Fighters who failed to fulfill their potential, because they were too old when they started?

Many of us might find it slightly frustrating that Joe Joyce and Zeli Zhang didn't turn professional at a younger age, to give two recent examples.

Give me some more from history.

 

Interesting subject.I suppose you could include most of the successful amateurs who turned pro late,even though they had success,they may have dominated longer if they had gone pro earlier,thinking about guys like,
Golovkin,Lomachenko,even Usyk, how many more years has he got at top level?

 

Joe Goddard
Ron Lyle

 

Definitely Sonny Liston. He started his pro career when he was already past the average boxers lifespan. Even though was was (IMO) easily top 5 HW ever I believe he could’ve possibly been the best ever if he wasn’t so old during his most significant fights during Ali, granted his age didnt help floyd patterson but that was just an overwhelming genetic difference he had no chance.

 

Jesse burnett

 

One example that definitely springs to my mind is Jess Willard.

He is the wrong side of 30 by his first professional fight, which is super old by the standards of the day.

People often criticize his technique, but there is nothing wrong with the raw ingredients.

Who is to say what he might have been if a good trainer had picked him up a decade earlier?

 

Rocky Marciano

 

James "Bonecrusher" Smith.
Great power, good comeback ability, good chin, decent punch placement.
One of those military guys who started real late and suffered because of it, started pro at 28 with only one amateur bout.

 

Maybe Antonio Tarver ?

 

I don't think he would have been an elite fighter regardless, but Matt Skelton did ok given he was 35-years old when he made his debut and he never boxed as an amateur (though he was previously a professional kick boxer).

 

You mean boxin' or pro? Because if you mean the latter Loma is the textbook example of this despite what he accomplished so far...

 

You think Marciano didn't reach his potential? In my opinion this is a guy who wrung every drop from whatever ability he had. If it's possible to exceed one's potential, he did that.

 

To be fair nobody would bat an eye at someone starting pro at 28 today.

Usyk was 27 all but two months when he turned pro.

 

I think Lennox Lewis chasing the gold medal worsened his pro legacy in the long run. Which is pretty crazy because some people rate him in the top 5.

Had Lewis turned pro earlier instead of staying in the amateurs longer, he would be right there in the mix with prime versions of Tyson, Bowe, Holyfield, etc. We could've got a decade even greater than the 70's. If Lewis managed to clear that, we'd be talking about how he was the #1 HW of all time.

 

With Uysk, it's not so much his age that he went pro it's how many amateur fights he had. 335-15 was his amauter record. That's a lot of fights. But you are correct in regards to guys turning pro later especially when it comes to eastern European fighters. Amateur boxing is huge with those countries just like it is with the Cubans.

On the American side, Donald Curry is another guy that comes to mind. He had over 400 amateur fights before going pro.