Have you ever noticed that records on some fighters ages tend to vary ? A few examples - In earlier days Marvin Hagler's year of birth was listed as 1952. Later on it was amended to 1954. Ken Norton's was 1945 up until the end of the 1970s at least. More recently it was 1943. Archie Moore Sonny Liston Nobody really knew how old these guys were really. Can anyone here shed any light on the above ? Any others worthy of mention ?
Even Liston’s mother never knew for sure. No real records kept then. Read somewhere that by the time Sonny fought Chuck Werner he looked well into his 40’s, he certainly looks older than early thirties in the photos of him getting punched by Ali late in their first fight. Same with Archie Moore as far as birth records go.
There were no mandatory birth certificates when Liston was born, so it's very hard to determine his exact age.
Hagler actually looked pretty young right up to 1993/95... Mike mccallum in 1987 the rumours were he's 35 not 30....but in 2021 no way Mike looks 64....he looks a tough intimidating fit 58/59 year old.
After a little research, I found Bobby Halpern. "Depending on your source, Robert "Bobby" Halpern was born on April 25, 1933 or May 31, 1931 or March 31, 1933." [Wikipedia] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Halpern
Sadly, the fighter's obituary from his hometown newspaper is probably a good place to find actual birth dates. I was in Jacksonville, Ill., for a wedding/reception a few years ago. On the wall at a large hotel where the reception was held was a framed photo of Norton and press clippings from his career. Norton was born in Jacksonville. I looked at Norton's obituary in the Jacksonville newspaper. It says he was born in 1943. Since they have access to his hospital records and people he went to school with, probably right. https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/m...kenneth-howard-norton&pid=167132226&fhid=9059
Tex Cobb joked before fighting Norton that he was glad to be fighting him now, he's been listed at 32 for the last 4 years. Norton admitted to being secretive about his age, and superstitious. A big reason he took the fight against Cooney was because he ko'd Kirkman, Quarry, and Bobick, all white hopes in Madison square Garden, in New York. His superstition back fired on him that final time.
For years I had always read that Zora Folley was 34 for the Ali fight. Now it appears he was a few days shy of turning 36.
