By Mark Vester
Former WBO heavyweight champion Corrie Sanders (42-4, 31KOs) has officially announced his retirement from the sport. After taking off for two-years and resuming his career in 2006, Sanders was able to win two bouts in a row, but his activity level was poor with an average of one-fight per year.
Last Saturday at the Emperors Palace Casino in Kempton Park, South Africa, unheralded South African heavyweight champion Osborne Machimana (15-5-1, 11KOs) stopped Sanders in a single round after landing a crisp shot to the body. Sanders, who appeared to be out of shape, went down from the bodyshot and took the full count from the referee.
Speaking with Pretoria News, Sanders says that he trained very hard for the fight, but his 42-year-old body is unable to take the punishment anymore in training camp. Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, sitting ringside as a television analyst for the fight, told Sanders of his own shortcomings when he tried to keep fighting past the age of 40.
"When I spoke to Mike Tyson he said at the age of 41 it was hard for him to train and be totally dedicated, and that's the same for me," said Sanders. "I trained really hard for this fight, but my body is still sore from sparring a few weeks ago, I was struggling."
The loss was painful enough, but Sanders was shocked at the reaction of some arena fans who attacked him with profanity and insults as he walked back to the lockers.
"The sad part about it was when I was walking back to my changing room there were a lot of people who were swearing at me," said Sanders. "To see South Africans swearing at a guy who was once on top, well, that shows you the mentality of some people. I want to see these people jump back in the ring at the age of 42 and let a young guy hit them, let's see how long they last."
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