First sign of a fighter being past his best or on the decline

I voted "Reflexes".
(^This goes hand/hand with punch resistance also because of the lack of reaction time)

 

Reflexes I would say.

Handspeed is something that stays for a while, footspeed is also another indication.

 

stamina and workrate. but then again that could be a result of being out of shape.

i guess reflexes is a good choice too.

 

I gotta say it's the legs, and that's based mostly off my own experience dealing with low T.

At 30 I was strong as an oxe, probably stronger than I was as a kid, but 10 yrs later, the legs are almost gone as the T levels continue to drop.

Most fighters peak at 33 depending on their size, and most big men seem to lose coordination/reflexes based off thier losing their legs. Everything comes from downstairs IMO. So yeah, legs are the first to go.:think

 

That's an interesting question. I honestly think it varies fighter to fighter, but I think chin and power are the two last things to leave you. Handspeed, too, stays with you for a long time; Roy Jones Jr. still has great handspeed even though everything else seems to have left him.

I'd probably say in most cases that the legs leave you first, and those start your decline. In the case of DLH, he stopped bouncing around and started working in a more flat-footed fashion after linking up with Floyd Sr., but still utilized a lot of lateral movement. However, he looked past it against Mayorga, when he was a straight ahead, flat footed fighter. He tore Mayorga apart mainly because he still had his chin, and sufficient power and handspeed to continually catch him flush with big shots he sat down on. But as a pure boxer, his legs leaving him had made him much less than he once was.

Floyd is an equally good example of this. Even if his reflexes perhaps aren't as good as they once were, they're still far above average. What has affected his style and made him look more beatable as of late is how he's become so stationary in the ring, i.e. he doesn't have the legs to laterally dance around the ring and potshot people anymore. The new Floyd doesn't seem so concerned with controlling where the fight takes place anymore both because he's confident he can outland his opponent whether he's on the ropes or in the middle of the ring, and because he just doesn't have the legs to stick and move so much anymore.

I'd say losing the legs is what ignites the decline for most guys.

 

stamina and reflexes is my pick

 

legs first came to mind, but reflexes and stamina/workrate are good picks too

 

legs, pac and floyd. pac was all legs. a lot of his ability was based on that aspect. floyd vs cotto was an example of floyds dominance fading. hes no longer hard to hit as he once was. every fight he has now fighters r hitting him more and more.

 

Good stuff.

 

speed and reflexes as they go hand in hand.

 

Legs.

Just look at Floyd and Pac. Floyd is now primarily a stationary fighter and Pac can no longer dart in and out like he used too.

 

Floyd didn't throw one leaping left hook against Cotto, a clear indication his legs have really slowed down.

 

A lot or a little bit of everything I voted stamina.

 

How does that Bacardi taste?