Some boxers peak early and are quickly past prime. (Tyson) Some don't reach prime till much later. ( Lewis) Most boxers are at their 'physical prime' early to mid twenties. But some don't reach their 'boxing prime' till later. They keep learning and improving well past that physical prime and stay in good (if somewhat degraded) physical shape into their thirties, and beyond. Others, for reasons of injury or psychological damage, have their 'boxing prime' spent by their mid twenties. Give a four-year range when the following boxers were at their 'boxing prime.' Archie Moore. Muhammad Ali George Foreman Larry Holmes Mike Tyson Evander Holyfield Lennox Lewis Wladimir Klitschko Vitali Klitschko Roy Jones Junior Antonio Tarver Bernard Hopkins Joe Calzaghe Roberto Duran Feel free to decide that some on the list (e.g. Bernard) have not yet reached boxing prime.
Eclectic list, cuch. You don't often see pairings like Moore and Tarver, or Calzaghe and Duran. How'd you come to these?
I was mainly interested in the heavyweights, especially Lennox and Tyson, who seemed at the opposite ends of this scale in terms of prime. That led me to Wlad, who seems to be just gettinhg into his stride at the moment. Tossed in Vitali as few have been at the top at his age. Archie Moore is a must for such a list. And I've heard some debate as to whether mid sixties or early seventies were Ali's best years. Larry had a great second career and George was the oldest man to capture a HW title. Roy was a lock for a top 20 ATG spot IF he'd retired after Ruiz, even Tarver 1. And Bernard, well he's a phenomenon, but I think his boxing prime, though it's past, came much later than most would agree. That brought up Calzaghe. Bernard was post prime when they met, but so was Joe. Each by how much ? Tarver was a very late starter and is restarting again. And Duran, an afterthought but he fits the question. There are probably lots more but these interest me at the minute.
sorry i'm gonna give a 6 year ranger instead. Roy Jones 94-99 Hopkins 96-2001 who really knows though, only the boxers themselves know how the felt
Roy's prime was 94-00. From the Toney fight up until the Halll fight. So essentially, Hall was Roy's last truly "prime" performance. He slowly started to decline after that.
Archie Moore: 1949-52 (many would say it was the mid-late 40s, but the wins over Maxim and Johnson, and the stoppage of Bivins, sway me to a little later) Muhammad Ali: 1964-67 George Foreman: 1971-74 Larry Holmes: 1978-81 Mike Tyson: 1986-89 Evander Holyfield: 1987-90 Lennox Lewis: 1997-2000 Wladimir Klitschko: I think he is in the midst of his three-year best right now. Vitali Klitschko: 2001-2004 Roy Jones Junior: 1994-97 Antonio Tarver: 2002-2005 Bernard Hopkins: 1997/8-2001 Joe Calzaghe: 2004-2007 (I know many think it was earlier, but I think Calzaghe got better with age. The guy who beat Kessler was a better all-round fighter than the guy who was lucky to get the decision vs Robin Reid) Roberto Duran: 1977-80
Your crazy if you think the Jones of 2001 was better then the Jones of 94-96. 94-97 was Jones at his absolute peak!
