Retirement..age vs mileage?

[imp]

You like to think that around 35 is the age that the majority of fighters think about retiring from the game.

Let’s talk about age vs mileage and who you think has had so many tough fights he should consider retirement now.

Khan is showing signs of slurring his words and has fought some tough competition in his time..he is 31.

Groves has had some seriously tough career ending fights..he is 30.

Anymore names that should be pulled aside and told to give it up?

[powerpuncher]

Depends on weight class. Generally the HWs nowadays are prime years by the time the little guys are calling it quits.

[Master]

Age is not as important factor as how many boxing rounds a fighter has done. Amateur bouts also take a lot out of a fighter.

A lot of the time the fighter is hitting the peak of his financial potential when they are past their physical peak but have to continue because they have worked so hard to get to that position.

Golovkin comes to mind.

[mikeeod]

I feel that it is boxer dependent more than anything. Sometimes punishment is worse, for say meldrick taylor (after JCC fight). Other times it is an age thing, where Mike McCallum started to lose and be less effective as he got older. Some fighters like Glen Johnson actually improve as they get older, but I think most of those fighters had limited amateur careers and take some time to figure things out. Limiting punishment and staying in top shape can extend a career, as Hop n Floyd have proven. Both of those guys have great genetics also though, so I feel they are the exception and not the rule. The last two factors to me are weight fluctuations (up and down), and just rising too high in weight. Roy and Chris Byrd are examples of guys who went up and down at a point in their careers and seemed to lose something. Mayorga and Vince Phillips are examples of guys who were good at a specific weight (147,140) but ineffective at anything higher.

[Master]

High octane fighters like Tyson and Hatton will fade quicker than their opposites.

[mikeeod]

High octane fighters like Tyson and Hatton will fade quicker than their opposites.

Agree, but find it interesting that Manny is still pretty good despite being a high octane guy who fought killers throughout his career. He is more the exception though, as the two you named as well as Aaron Pryor, John Mugabi and many others have proven over the years.

[Master]

High octane fighters like Tyson and Hatton will fade quicker than their opposites.

Agree, but find it interesting that Manny is still pretty good despite being a high octane guy who fought killers throughout his career. He is more the exception though, as the two you named as well as Aaron Pryor, John Mugabi and many others have proven over the years.

You have to admit that Manny has slowed down quite a bit now. Still world class but just below the very best.

Old Manny Pac could live with Spence and Crawford quite easily.

[El Kabong]

Pressure fighters age out quicker than most...Tyson, Hatton, Joe Frazier, Floyd Patterson, Aaron Pryor....those are the fighters with all the moving pieces and who take damage to inflict punishment of their own. At age 27-29 they slow down a great deal.

Guys who can hit and not get hit last longer.....guys who can absorb punishment can last even longer depending on who they are fighting. Ali took a lot of damage, James Toney, Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe even...they lasted long stretches, but their health has/will suffer because of it.



I think you've got so many punches, so many rounds, so much damage you can take over an amount of time and there's only so much you can heal up afterwards. I think you have to take it on a fighter by fighter basis...look at Willie Pep, fought 241 fights and was still fresh as a daisy because he rarely got hit and then you've got 'The American Dream' David Reid who only fought 19 total bouts because ptosis and other eye troubles namely Tito Trinidad detatching his retina because Tito hit him hard and often, and he had eye troubles since the Olympic trials.

[Alpha]

Depends on the fighter really, I've always believed that everyone tends to lose a step around 28, in all types of sport.

For boxing you need to add in gym wars/ sparring, style, knockouts or wars. Then genetics comes into it and lifestyle. Many factors contribute.

[Spicoli]

I think mileage, wear and tear and it's quality have more to do with it than age. The thing is I think it's a minority of boxers that can actually choose to retire. Age and time pass as the young just try to get another taste of the once big checks and large venues with a belt and ultimately it's the mileage and reputation for it that keeps them in. Next thing you know you're Livingstone Bramble or Demarcus Corley. Many many guys today who are flirting with one tough war too many but the 'name' trumps common sense in match making and we see them again, Juan M Lopez, Mike Alvarado, Soto Karass, Adamek, Orlando Cruz, Brandon Rios are doing nothing but collecting damage and should already be out. Guys like Hopkins looked at age and mastered-manipulated it and it feels literally had two completely separate but successful careers. I guess you can say the same for Foreman who made age a selling point and proved that walking away before 30 and actually maturing and growing wise with age breathes life into a second career. A head like a oak tree stump and concussive right-left also helped.

[Slim the BoxingManiac]

I think mileage, wear and tear and it's quality have more to do with it than age. The thing is I think it's a minority of boxers that can actually choose to retire. Age and time pass as the young just try to get another taste of the once big checks and large venues with a belt and ultimately it's the mileage and reputation for it that keeps them in. Next thing you know you're Livingstone Bramble or Demarcus Corley. Many many guys today who are flirting with one tough war too many but the 'name' trumps common sense in match making and we see them again, Juan M Lopez, Mike Alvarado, Soto Karass, Adamek, Orlando Cruz, Brandon Rios are doing nothing but collecting damage and should already be out. Guys like Hopkins looked at age and mastered-manipulated it and it feels literally had two completely separate but successful careers. I guess you can say the same for Foreman who made age a selling point and proved that walking away before 30 and actually maturing and growing wise with age breathes life into a second career. A head like a oak tree stump and concussive right-left also helped.

I personally feel Old Foreman was superior to Young Foreman, and that he would have demolished any version of Tyson

[Master]

I think mileage, wear and tear and it's quality have more to do with it than age. The thing is I think it's a minority of boxers that can actually choose to retire. Age and time pass as the young just try to get another taste of the once big checks and large venues with a belt and ultimately it's the mileage and reputation for it that keeps them in. Next thing you know you're Livingstone Bramble or Demarcus Corley. Many many guys today who are flirting with one tough war too many but the 'name' trumps common sense in match making and we see them again, Juan M Lopez, Mike Alvarado, Soto Karass, Adamek, Orlando Cruz, Brandon Rios are doing nothing but collecting damage and should already be out. Guys like Hopkins looked at age and mastered-manipulated it and it feels literally had two completely separate but successful careers. I guess you can say the same for Foreman who made age a selling point and proved that walking away before 30 and actually maturing and growing wise with age breathes life into a second career. A head like a oak tree stump and concussive right-left also helped.

I personally feel Old Foreman was superior to Young Foreman, and that he would have demolished any version of Tyson

Old Foreman had the experience and intelligence to pace himself but not the physicality that youth would have given him. Add the 2 together and you get the near perfect heavyweight.

[p4pking]

Some good points. I’d think of it as being less about mileage, as punishment taken, and individuals genetics and brain chemistry. For someone like Hopkins, obviously he was better at 35 than 45, but he was able to use the mileage as experience, adapt his style and stay effective. Lots of guys have been like that. Obviously not being badly hurt along the way helps immensely. Someone like Foreman was just a freak of nature, but maybe the long layoff helped his body/brain recover. Whether guys are actually being concussed, and how their brain responds to that is paramount. It often happens in sparring and we never hear about it. It is a complex thing.

[Slim the BoxingManiac]

Yo can we talk about Archie Moore for a second

Dude was a legitimate boxing genius

[p4pking]

Dog, that cat lost to Muhammad Ali, who was a novice and needed help from the corner to beat Henry Cooper around the same time. He wasn’t ish bruh. Fought lots of guys with losing records when he had over 100 fights. Could have never competed with Charlie Z, much less AB.