Is 30 the new 20 in boxing?

A lot of boxers are being handled very carefullyThis is how I see things. Great point!

Good question. I think it's really to do with amateur experience. Guys like GGG were probably not ready to turn pro at the age of 18/19 so they decided to stay in the amateurs and gain the valuable experience for them to succeed as he is doing now. However, somebody like Broner was ready for the pros at a young age..if he decided to stick as an amateur for a longer period..I think he would have wasted a lot of his career and prime. To answer your question, I don't think GGG/Kovalev/Rig would be successful at age 23 because they're the type of fighters today who very much needed that vital am experience or gym exp before turning pro. Good post.

Possibly. But Broner and Canelo sure as hell haven't fought opposition like that. Broners best win is DeMarco that would be like GGG beating Edison Miranda and Canelo hasn't fought anyone really besides Trout which he arguably lost.Look, just forget what I said about Broner and Canelo. Don't even mention them. Now I'd love to see what you have to say. I'm not joking. I'd love to hear your answer.

Good question. I think it's really to do with amateur experience. Guys like GGG were probably not ready to turn pro at the age of 18/19 so they decided to stay in the amateurs and gain the valuable experience for them to succeed as he is doing now. However, somebody like Broner was ready for the pros at a young age..if he decided to stick as an amateur for a longer period..I think he would have wasted a lot of his career and prime. To answer your question, I don't think GGG/Kovalev/Rig would be successful at age 23 because they're the type of fighters today who very much needed that vital am experience or gym exp before turning pro.

Obviously Rigondeaux and Golovkin could have as their amateur records were phenomenal. Not sure about Kovalev . Again I'd like to point out Canelo has been pro for just about 9 years as well. He's been a pro far longer than GGG, Rigo & Kovalev yet only recently took a real step up when he fought Trout. His title before than was a paper title (won it by beating Matt Hatton who wasn't even at 154 pounds). Broner has one real legit title which he won from DeMarco.So GG beats Taylor, Pavlik or maybe Abraham, and Rigo beats or competes with Mabuza, Raf Marquez, Izzy Vasquez, or Juan Marquez at fw? That's all I'm asking.

Obviously Rigondeaux and Golovkin could have as their amateur records were phenomenal. Not sure about Kovalev . Again I'd like to point out Canelo has been pro for just about 9 years as well. He's been a pro far longer than GGG, Rigo & Kovalev yet only recently took a real step up when he fought Trout. His title before than was a paper title (won it by beating Matt Hatton who wasn't even at 154 pounds). Broner has one real legit title which he won from DeMarco. Kovalev was 193-22 as an amateur. He was a quality fighter but could not beat the top guys like Matt Korobov and Artur Beterbiev, 2 russian standouts and top world amateurs. He also moved up very quickly in the ranks to where he is today, just 4 years.

All the hw are just entering prime at 35 these days lol. Big Vit is 42-43 and still holds a title. Wladimir 37 and looks better then ever

Only because they haven't fought many fights in their career as a pro. Rigo has had loads of Amateur fights but I doubt hes taken much punishment with his style. So...then explain JMM.:cool2:

Guys, I'm not trying to be a d**k here, but this isn't that hard. Sugar Adam answered perfectly. Just use your vivid imagination matching the styles of the four that I mentioned against the champs of 07. I only used Broner and Canelo as examples because of what they accomplished at their age. I put the four that I mentioned at age 23, thats all. Pretend that they did start early, and were finished products in 2007, and 2007 is who they are today. Can they compete, and would they be champions. In other words, take the 2013 versions and match them against the champs of 07.

Lucas is 30 (or 31?) and still hasn't reached his prime imo.

How can you ask that about guys who werent even pros until 3 years after that?Look, I don't really want/need a factual response. Just give an opinion.

How can you ask that about guys who werent even pros until 3 years after that?

This is retarded. Rigo obviously wasn't allowed to fight in the Pro's until he defected from Cuba and made his pro debut at the age of 29. Golovkin made his debut at the age of 26 and woudl have became champion much sooner but unfortuantely for him he was under poor management and wasn't allowed a crack at the title for several years. Once he signed with K2 however his career has taken off. Kovalev just turned pro 4 years ago. Compare that to Canelo, who turned pro at 16 and has been a pro for almost 9 years now and has 43 fights. Broner has been a pro for 5 years but is well more connected than the above mentioned guys, having good promoters/managers getting him HBO exposure early on helped him get title oppurtinuties much faster compared to guys like GGG & Kovalev who were forced to fight in obscurity early on in their careers. But this is nothing new. Pacquiao won his third divisional title at the age of 21-22.Do you think that these guys who started making noise at 30 years of age would've been as good as they were, say age 23? Do you think that the 4 guys that I mentioned above could've made an impact at Broner or Canelo's age(23). I think Canelo and Broner are 24 now, but do you?

mayweather and Wladimir are both 36/7 yar of age and are dominating.You gotta read the whole post of post # 1.

Could those 4 guys compete with the comp and champions 7 years ago?

mayweather and Wladimir are both 36/7 yar of age and are dominating.

This may help. http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine's_Annual_Ratings

Honestly i think it comes down to the individual fighter,,,, there is no clear cut answer,, I think Froch would still be tough at 23 but he may not have the mental strength or experience to be as good as he is now.... I truely think the mental toughness is the one thing you get thru experience,, and its hard to get that at 23 years old with 20 weak fighters on your resume,,,

sergio martinez around 35

I think a big reason is that guys dont stay active younger in their careers,,, It used to be a guy would turn pro at 18,19 years old and have 8-10 fights a year for his first few years.... They would occassionally take a step up but it was always gradual.. like a 3-0 guy vs 4-0 guy then 8-0 vs 9-1 12-0 vs 13-0 15-0 vs 18-3 and as the guy progressed he would get tougher challengers, but by the time he was 23 years old he would have like 25-30 fights and had decent opposition,, then they would be ready for a title shot,,, nowadays guys dont get enough fights early so it takes them longer to be ready for title contention Thats just my opinion.... Good post.