Comments Thread For: The Beltline: What happened to the twentysomething heavyweights?

[BoxingUpdates]

Much of what makes ageing so cruel is that it happens so gradually, the damage done in increments largely imperceptible until suddenly it is all you see. If it's not something you see in yourself, it will be something you see in those around you, maybe peers or parents, and if it's not something you see, it will be something you inevitably feel.
[Click Here To Read More]

[Verus]

Hey a thought provoking and well written article! Whod a thunk it? Thanks for the good read Mr. Worsell.

[STREET CLEANER]

Boxers if they are not aligned they don't get a shot. Unified titles bogs down the process even more because everyone is waiting for the phone to ring or they have those rematch clauses.

[Bob]

The problem is promoter's.
Take 80s iron mike, he had something like 24 fights in 18 months on the way to Berbick.
Promoter's today would move him like Itauma (& he's being rushed by today's standards) on 3-4 a year ignoring he's chasing glory.

[Tman500]

Jim Brown once said the problem with boxing is all the potential great young heavyweights are in the NFL. Now, in addition to the NFL, you have mixed martial arts siphoning off future HW boxing talent. The landscape has vastly changed over the years.

[Left Hook Louie]

Good and thoughtful essay, Mr. Worsell.
Indulge me a moment as I don my editor's hat: your cogent thoughts could have been communicated in half (or less) copy.
It would have been a bit punchier with some brevity.

Fres Oquendo? Why is he even news now?

Bob Dylan's creative drop-off resonated as a melancholic metaphor to aging boxers' skills.
And it's not just Dylan, musically speaking. That seems to be a common (but not universal) phenomenon among songwriters.
Some day brain researchers may have an explanation.

[CPNUTKnockoutFreshMart]

I think that Heavyweights get moved way too slowly. I have a really hard time believing that a man in his mid to late thirties is just as good athletically as a man in his mid to late twenties . I could be wrong , but it just doesn't seem logical to me.

[crimsonfalcon07]

Moses Itauma needs Usyk to retire and splinter the belts to achieve his goal. If Fury wins the rematch, he'll tie up as many of the belts for as long as possible without fighting. That dosser was the worst thing to happen to the division in years.

[Boxfan83]

Jim Brown once said the problem with boxing is all the potential great young heavyweights are in the NFL. Now, in addition to the NFL, you have mixed martial arts siphoning off future HW boxing talent. The landscape has vastly changed over the years.

HW talent in any fighting sport is minimal. People remember the big names of past eras but most cant name the top 10 of that fighters same era. And athleticism can only get you so far in boxing. A majority of the time when some has been D1 football player or Pro NFL or NBA player goes into a fighting sport, they get their ass kicked. Not because they lack experience or athleticism, it's because they lack the balls needed to be able to take back what they dish out.

[BlakBread904]

HW talent in any fighting sport is minimal. People remember the big names of past eras but most cant name the top 10 of that fighters same era. And athleticism can only get you so far in boxing. A majority of the time when some has been D1 football player or Pro NFL or NBA player goes into a fighting sport, they get their ass kicked. Not because they lack experience or athleticism, it's because they lack the balls needed to be able to take back what they dish out.

That's not it. I would wager the biggest issue is their lack of boxing related muscle memory, built through years of repetition.