I'm tired of seeing boxers looking sluggish in their mid 30's

Oscar and Mosley have been matched up extremely hard throughout their careers and also **** you, MMA Noob.

 

I don't really understand the point in comparing boxing and mma even on this level. I've heard MMA apologists say on the radio that boxing is the more brutal sport (10-12 rounds compared to 3-5, the sport involves far more blows to the head and body over the years). Shane Mosley has 40+ professional fights. Some of them were very difficult(his fights with De La Hoya) and some he just got his ass kicked (Forrest and Wright) and now Mosley is heading towards the age of 40(not mid30s). Furthermore, Oscar had different things going on as well, when switched to a shoulder roll defense he became easier to hit, he jumped up in weight beyond what would be his comfort level, etc.

Couture is an extremely dedicated 47 year, I will certainly give him that, and I respect fighters in MMA even though I prefer boxing. However, Couture hasn't gone through the accumulation of punishment that someone like Mosley has and even though Mosley's skills were in decline in his mid 30s...he still seemed physically there.

Occasionally in boxing, if you have a guy in his mid 30's who hasn't endure much punishment...you'll get someone like Sergio Martinez.

The last thing I'll say, and it'll annoy some people, but it's true...boxing(and MMA, although I believe the sport of MMA lends itself to these body types) isn't bodybuilding. Nobody gives a rats ass if you look like Albert Sosnowski if you're busy getting your ass handed to you by a feather fisted Zuri Lawrence.

 

As Teddy Atlas says, "Dey loooze dere hungAH"

 

watchforthefork said it best! good post.

 

Its because they aren't cut from the same cloth as this man !



[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ATaP2TyF9U[/ame]

 

Ali was considered "done" when he fought Foreman. How old was he then? 31, 32?

When he lost to Spinks he was 34,35 and considered so far gone it was ridiculous. Ali was the same age basically when he fought Holmes, as Lewis was when he fought Vitaly, and younger than Vitaly is now.

I think if anything fighters are fighting much later into their careers than ever before.

I totally, and completely agree with Primadonna Kool when he talks about fighters and their lifestyles. Look at how boxers blow up between fights, then think that an 8 week camp will getting them into shape.

It's a ****ing joke. I can't imagine Usain Bolt putting on 30 kg's in the off season and starting his training 8 weeks out from the Olympics, can anyone?
Lance Armstrong reporting back to miles overweight?

For the amount of money involved, boxers are a joke. Just look at the Klitchko brothers. I knock them a lot here (well, their fans mostly), but one thing I can't argue about is how well prepared they always seem. Both around fight time and in between.

 

On top of some of the excellent answers so far (including BE's judicious and on-point "**** you"), one of the first things to go as you age is speed, particularly hand-speed.

Hand-speed doesn't mean **** in MMA; even if you're as slow as tar you can still drag your opponent down and snuggle them to death. The loss of hand-speed in boxing is a major handicap. You can overcome it to a certain extent with experience and strategy, but you'll automatically look worse than when you had it, particularly when you're not moving so effectively either.

Look at Roy Jones; looked like an ATG when he had all his speed and movement; looked like **** when he didn't because he'd always relied on his natural athleticism rather than working on improving his skillset.

 

What happens when you get older - and a doctor told me this (but he was a bit ****ing nuts. Old guy who also told me that the fascination with beoing hydrated these days is bull****. "You drink when you're thirsty. Anything else is just creating ****").

Anyway. He said reflexes are a bit of an odd thing. He said you still see things - and react mentally - as quick when you're old, as when you're young. It's just the messages take longer to get from your brain to your body as you age - and there's not much you can do about that.

Which is pretty consistent to the boxing phrase "he just couldn't pull the trigger". Old guys still see the openings, their brains tell them to do it, but their body just can't.

There's not a lot you can do to get around that - apart from fight in a style where your reflexes aren't the main part of your game. Guys that rely on reflexes and hand speed are never going to be able to fight into middle age, as there's nothing you can do to stop that eroding.

 

Also the reason why for example they have a cut off point to enter the Golden Gloves at age 35 is there is a valve in your heart and at 35 years old on average it closes slightly.

 

The most important this is for them to eat! Kirk Johnson's doughnuts are killing them all!

 

probably because in MMA you have a ground game and the ground game doesn't rely too much on speed and reflexes, and relies more on strength and technique. I imagine speed and reflexes are the 1st to go with age, whereas strength stays much longer and you technique might actually get better with age. With striking, speed, technique and reflexes are very important and while you can keep your technique, once you start losing speed and your reflexes, it gets really hard to stay on top.

It's probably why a wrestler like Couture still wins sometimes and a striker like Liddell keeps getting KTFO lately.