Bernard Hopkins & Evander Holyfield: Beating Father Time
By Gina L. Caliboso
“I’m gonna prove the age of 40 is not a death sentence.” – George Foreman
Recently, Tavoris Cloud defeated Glen Johnson with a unanimous decision over 12 rounds. Given that I was not playing chess and watching the fights, I tuned into my DVR recording and put the fight on. I mentally and audibly had Johnson winning or at least coming away with a draw. Johnson faced a younger boxer, but Cloud didn’t beat him. So, while rewatching the fight then looking to the Alexander fight, I couldn’t help but think about the state of boxing and lingering fear from the younger boxers going up against the older boxers.
So, here’s just a look at the current, active fighters that are not yet the 40-somethings a la Bernard Hopkins, but amongst them, make for the best in boxing. So, I wonder, how much time do the 40-somethings have and who are the youngsters ready to take them on?
News alert: Evander Holyfield, age 47, 43-10, 28 KO’s has a bout scheduled later this year on November 5th against 37 year-old Sherman Williams, 34-11, 19 KO’s. The title is for the World Boxing Federation Heavyweight belt. It looks like 47 may be the new 40? I wish Holyfield luck.
Among the heavyweights, I’ll tackle Vitali Klitschko, age 39, 40-2, 38 KO’s first.
There’s a lot of lip service paid to Great Britain’s David Haye, 24-1, 22 KO’s. When Haye fought against Nikolay Valuev, back in November 2009, he defeated the giant Russian with an MD over 12 rounds. I’m not quite sure why Haye decided to fight John Ruiz this past year in April, but he came away as the winner over 9 rounds with a TKO. It was an ugly first round. Haye got a cut and deducted a point for hitting Ruiz in the back of the head. Ruiz was down in the 1st round as well and later in the 5th and 6th rounds. Klitschko needs to fight Haye, period.
Klitschko always has a potential matchup with his brother, Wladimir – you’ve seen the Williams sisters compete against each other in tennis. It would be a boring fight though. I can barely tolerate one Klitschko in a fight, but two? I don’t even see HBO covering the fight. Showtime maybe – right before a Super Six Middleweight bout.
As for the light heavyweight division, there are quite a few older boxers in the light heavyweight division.
First, Bernard Hopkins, 51-5, 32 KO’s is now ranked #1. Bernard Hopkins has longevity and chisels away at his younger opponents. But that’s exactly it – he has fought every type of fight in his very long and successful career and has fought against the very best.
Earlier this year, he and fellow 40-ish fighter, Roy Jones, JR., decided to mix it up. I didn’t really think the fight was going to be interesting to watch, at least not enough to go see it played at a local theatre. As Hopkins came away with the win, the two fighters are obviously showing and fighting their age. Hopkins has nothing left to prove. He avenged his loss to Jones when they first fought back in 1993. Hopkins lost twice to Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor. In his first bout against Taylor, Hopkins lost over 12 rounds by split decision. He later lost again to Taylor over 12 rounds with a unanimous decision. Back in 2008, Hopkins also demoralized a younger Kelly “Ghost” Pavlik. Hopkins took that fight away from Pavlik and I’ll even add Pavlik hasn’t been the same since.
Even though he just fought recently, Glen Johnson and Hopkins should trade punches in a 10 round bout. It rings somewhat similar to a Jones JR bout. There won’t be much money or interest. But it would be cool to see two veterans go at it. Johnson has had fights go against him that should have won by split decision or at least a draw. Even though he “lost” to Tavoris Cloud, 21-0, 18 KO’s, Johnson has some good punching power and combinations to throw.
As for another light heavyweight, Roy Jones, JR, 54-7, 40 KO’s, is now ranked #11. If it hasn’t been Tweeted or revealed on our website or even Googled, Jones should just hang up the gloves and call it a career. In 2009, he fought against Danny “Green Machine” Green, 30-3, 27 KO’s and got KO’d in the first round. In 2010, he lost to Hopkins. I’ve always been impressed with Jones’ unorthodox and relaxed fighting style, but his career has been waning in the last few years. Much like Hopkins, he fights maybe one or two times a year.
As for the youthful charges of the light heavyweight division, Cloud just may have to match up with Chad Dawson, 29-0, 17 KO’s. Undefeated records really don’t mean a whole lot unless there’s some challenge in your victories. These days, I’d argue that the younger boxers become quite stingy with their precious undefeated records. It’s time to put some of these on the line and put some fights together
There are two future 40-somethings who have some that need some consideration. In the welterweight division, Sugar Shane Mosley, aged 38, has a record of 46-6, 39 KO’s. Mosley is set to fight Sergio “Latin Snake” Mora, 22-1, 6 KO’s in September. Mosley had a glimmer of his old self against Mayweather earlier this year, but he didn’t use his experience or skill to fight. He sat back and looked for a KO. Mosley should have taken the fight to Mayweather, but he didn’t. I think that Andre Berto, 26-0, 20 KO’s would make for a good competitive fight against Mosley.
In the lightweight division, recent winner Juan Manuel Marquez, 51-5, 37 KO’s is 36 years old and handily defeated Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz, 35-4, 17 KO’s Marquez is the penultimate Mexican fighter. He has fought quite a few battles, including the first questionable loss with Pacquiao emerging as victor. He even called Pacquiao out after his win over Diaz.
So, fight fans, I provided a brief look into those fighters who are still boxing and still believing that they can end their careers with one more shot at a victory. A veteran boxer is at his best when he is in the ring, in the mix with a young fighter that still has a thing or two to learn. Either way, the late 30 something and 40 something boxers may have lost a bit physically, but we can all learn that at the heart of a boxer lies fight and at least there are a few active boxers now that are proof that heart goes a long way. The current generation of younger boxer must take a risk, take a challenge, and put their undefeated, if not padded records at risk. It’s that kind of risk taking that the veteran boxers do and it’s why they have lasted.
So, yes, I’d have to agree with Foreman that we can’t count out the 40 something boxers just yet. Aged 40 and up does not mean the end of a fighter. Quite the contrary, as the older, veteran boxers stick around, the younger boxers just might have their talent and ability challenged. The challenge is what makes boxing an evolving sport for each fighter and what makes the fighter’s heart and will to box only stronger.