already a future atg before barkley not Cotto though imo). There is no really real way of breaking this down. George Foreman's comeback was the length of some fighters entire careers. His accomplishments though while amazing are over shadowed by his previous ones like wins over Frazier, Norton, Chuvalo.

[Scott9945]

We have a thread going about how Tyson would be ranked if he pulled the miracle and knocked out Lennox.. It got me thinking..

Does having a big win late in your career when your considered past prime really that impactful on a resume.. How do you guys judge it..

A few examples
If foreman never does the comeback, is he still an atg or just a hall of famer

Did Duran beating Barkley really elevate him in atg rankings.

When Holyfield upset Tyson, did that take Holyfield from hof to atg

What does it do for Shane mosely to beat margarito


How do you judges these types of fights in regards to a guys ultimate legacy..

Do you give extra credit, not just for the win but also the stage of their career

Good topic. I'll address your questions individually.

Foreman did make that transition with his comeback. He was considered a joke when he started it. What ended up doing was unprecedented.

Duran beating Barkley enhanced his legacy, but that was just another plateau in his career and I think the Moore win accomplished the same thing. Now if he had beaten Hagler...

Holyfield became the most overrated fighter in the world after he beat Tyson. He went from being another solid heavyweight to be called the greatest ever. I was shaking my head because I didn't think he was even better than Lewis at the time. Recently it seems people have been much more realistic in rating him.

Mosley really did well for himself with the Margarito win. That sealed his HOF status even with the Balco stain.

And to stay current, how much would a win over Kovalev add to Hopkins' all time status?

[creekrat77]

Good topic. I'll address your questions individually.

Foreman did make that transition with his comeback. He was considered a joke when he started it. What ended up doing was unprecedented.

Duran beating Barkley enhanced his legacy, but that was just another plateau in his career and I think the Moore win accomplished the same thing. Now if he had beaten Hagler...

Holyfield became the most overrated fighter in the world after he beat Tyson. He went from being another solid heavyweight to be called the greatest ever. I was shaking my head because I didn't think he was even better than Lewis at the time. Recently it seems people have been much more realistic in rating him.

Mosley really did well for himself with the Margarito win. That sealed his HOF status even with the Balco stain.

And to stay current, how much would a win over Kovalev add to Hopkins' all time status?

that's a kicker for Hopkins. It makes my head hurt thinking on where to rank him if he wins. Hope he doesn't get hurt. Kovalev has serious power and has killed a guy in the ring.

[Anthony342]

Man, that would be some accomplishment. And if he wins, what if he then beats Stevenson to unify and be lineal champion at 50? Where would that rank him among his era and all-time pound for pound or among the great light heavyweights historically.

[Humean]

I think it can enhance it quite signficantly, any prolonging of excellence beyond a mere few years has to be significant. It can also highlight the skill level of the fighter, that they can still be effective even when they are past their peak physical condition.

And to stay current, how much would a win over Kovalev add to Hopkins' all time status?

It could be considered his greatest win, especially if Kovalev was to bounce back from the loss and do significant things. If Hopkins loses it will not really effect his legacy at all but if he wins it will be quite a big boost.

No individual win really stands alone though.

[Fast Eddy]

Great question. Winning late in one's career against a young champion helps a resume, but all-time greats are generally judged for their prime successes.

[rightsideup]

I once read somewhere that beyond there prime boxers could extract excellent performance's even after sub par ones. great examples Sugar Adam

[jas]

Yes throw Hopkins in there

[SlySlickSmooth]

Imagine if Louis knocked out Marciano? Dude would be renamed Black Jesus