Printable View
What modern era fighter had the longest prime?it hard not to confuse prime with reign in regards to a fighter...
like roy jones reigned for a long time but he was prime the entire time
i thought lennox, but i think his was a combo of him peaking when the other guys were on the decline...
so who might it be?
Let me give you the answer you want to hear and already know RJJ and PBF. :)
I think the obvious one is floyd mayweather. He's been on top of his game since day one, with only 1 bump in the road.
Past Joe Louis, Now Lennox LewisQuote:
Originally Posted by JonesJrMayweather
....Willie Pep anyone????? 250 wins?????
but if it's recent I guess I would have to say Bernard Hopkins
Marciano. How could you measure when he was on the decline if he never lost? ???
Roberto Duran had a long prime, although that was at lightweight and at that weight he had weak competition. So that helped him stay looking good. But he did have a long prime.Quote:
Originally Posted by yoitsdan
im surprise no one said pernell whitaker
not sure if you're being honest or sarcastic..so i'll respond to both...just because i like RJJ and floyd doesn't mean that i think they're the answer to every question...roy is top 5 all time imo...and i actually prefer shane over pbf..Quote:
Originally Posted by CutMeMick
what i actually meant to say was roy reigned for a long time but wasn't prime the entire time... i think he was prime for maybe seven years...93-2000 but then again that is a long time...
and as far as floyd mayweather i think his prime years are behind him..because he doesn't move as much as he used too..prime to me is when fighter uses all of their physical abilities to win a fight...but floyd probably is prime in terms of defense..
Whitaker's prime was actually shorter than some other greats. It only lasted about 5 years.Quote:
Originally Posted by headson
I'd say the start of his prime was in '89, when he started collecting lightweight belts, and he eventually became undisputed champ.
After he fought Chavez in '93, he only had two more great performances, which were against Santos Cardona and then his rematch with McGirt. After that, he never looked the same. He stopped training as hard, and who knows exactly when he started developing the drug problem that would doom him later on. His prime ended at age 30. He kept winning for a few more years (and I thought he beat Oscar at age 33), but he wasn't the same guy.
Lennox Lewis went on forever, great fighter and stayed at the Top for over a decade.
Joe Louis is a great call also Pernell Whitaker and Azumah Nelson.
just because lewis was a champ for a long time doesn't mean he was prime...and he did have two losses while reigning as champ...Quote:
Originally Posted by WelshDevilRob
Larry Holmes
Marvin Hagler
Thomas Hearns
I'm perfectly aware of the meaning of prime. Lennox had a long prime and he was at the top of his game for over a decade, sorry for repeating myself but what I said was correct the first time.Quote:
Originally Posted by JonesJrMayweather
Let me explain, normally in boxing when a fighter wins and defends a 'World' title over many years that would be a good indication that the fighter is one of the best in the World and in their prime fighting years.
winky
Ray Robinson
Joe Louis
Bernard Hopkins