Do boxers hurt their legacy when they continue fighting well past their prime?

Sometimes yes. I mean look at Roy Jones, everyone will bring up his chin now but in his prime he was never hurt. If he retired at the right moment they wouldnt have that complaint.

 

i dont think so, fighters like roy and evander will always be remembered more for what they did in there prime then what they did after

 

Not much at all. Very slightly, if at all.

Most of the great fighters fought on too long. Robinson, Armstrong, Ali, Duran, Leonard, etc...The list goes on and on. It's the exception when a fighter retires before he's well past his prime, rather than the norm.

 

No. only when they are still active do we question their legacy, but give it a few years after they are retired we will remember most of them as greats

 

No.Everything they do while past it is just a plus to the legacy.

The losses are usually forgotten.

 

No. It's like using a woman's looks at 60 to define how attractive she was at 25. We know they're not what they used to be, so why would that count?

 

Whilst fighting past prime a boxer can add to legacy with a great win.
So why no downgrading with a horrific defeat?

 

Obviously, boxers need to listen to those around them. They work with you constantly and yet aren't beholden to an overinflated sense of reality. There are exception where the guy will make you believe you can go on forever when you should have packed it in years ago (look in dictionary under Bundini Brown), but most of the time they know best. Jones might have had someone like that if he didn't keep firing everyone, including his own father.

 

http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=4618&cat=boxer

 

nah people love making excuses for fighters...

 

Bhop & Mosley helped there legacy fighting past what is supposed to be their prime. It all depends on the fighter.

 

Every fighter hs a diffrent prime for sure

 

Depends, for RJJ I would say yes - he has been embarassed against poor fighters recently.

 

The sight of the once great Mike Tyson slumped in his corner retiring early against a tomato can bum says the answer is sadly yes. There is always the hope of one more fight, a return to glory just to round things off but this rarely ever happens.