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By Cliff Rold - When comparing older eras to this one in boxing, the easiest point in favor of the old days is volume.
They fought more often. They fought more top guys.
Despite that, they still seemed to prime out relatively around the same time. The best of the best hung around into their mid-30s, the action stars petered out around their late 20s. Fighters succeeding past 40, much less well past, were rare.
This weekend, with a win, the great Bernard Hopkins (51-5-2, 32 KO) will move beyond rare. Defeat Jean Pascal (26-1-1, 16 KO), something he came oh so close to doing last December, and Hopkins will have added the legitimate Light Heavyweight crown to his ledger at 46 years of age.
By some months and what will appear a calendar year on paper, he will pass George Foreman as the oldest World Champion in the history of boxing. It’s been talked about so much this week it almost made people forget what a horse’s ass Hopkins made of himself last week talking trash about Donovan McNabb.
Almost.
Only Hopkins could make it hard to root for him as he gets close to what could be a special moment.
And it would be special. Real history always is. It still has to happen though. The still younger, still faster, Pascal will have something to say about it for sure. [Click Here To Read More]
They fought more often. They fought more top guys.
Despite that, they still seemed to prime out relatively around the same time. The best of the best hung around into their mid-30s, the action stars petered out around their late 20s. Fighters succeeding past 40, much less well past, were rare.
This weekend, with a win, the great Bernard Hopkins (51-5-2, 32 KO) will move beyond rare. Defeat Jean Pascal (26-1-1, 16 KO), something he came oh so close to doing last December, and Hopkins will have added the legitimate Light Heavyweight crown to his ledger at 46 years of age.
By some months and what will appear a calendar year on paper, he will pass George Foreman as the oldest World Champion in the history of boxing. It’s been talked about so much this week it almost made people forget what a horse’s ass Hopkins made of himself last week talking trash about Donovan McNabb.
Almost.
Only Hopkins could make it hard to root for him as he gets close to what could be a special moment.
And it would be special. Real history always is. It still has to happen though. The still younger, still faster, Pascal will have something to say about it for sure. [Click Here To Read More]
although he would be quick to forget it if he did win the fight.
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