I think Abel Sanchez ruined GGG. Look how much speed he's lost!

[Boxing Logic]

I discovered this old video of GGG doing the mitts, and his muscles are so much leaner, he's so much quicker on his toes, and his hand speed, my lord his hand speed, it's like a completely different fighter. He actually looks athletic and explosive and reflexive here, as opposed to the plodding GGG we see nowadays.

https://youtu.be/2t9xf5uIFRQ?t=742

You can also see a much faster (even in 20z? gloves!) and much more powerful GGG in this vid from 5 years ago https://youtu.be/kRsxQ5uSP0Y?t=101.

Victor Conte has a theory that training in altitude into his mid-thirties has ruined GGG. Conte says after working out in the day, the muscles repair themselves while you sleep, but at high altitude in Big Bear, there is not enough oxygen in the air to fully repair your muscle fibers. Conte says in your twenties, the body's cells repair themselves so quickly that the body can basically compensate for the lack of oxygen in the air, but that if you keep doing it into your thirties, the body can no longer compensate, and your lean, "high twitch muscle fibers," which apparently take the most work to repair themselves, do not fully repair themselves. And I believe Conte said that as a result, the body will replace the lean muscle fibers with more bulky muscle because that's easier for the body to build.

Well, when you look at GGG now compared to when he was 30, all his muscles are the exact same shape and in the exact same place, but they're all saggy and bulky now (compared to before). Bulkier muscle takes more oxygen to operate, killing your stamina (GGG started slow vs both Canelo and Jacobs but still gassed by the 10th round, something he never did in his prime). Bulky muscle is also much slower and less explosive (GGG has struggled to land his power punches in recent fights going all the way back to Lemieux, with a few exceptions, and could not even knock down a welterweight in Kell Brook over 5 rounds because he couldn't catch Brook flush with many power shots due to his loss of speed).

At this point, as a GGG fan, I care less about whether he beats Canelo or not, and more about someone getting this information to his team so that he can change camp locations and hopefully undo some of the alleged damage to his body before his career is over and it's too late. Because it's clear looking at that old video, the rate GGG is losing speed seems abnormal even for 36 years old, and even if Canelo doesn't beat him, someone else is going to do it, and probably have a much easier time than people expect, due to how much speed and athleticism GGG is losing.

Disclaimer: This post contains my general recollection of what Victor Conte said in the interview. A detail or two may be off, but the conclusion about high altitude training ruining the fast, high twitch muscle is absolutely accurate to what he said.

[Redd Foxx]

Don't know if you're familiar with the aging process but everything you describe is natural.

[BLASTER1]

I discovered this old video of GGG doing the mitts, and his muscles are so much leaner, he's so much quicker on his toes, and his hand speed, my lord his hand speed, it's like a completely different fighter. He actually looks athletic and explosive and reflexive here, as opposed to the plodding GGG we see nowadays.

https://youtu.be/2t9xf5uIFRQ?t=742

Victor Conte has a theory that training in altitude into his mid-thirties has ruined GGG. Conte says after working out in the day, the muscles repair themselves while you sleep, but at high altitude in Big Bear, there is not enough oxygen in the air to fully repair your muscle fibers. Conte says in your twenties, the body's cells repair themselves so quickly that the body can basically compensate for the lack of oxygen in the air, but that if you keep doing it into your thirties, the body can no longer compensate, and your lean, "high twitch muscle fibers," which apparently take the most work to repair themselves, do not fully repair themselves. And I believe Conte said that as a result, the body will replace the lean muscle fibers with more bulky muscle because that's easier for the body to build.

Well, when you look at GGG now compared to when he was 30, all his muscles are the exact same shape and in the exact same place, but they're all saggy and bulky now (compared to before). Bulkier muscle takes more oxygen to operate, killing your stamina (GGG started slow vs both Canelo and Jacobs but still gassed by the 10th round, something he never did in his prime). Bulky muscle is also much slower and less explosive (GGG has struggled to land his power punches in recent fights going all the way back to Lemieux, with a few exceptions, and could not even knock down a welterweight in Kell Brook over 5 rounds because he couldn't catch Brook flush with many power shots due to his loss of speed).

At this point, as a GGG fan, I care less about whether he beats Canelo or not, and more about someone getting this information to his team so that he can change camp locations and hopefully undo some of the alleged damage to his body before his career is over and it's too late. Because it's clear looking at that old video, the rate GGG is losing speed seems abnormal even for 36 years old, and even if Canelo doesn't beat him, someone else is going to do it, and probably have a much easier time than people expect, due to how much speed and athleticism GGG is losing.

Disclaimer: This post contains my general recollection of what Victor Conte said in the interview. A detail or two may be off, but the conclusion about high altitude training ruining the fast, high twitch muscle is absolutely accurate to what he said.

That would of been somewhere just past his prime.
He does alright for being a 36yr old pressure puncher.
How may guy's keep their explosiveness at that age?

[Boxing Logic]

That would of been somewhere just past his prime.
He does alright for being a 36yr old pressure puncher.
How may guy's keep their explosiveness at that age?

What would have been? That video? Yes age wise it should have been right at the end of his prime I would say. He looks prime to me in that video. That's the GGG I remember. The GGG that when Macklin was on the ropes, his left hook just exploded out like a *****ing rocket, and then gained speed as it neared Macklin's ribcage until it just accelerated smack into his rips, with this huge snap. Sort of like Canelo's body shots now lol. I remember when both were in their prime, I thought, "Canelo has just below top hand speed, like B+ maybe A-, and GGG's is, in terms of single punches, just as fast as Canelo, while in combo, not quite as fast, but they are very close. If Canelo is A- or B+, then GGG is let's say just B+. But that's how close it is."

Now when I look at them, it's like, oh my God how is GGG even keeping this competitive, it looks like he's fighting the fastest boxer in the world while he is the slowest boxer in the world. Of course Canelo isn't the fastest in the world but that's how much slower GGG is now that it makes him look that way. I remember the idea of GGG vs Lara in GGG's prime made me laugh, because GGG had plenty of speed to land shots and once he landed I knew he would power through Lara. Now I think of this GGG vs prime Lara and I'm like, mann.... I'm not sure he could win that... I'm not sure he could land a clean punch all night. Heck, he only landed a few clean power shots vs Canelo all night, and Canelo is not even as fast or elusive as Lara.

That's how much GGG has declined. Yes it could be age, but if you listen to Victor Conte, he says it's much more than that. Training in altitude. I know GGG is 36 but he takes care of his body and trains super hard. He should be one of the exceptions whose prime lasts longer. But when you look at it, guys like Adonis Stevenson and Rigondeaux both maintained their speed longer than GGG. Maybe with Stevenson that makes sense, but not Rigo. Small fighters are supposed to decline faster! Heck, Donnie Nietes is 36 years old, and he looks much more prime than GGG! He's half GGG's size! So clearly something is wrong in his camp for his body to be deteriorating this quickly when he takes such good care of it and trains so hard. Kovalev and Chocolatito also trained in big bear in their thirties and fell off a cliff. So did Cuadras!

It would be interesting to look, has ANY Big Bear fighter ever fought well into their mid-thirties, or has every single one declined quickly? I didnt watch boxing back in the 1980s or 1990s so I cant say but it would be interesting to hear from long time fans.

[Boxing Logic]

Don't know if you're familiar with the aging process but everything you describe is natural.

I know age can cause what I'm describing, but so can high altitude training and recovery, according to Victor Conte. Conte even said if GGG switched training locations, he could still recover some of the speed, power, and stamina he's lost, even at this age. Conte was specific that it is the altitude training and sleeping that is causing such a sharp decline, not age. If anyone out there knows GGG and cares about him, I hope someone actually gets that info to HIM! It's tragic that someone outside his camp could know this info that is key to helping not just GGG's career but his health and his body, but that he should be ignorant to it or not have anyone around who knows enough to be able to educate him about this. I'm sure he would fix the problem if he knew about it.

[Redd Foxx]

If anyone out there knows GGG and cares about him, I hope someone actually gets that info to HIM!

I'll tell him at dinner tomorrow. I don't wanna see him go though this shyt any more either.

[BLASTER1]

What would have been? That video? Yes age wise it should have been right at the end of his prime I would say. He looks prime to me in that video. That's the GGG I remember. The GGG that when Macklin was on the ropes, his left hook just exploded out like a *****ing rocket, and then gained speed as it neared Macklin's ribcage until it just accelerated smack into his rips, with this huge snap. Sort of like Canelo's body shots now lol. I remember when both were in their prime, I thought, "Canelo has just below top hand speed, like B+ maybe A-, and GGG's is, in terms of single punches, just as fast as Canelo, while in combo, not quite as fast, but they are very close. If Canelo is A- or B+, then GGG is let's say just B+. But that's how close it is."

Now when I look at them, it's like, oh my God how is GGG even keeping this competitive, it looks like he's fighting the fastest boxer in the world while he is the slowest boxer in the world. Of course Canelo isn't the fastest in the world but that's how much slower GGG is now that it makes him look that way. I remember the idea of GGG vs Lara in GGG's prime made me laugh, because GGG had plenty of speed to land shots and once he landed I knew he would power through Lara. Now I think of this GGG vs prime Lara and I'm like, mann.... I'm not sure he could win that... I'm not sure he could land a clean punch all night. Heck, he only landed a few clean power shots vs Canelo all night, and Canelo is not even as fast or elusive as Lara.

That's how much GGG has declined. Yes it could be age, but if you listen to Victor Conte, he says it's much more than that. Training in altitude. I know GGG is 36 but he takes care of his body and trains super hard. He should be one of the exceptions whose prime lasts longer. But when you look at it, guys like Adonis Stevenson and Rigondeaux both maintained their speed longer than GGG. Maybe with Stevenson that makes sense, but not Rigo. Small fighters are supposed to decline faster! Heck, Donnie Nietes is 36 years old, and he looks much more prime than GGG! He's half GGG's size! So clearly something is wrong in his camp for his body to be deteriorating this quickly when he takes such good care of it and trains so hard. Kovalev and Chocolatito also trained in big bear in their thirties and fell off a cliff. So did Cuadras!

It would be interesting to look, has ANY Big Bear fighter ever fought well into their mid-thirties, or has every single one declined quickly? I didnt watch boxing back in the 1980s or 1990s so I cant say but it would be interesting to hear from long time fans.

It's an interesting theory that your putting out their.
Unfortunately I can't answer your question cause i wasn't a fan in the 80s-90s either.
I'm only a newbie to the sport and I didnt realize that smaller weights have a lesser shelf life.
I thought the opposite would have been right.
It's sad to see boxers loose tgeir prime i just hope GGG has one or two big wins left in him so theirs no doubt.
I really hope G knocks out Canelo in the re-match.
Who you got?

[Prince Madison]

He's lost a lot of the speed and snap in his punches.

[_Rexy_]

yeah, totally Abel's fault that his hand speed slowed down between age 32 and 36

[S7V7N]

I discovered this old video of GGG doing the mitts, and his muscles are so much leaner, he's so much quicker on his toes, and his hand speed, my lord his hand speed, it's like a completely different fighter. He actually looks athletic and explosive and reflexive here, as opposed to the plodding GGG we see nowadays.

Well, when you look at GGG now compared to when he was 30, all his muscles are the exact same shape and in the exact same place, but they're all saggy and bulky now (compared to before). Bulkier muscle takes more oxygen to operate, killing your stamina (GGG started slow vs both Canelo and Jacobs but still gassed by the 10th round, something he never did in his prime). Bulky muscle is also much slower and less explosive (GGG has struggled to land his power punches in recent fights going all the way back to Lemieux, with a few exceptions, and could not even knock down a welterweight in Kell Brook over 5 rounds because he couldn't catch Brook flush with many power shots due to his loss of speed).

At this point, as a GGG fan, I care less about whether he beats Canelo or not, and more about someone getting this information to his team so that he can change camp locations and hopefully undo some of the alleged damage to his body before his career is over and it's too late. Because it's clear looking at that old video, the rate GGG is losing speed seems abnormal even for 36 years old, and even if Canelo doesn't beat him, someone else is going to do it, and probably have a much easier time than people expect, due to how much speed and athleticism GGG is losing.

He's lost a lot of the speed and snap in his punches.

Yes, he's definitely aged, so his muscles have matured...of course he's going slow down some, just as everyone does. I think you're blowing this out of proportion though. He was on his toes in this first workout video for the Geale fight, something he doesn't do all that much in fights anymore. He's much more measured, even a head hunter at times which is the part I don't like...especially when in the ring against an actual opponent! But to say he's not explosive? Go watch that Vanes fight again! How hard he's working the mitts vs high level competition makes all the difference in how he's going to look.

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