With the exception of Hopkins, none of those guys at 37 are as good as they were in their prime. The majority of fighters decline in their mid-30's and that's a fact. Some fighters age better than others and it has a lot to do with genetics. GGG has not aged well and sometimes it doesn't have to do with hard fights. Pacquiao has had more wars than any current active fighter, but his genetics allowed him to compete at 147 today. GGG has never relied on speed. His whole game was about timing, being able to land the right punch at the right time. Without his prime reflexes, his timing is gone.
I dont think so at this stage its about being smart tho. Dont take four tough fights. Make the next two easyish fights leading off to the last big fight. Maybe get canelo back in the ring for it. Then last fight a retirement fight against an easyish opponent. At 38 in boxing you,ve got to be smart about it.
It’s his life and he’s a grown man so he can do whatever he wants. He won the fight after all so he can’t be THAT bad yet. Even if you scored it for chenko it was by the skin of his teeth kind of close. You need to put it into perspective. Two guys not named GGG get into a barn burner action fight and every thread is talking how great a fight it was or FOTY! But because Golovkin used to knock dudes over without breaking a sweat everyone is worried about his health when he’s in an all out war. There’s guys out there that go to war every time out lol.
I agree with you. Genetics plays a big part. Lifestyle plays a part. Hopkins was known to be super zealous about his diet and monk-like lifestyle. Mayorga and Kovalev not so much. But...I think another factor can be number of fights. These guys coming out of the East with strong amateur backgrounds. Lots of amateur fights. Training from a young age. That's wear and tear on the body. Lots of it over time So on one hand, with the extensive amateur background, these guys tend to have very good fundamentals. On the other hand, all those drills and fights since a young age slowly beat your body up. Think of a guy who had been lifting heavy weights or distance running a long time. There will almost certainly be signs of wear. Wear and tear on the body is real. The fighters today are sometimes having longer careers than they did in the old days. Part of the reason for that is the top guys are fighting much less often than they used to. Less wear and tear. Enjoy these guys while they last. All boxers have a shelf-life.
I'd guess I'd be for a third Canelo fight if they fight in Kazakhstan. They can fight on Kazakhki Independence Day. The Kazakh promoter can pick the judges and administer the drug testing. I wonder how the first two fights would have turned out if those had been the conditions?
