How Long is a Fighter in his Prime?

on esb between a good win and loss

 

It really depends on the fighter's weight class, style, life style and how much punishment they take through their careers..
Useually, a guy with a standard boxing style in.. Lets say the middleweight division, will probably be in his prime from 25-30 years old.. IMO..

 

It can be many years in some cases, win or lose. All depends on their development as a boxer, peak early, or peak late, etc, etc.

 

Yeah, I don't like all the "he was exposed" stuff everytime someone looses. I mean, if a tennis player looses against a rival, that doesn't mean he can't come back and win another day, boxers should be given the same opportunity to redeem themselves after a loss or even several losses. A boxer's prime is more difficult to pinpoint than in other sports because it depends a lot on his style and the punishment he takes. Age is only one of several factors; a guy like Hopkins who has lost 5 times but never taken a real beating looks closer to his prime than a guy like Paul Williams who has only lost twice and is 17 years younger, but who has been in some punishing fights. I guess taking a beating in boxing is akin to a football player getting a serious knee injury. Often, they are never again the same.

 

I would say 3 years., By the time he gets to the point where the experience starts to help him, he is getting older and starts to slow down.

 

Usually just as long as his normal length... Tyson was 5' 10" at the start of his career, in his prime, and at the end of his career.
If your career stretches as long that the shrinking kicks in, you know you actually should have retired a long time ago. :bart

Seriously, it totally depends on the fighter.
Some have a very short prime due to the nature of the way they fight, or because they just can't commit themselves to the training scedules and/or living healthy.
Others have long prime's because they do exactly the opposite as I mentioned above, and some just age slower or faster.

 

fighters are in their prime until they start to look bad or lose consistently. looking bad, even if that fighter won, will feel like a loss.

once they look bad enough times, they are no longer prime.

they can come back serious and heavy though. but u never sure whether someone is done or whether they are about to swindle u.

hopkins lays the blueprint for an unsuspected late success.

 

The only way you can truley tell is at the end looking back on their career. Physical prime is probably the easiest to determine in the present time (usually 25-28 years), but if you factor in mental maturity, level of competition, training routine, moving up and down weight classes etc and IMO the the most important factor: ability to adapt yourself with said variables and the level of achievement they can maintain over a period.

For example was Ali in his prime before or after he had his boxing license revoked/reinstated? Physically he was in his prime before but competed in a weak era of HW boxing; conversely, physically he was past his best when he returned but defeated better competition in a golden era of HW boxing. Some would argue before, others during his exile (when he didn't even box!), and I would say when he returned.

 

Apparently Pacquiao has been in his prime for only 2 fights...

 

According to ESB, young fighters come into their prime juuust after Floyd Mayweather beats them, and older fighters are shot the milisecond before Floyd Mayweather beats them.

 

At the age of 40 man starts to slow down but for a boxer maybe mid 30's given that their ring age as pro boxer is 15 or more years with above 50 fights over than that they're pushing it given the wear and tear, I guess that's why sometimes we see boxers get old during a fight. Considering they haven't lost the urge mid 30's is just about right I think.

 

:deal

 

pretty much the opposite. Fighters are prime until Floyd beats em, and then they all become shot all of a sudden.

 

Prety accurate I'd say. From their mid 20's to about the time they hit 30 or so would be the standard for most male fighters. Any longevity after that usually relies on their type of fighting style.

Those years are probably the key years for a fighter because their bodies have fully matured with the strength of a grown man, combined with the quickness and agility of a 20 year old.