The Foremans of boxing

Foreman,Hopkins and Moore are in category of their own.

Who would be the rest?

Honorable mention who never gets mentioned would be Silvio Branco who did a Bernard Hopkins light at a reasonable level.

 

Archie by a long stretch, he didn't even peak until he was post 35.

Bernard I don't think should be on here, he was a lot better pre-35, people just didn't pay attention to him. Pac and Floyd shouldn't be on here either, their 35+ versions weren't even close to their younger versions............

 

Why do you think Hopkins was much better pre 35?

Certainly his best accomplishments were after 35.

 

Vitali Klitschko had 4 years off then first fight back at the age of 37 regained the WBC Heavyweight title, he then defended it 9 times. I reckon he might deserve a spot ahead of Ann Wolfe!

 

He was more aggressive and offensive. He used to go after guys. He became more of a defensive wiz when he was older and that definitely allowed him to be elite longer but I personally think his physical prime came to a close a little after the Tito fight, he was what 37-38? Yeah, he achieved a lot more but I don't believe it was because he was a better boxer/fighter per se, I think it was because he had a better mind. Definitely not in comparison to an Archie Moore for instance. A whole lot of people didn't watch him in his darker ages, even after he won the MW title the first time. He was really good. I liken it to Winky, Winky had already did most of his best work in the dark, by the time he got to Shane and Tito etc......he really wasn't as good as he formerly was but he got more shine for what he did accomplish.

 

Gotta be Hopkins. Foremans second career defied belief, but the fact that Hopkins accomplished what he did at the lower weights and not being a hard puncher. Just pure craft and conditioning carrying him through

 

I agree,with time ,age and experience he changed his style.But most people know this.

That doesnt necessarily mean he was better than his younger self.
Plenty of guys get better with age(as long as their physicals dont fail them) as you get more experienced.
That s why Nigel Benn was a lot more well rounded later on in his career than the pure puncher from early on.
Why Micky Ward could deal with adversity and pace himself better in his 30 s rather than his 20 s.
hAPPENS ALL THE TIME.

 

A current fighter, who is currently fighting today and improving/achieving more with age ( 38 this year) is none other than Joseph Obey Joyce.


It'll be even more evident in ten days time.

 

Hopkins or Moore. Archie was still giving ATGs or HOFs good fights into nearly his 40s

 

Foremans second coming was exceptional back in the day.

I was never ever expecting him to return to the ring at all, never mind regaining a world title strap.

For some Heavys, being a 30 yro really is a career 'improvement' starting point.

Maybe the fact that fighters don't fight as often these days has some bearing on that too, a given amount of wear & tear over a longer period.

 

Artur Beterbiev is 38 years old and still seen as the best 175 lb fighter after Bivol. He still poses a threat even at his age.

 

Archie Moore, in his 2nd last ever fight boxed a young Cassius Clay at the reported age of 49 years old.

Over 7 years earlier he boxed Rocky Marciano for the Heavyweight title.

In between that he lost a fight to Floyd Paterson.

He became world light Heavyweight champion around 1952 in his late 30s (he may have been older).

Throughout the 1940s he boxed multiple members of the infamous murderers row in countless battles.

Without even arguing and taking nothing away from the incredible achievements of the likes of Foreman and Hopkins....surely this is an easy victory for the Ol Mongoose Archie Moore.