Comments Thread For: Suddenly shot: A modern history of fighters growing old overnight

[BoxingUpdates]

Sometimes there is evidence that a fighter is in decline and sometimes it just comes out of nowhere, writes Eric Raskin
[Click Here To Read More]

[Hooded Terror]

I am reminded of the sudden and sharp fall-off of Donald Curry.

[PittyPat]

A good read and well-written. I enjoyed the smooth weaving from one fighter's story to another.

Another example I'm reminded of is Mike Alvarado. He went from went one of the coolest hard-hitters to absolutely shot by the time of Rios III (so, about 2yrs). Rios himself would look shot overnight against Bradley.

[famicommander]

Omar Figueroa comes to mind immediately.

[CubanGuyNYC]

A good read and well-written. I enjoyed the smooth weaving from one fighter's story to another.

Another example I'm reminded of is Mike Alvarado. He went from went one of the coolest hard-hitters to absolutely shot by the time of Rios III (so, about 2yrs). Rios himself would look shot overnight against Bradley.

Agreed: great, well-written article. One of the sad things about this sport — its warriors and fans often have little warning how close the end is. It’s such a grind. Makes you more appreciate athletes like Duran, whose ability to endure brutal training and fighting for many years is practically superhuman. I imagine that the decline is usually visible in training. Guys just don’t have it in them anymore, and it carries into the ring. Contracts are signed, commitments are made, and there’s no turning back.

[The D3vil]

I think Roy Jones Jr is the poster child for this.

[Bennyleonard99]

Trinidad vs Winky. Pernell vs Trinidad. Oscar vs Paquiao. Norton vs Shavers. Spinks vs Tyson. Golota vs Brewster.

[real raw]

I'm not sure guys who are in their mid 30s qualifies as being suddenly shot. Hell, it's amazing that they are in the ring at all. Particularly when they are fighting younger champions or highly ranked contenders.

There will always be exceptions to the rules, but a 35 year old fighter no longer having "it", is not surprising.

[SteveM]

I'd have liked a more inquisitive approach rather than a list of fighters. Perhaps interviews with one or two fighters, or trainers. Bread man could probably impart info here.

When fighters take a beating or bad KO they could likely use a 2 year rest for the brain to recover, if it even can. But then they lose relevance and earning power outside the ring and likely lose motivation in the gym.

From what I understand, how much sparring older fighters get is crucial. I'd also say recovery likely plays a huge part especially quality sleep, I wonder how many fighters track their quality and quantity of sleep?

[landotter]

I think Roy Jones Jr is the poster child for this.

That is who I always think of when this subject comes up. From "pound for pound best no question" to "whatever happened to..." seemingly in a blink of an eye.

Srisaket Sor Rungvisai also comes to my mind.