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should there be an age limit in boxing?
With Holyfield continuing on at 46, it makes you wonder...
boxing needs a commission.
boxing needs a commission.
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No, there shouldn't be a specific age at which you can no longer legally box. However, I think when you have an older fighter who is just taking beatings/getting K.O'd, individual states should think about revoking their license and prohibiting them from fighting.
Ditto for older people like Holyfield who, although not getting knocked out (besides the Toney TKO) , have been getting hit for far too long with sharply diminishing returns. I would also look at specific match ups for people like him; nobody ought to license Holyfield to fight Klitschko(either), for example, because the terrible punishment Evander would receive is all too obvious. But they might let him fight an exhibition with an elderly Tyson, because the fighters would be on even terms and in less danger. Larry Holmes versus Butterbean comes to mind here; even at 50+, Holmes was in little danger against bean because he was so skilled and his opponent so listless and obese.
The problem with a specific age limit is that it would needlessly retire people like Hopkins, Archie Moore and George Foreman; people who have success even in their advanced age. Foreman in particular spent a decade out of boxing, a decade spent *not* getting hit. Which makes Foreman at 46 a different animal than Holyfield at 46. Each specific case is different.
There are also people who had a late start to boxing, like Antonio Tarver, who therefore have not suffered as much accumulated punishment as others.
Then there are people like Margarito, fighting since the age of 15, whom we can't imagine fighting at 40 and beyond. Duran comes to mind here, too.
Defensive masters like Hopkins deserve the benefit of the doubt; I wouldn't even consider revoking his license until he starts getting beat up, no matter his age or win/loss ratio.
Its all about individual performance, history, and competitiveness. An arbitrary age limit couldn't take into account the actual state of each individual fighter. And in the end, the United States is a land of liberty...and so boxers should be allowed to fight as long as we can let them. They are to be forcefully retired only when its plain to all that they serious medical danger, with few prospects left in the sport. -
No way, if a fighter still wants to fight into their 50's or even 60's then let them, obviously if they are getting brutally ko'd in every fight then their license should be taken away. Jack Johnson fought into his 60's.Comment
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holyfield's family/friends should have an intervention.Comment
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