Age in boxing, time to update out of date views

[Toffee]

Sports science has changed and the boxers are fitter, yes, but in no way was Vlad "prime" against Joshua. Not even close. He bloody came out of retirement to fight AJ for the money, let's be honest.

You may still be able to fight at 40 and be in pretty good shape too, but that doesn't mean your stamina is at the same level as when you were 25. Neither is your body able to take the shots and recover the way it did when you were younger. The good boxers change their games and styles accordingly so reduce the risks.

I think speed will go before stamina. And maybe a little bit of desire - a top boxer who has earned millions probably doesn't fancy it as much as they did when they were young and hungry.

On Wlad, no he wasn't prime against Joshua. Highlighted by the fact he retired afterwards.

But he didn't come out of retirement to fight Joshua. He had been in consecutive camps for his rematch with Fury that never happened.

[BirdSong]

i think it's likely people slow down a lot in their 30's, some more so than others but with all the improvements in training etc it's is surely helping people if they are fully dedicated

[deathofaclown]

They can definitely fight on longer but you still see an obvious decline by mid 30’s usually

Some very good fighters like Floyd, Manny, GGG, Wlad etc are operating on a very high level to where even a faded version is still a very good fighter

If you look at Floyd from around the JMM fight (which was the end of his physical prime) to a few years later, you can see a clear decline in his legs, they lacked the spring, but that’s age. Same as GGG, he doesn’t quite have the same snap he had 5-6 years ago and the food speed to cut off the ring isn’t the same.


Maybe the decline is more drawn out these days with better nutrition etc, but the reality is age will always play it’s role.

[PredatorStyle]

I think it's just the same but the hype and media and promotional side drag it along. If it was a league then older fighters would start getting battered by younger fighters and the illusion would be broken. So the older fighters either fight other older fighters or they fight the Szeremeta's of the world. So the illusion can be maintained.

Also of course, it depends a lot on the style. I high energy style (Lomachenko) or a style that takes a lot of punishment (Gatti) usually wont age well.

I'd leave Manny out of that because he is a freak.

[Zelda]

I'll tell you this for nothing Wlads stamina at 39 was better than at 25, he was notorious for gassing out as a youngster, his stamina at 39 was way better simply because with age and experience came the ability to remain calm in the ring, he rode out the 3rd round crisis like only a seasoned veteran can.

Like I said, good boxers change their style and use their experience to not waste energy. But no way does a 39 yr old Wlad had "better stamina" than a 25 yr old. And it's not just stamina but other factors too...speed, reflexes, ability to take a punch, recovery, etc.

Stop fooling yourself or medical science.

I think speed will go before stamina. And maybe a little bit of desire - a top boxer who has earned millions probably doesn't fancy it as much as they did when they were young and hungry.

On Wlad, no he wasn't prime against Joshua. Highlighted by the fact he retired afterwards.

But he didn't come out of retirement to fight Joshua. He had been in consecutive camps for his rematch with Fury that never happened.

True that, but I would say speed and stamina are interlinked. Perhaps you're talking about reflexes. But if you step up on the pace, you'll gas out sooner. That's why older boxers try to settle down and take things smoothly unless they believe they can finish the game early. Younger/fitter ones would rather tire the older/heavier fighters...kind of what Hunter tried to do against Povetkin.

Wladimir, like most boxers at that level these days, was fighting twice a year leading up to the Fury fight. That was back in 2015 while the Joshua fight happened in 2017 with any action in between. That's 18 months of inaction and virtually retirement for a person of that age. And he never fought again either so it wasn't like he was going to continue with his career if it weren't for a juicy payday for one last fight.

[boliodogs]

Humans are still humans and they still age and lose strength, speed and physical ability with age the way they always did and always will. Better diet and training methods may have added a year or two to the average boxers prime but not many years. 35 is way past prime for damn near all boxers.Elite fighters age at exactly the same rate as lesser fighters. Ward and Bradley both retired about age 33 because they knew they were going down hill and they both had the good diet and training. You are correct that each boxer ages differently and there are some boxers that age better and stay good longer than others. But for the big majority of boxers 35 is very old and they are no longer at their best no matter what diet and training methods they use. Prime used to end at 30 on average in the old days. Maybe now it ends at 32 on average with improvements in diet and training. A boxer's prime has not been extended to 35 or 38 and that can clearly be shown by the very small number of champions we have at that age even with 17 weight classes and 4 champions in most weight classes.

[Ray*]

Yeah I never get the age thing myself, some boxers weigh the same as the weight 10 years ago at HW (Pulev and Povetkin as an example), someone like Bakole, Ortiz , Frank Sanchez are obviously wayyyyyy older than whatever age they are claiming but they still perform at a high level. Detractors and casuals see age, physical appearance and thing “Oh that younger guy with the muscles is going to win” .... Wrong.

[CombatCan]

Back in the day guys used to spar constantly, and fight many times per year which made them wash out quicker. I With strength, conditioning an nutrition science being what it is, and fighters only fighting a couple of times per yer. In theory elite fighters should have increased Longevity in the sport if they take care of themselves.

[GGG Gloveking]

While it's true that advances in sport medicine and medicine overall have their effects in prolonging athletes' careers, I think guys like Wlad and Floyd are an anomaly, rather than the new norm. No more than the fact the Tom Brady still plays should lead other QBs to think they can play at an elite level at 40.

[MDPopescu]

Past elite fighters had much more tough fights.

... Of course... and SRR retired at 44 yo...