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by David P. Greisman - Wladimir Klitschko is 36 years old and the undisputed heavyweight champion. His brother, Vitali, also a titleholder, is 40. Wladimir’s next opponent, Tony Thompson, is also 40.
Look through the list of current and recent lineal champions and you’ll see men who are much farther from their beginnings and should be much closer to their ends. Look through the list and you’ll see them defeating, and sometimes dominating, much younger foes.
Bernard Hopkins is 47. He was 46 when he beat Jean Pascal, who was just 28. Sergio Martinez is 37. His next opponent will most likely be either Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 26, or Andy Lee, 27. Floyd Mayweather is 35. Last year he bested Victor Ortiz, who is a decade his junior. Juan Manuel Marquez is 38 and still in top form nearly 20 years into his pro career.
Boxing has not tended to be a sport that followed the wisdom of Satchel Paige or the album titles of Aaliyah. Age wasn’t just a question of mind over matter in which if you didn’t mind, it didn’t matter. Nor was age just nothing but a number. Rather, as with so many other athletes, boxers’ slides arrive in their 30s, as their legs go, their speed fades and their reflexes diminish. By the time they approach 40, they’re not just nearing middle age, but retirement age, too. [Click Here To Read More]
Look through the list of current and recent lineal champions and you’ll see men who are much farther from their beginnings and should be much closer to their ends. Look through the list and you’ll see them defeating, and sometimes dominating, much younger foes.
Bernard Hopkins is 47. He was 46 when he beat Jean Pascal, who was just 28. Sergio Martinez is 37. His next opponent will most likely be either Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 26, or Andy Lee, 27. Floyd Mayweather is 35. Last year he bested Victor Ortiz, who is a decade his junior. Juan Manuel Marquez is 38 and still in top form nearly 20 years into his pro career.
Boxing has not tended to be a sport that followed the wisdom of Satchel Paige or the album titles of Aaliyah. Age wasn’t just a question of mind over matter in which if you didn’t mind, it didn’t matter. Nor was age just nothing but a number. Rather, as with so many other athletes, boxers’ slides arrive in their 30s, as their legs go, their speed fades and their reflexes diminish. By the time they approach 40, they’re not just nearing middle age, but retirement age, too. [Click Here To Read More]
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