Boxing Greats Soon to Retire?

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    Many commentators for numerous reasons condemn this era in boxing to be one which has suffered a decline in terms of fans and popular interest. Despite this what is for sure Is that by no means has this era failed to provide some all time greats who will be remembered forever. Many of which are unfortunately coming to the time in their career were it appears that they do not have many years left and some appear to be going even sooner. Here in no particular order I outline a list of boxing greats produced this generation who are coming towards retirement or should be retired.
    1. Evander Holyfield (44-10-2-1) –49 years old This man needs no introduction whatsoever. A small man for a heavyweight who’s achievements outshine the very greatest history has to offer. He was the undisputed Cruiser-weight champion during the late 80’s, only to move up to Heavyweight and 20 years later and still climb through the ropes at age 49. He holds the record for most times being heavyweight champion ahead of the all others who preceded him. Yet possibly the most impressive thing about Holyfield is his tremendous bravery and will to fight everybody around, his resume backs this up as he has fought an epic trilogy with Riddick Bowe, a double with both Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis, also George Foreman, Larry Holmes and James Toney to name a few. In the ring be will be remembered for his great skill set and his inability to quit even during the face of adversity. This aspect of him was demonstrated in the famous 10th round of his first battle with Riddick Bowe, during which he took a devastating uppercut which shook him followed by a barrage of power punches which seemed to last forever. Despite this Holyfield refused to go down and even came back at the end of the round with a flurry of his own, leaving the commentary team in amazement. Holyfield’s legacy need not be questioned as he is already established as clearly in the top ten if not less Heavyweights ever and in terms of achievements alone arguably the best.2. Roy Jones Jr. (55-8) 43 years old In terms of skill and technical boxing ability going hand in hand with excitement and power I struggle to find anyone who matches Jones. After being conned to a silver in the 1988 Olympics he became the only man to start his campaign at Light-Middleweight and win the Heavyweight title. Also the only man since Bob Fitzsimmons over a hundred years prior to win both the Middle and Heavyweight tiles, in doing so he also won the Super-Middleweight title and practically every title known to man at Light-Heavyweight. This achievement started with a chess match against Hopkins and ended with a complete domination of John Ruiz who outweighed him by around 40 lbs. Following his brutal knockout losses to Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson he psychologically never appeared the same despite still boxing at a reasonable level. What was impressive about Roy Jones’s character is that when he fell out of favor somewhat he was willing to start again somewhat by fighting in less than extravagant arenas to show he still has the talent. Jones will never be forgot by the boxing world and no doubt will occupy practically all P4P top tens.

    3. Vitali Kitschko (44-2) 40 years old The older brother of the pair who have dominated the Heavyweight division for nearly a decade, the current WBC champion Vitali should rank highly in history due to his accomplishments. Firstly, he has never been defeated either on points or by stoppage, as both his losses have been due to injuries against Lennox Lewis and Chris Byrd, in both of which Vitali was ahead on the scorecards. What is equally as impressive is his knockout rate, a staggering 40 of his wins have finished inside the distance, leaving only four who have managed to survive the allocated number of rounds. It has been great to see the comeback and regaining of the title but this year if not next it seems we will lose him again as he wishes to pursue his political career in a more full-time manner. Despite his undoubted ability and great achievements it is difficult to predict whether or not history will be nice to him and his brother, as critics have said that his success should be taken lightly due to the seemingly weak state the Heavyweight division is in. However, the extent to which he has dominated the division is like no other and for this alone he should be remembered above many of the more famous names. Not only this, but in my opinion many of the great Heavyweights of history would have struggle going the distance with Vitali, never mind defeating him.

    4. Bernard Hopkins (52-6-2-2) 47 years old In winning all four major sanctioning bodies titles at Middleweight alongside the ring magazine belt, and also in defending one of titles for a record 20 times, The executioner has established himself as arguably the greatest Middleweight ever, only comparable to the likes of Marvin Hagler and Carlos Monzon. He also broke George Foreman’s record as being the oldest world champion in history, only in April losing his title to Chad Dawson. As an ex convict Hopkins was a late starter and had to go the long route to winning a title unlike those who are Olympians and have the publicity from the start. His style is admittedly not known for its excitement but B-Hop makes no apologies for that as he attempts on every fight to start slow in order to feel out his opponent and later go to work break them down and completely out-box then with his counter-punching and defensive savvy. His career is littered with wins and losses of notability. These includes a double with Roy Jones Jr. and Jermain Taylor, alongside bouts with Calzaghe, Dela Hoya, Tarver, Pavlik, Joppy, Winky Wright and Pascal. His Defining fight however would most likely be the bout with the then undefeated Felix Trinidad, a fight in Which he was underdog and climbed through the ropes to provide one of the best performances of the modern era, stopping him in the last round. This is one name which should be an inspiration to all boxers as he oozes discipline and commitment and anyone can learn that anybody can fight their way to greatness, both inside or outside the sport.

    5. Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1) 38 years old An absolute gem for all true boxing fans and probably in the top three Mexican fighters of all time, Marquez despite being in the shadows of the greats Barrera and Morale for the earlier part of his career eventually broke out and surpassed them in terms of his legacy. He was considered the best fighter without a world title for many years and even lost his first attempt against Freddie Norwood. However, in recently winning the vacant WBO interim title at Light-Welterweight he has become a four weight world champion to go alongside his lengthy streak on the pound for pound list. His achievements being great are no match for how much of a treat Marquez at his best can be when he steps in the ring. His style and ability are second to none in terms of Mexican fighters due to his superb counter-punching ability with which he can use multiple precise angles and punches rarely seen and in doing so has the ability to put a guy down going backwards. Regardless of his exceptional defensive ability Marquez does not let this affect the level of excitement his fights come with as he is able to use these skills both coming forwards and backwards, at a fast and slow pace and almost under any conditions. He will be most remembered probably for his epic trilogy against Manny Pacquiao, of which he lost two controversial decisions and drew one. In the first fight many will remember that he was pit down three times in the first round, only to bring the scores back to even. Marquez will long be remembered as One of Mexico’s greatest warriors and a personal favorite of mine also.

    6. Floyd Maywether Jr. (43-0) 35 years old After coming back from his retirement which lasted around 2 years, Mayweather stepped right back in the ring and continued his impressive undefeated record as if he had never been absent from the game. During his tremendous career he has won world titles in 5 separate weight classes, going from Super-Featherweight to Light-Middleweight. He currently operates at Welterweight and Super-Welterweight were he has been criticized for ducking certain fighters. However, when one looks at his record there are a string of great victories including a double against Castillo, alongside wins against Dela Hoya, Marquez, Hatton, Mosley, Cotto, Judah and Corrales. His style and ability are exceptional especially when it comes to his defense. In order to avoid punches he uses every trick in the book, shoulder rolls, elbow raises, all to perfection. In fact his defense is so impressive that it is actually surprising when the rare occasion occurs were he is caught cleanly by his opponent. He gave a great argument for himself with regards to comparison with the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard when he performed the way he did against Juan Manuel Marquez. Despite Marquez’s inherent greatness Maywether’s performance against him was completely dominating. This regardless of the size difference is massively impressive and really gives an impression over how good he actually is. Surely he is not going to be around for much longer and if he retires undefeated then it is going to be difficult to determine were exactly he ranks in the all time pound for pound list. As is always the issue accurately rating undefeated fighters as their true limits are yet to be exposed. Either way whatever happens whenever the greatest ever boxer is mentioned Maywether is a name that will always be proposed by some.

    7. Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2)33 years old Certainly the most exciting fighter this generation has produced and one of the best also. What Pacquiao has done in the sport as of today has been unprecedented by any standards. Winning world titles in 8 weight classes with lineal championships in 4 in brilliant fashion. Not only did he achieve these titles but the manner in which he did it was exceptional as he simply walked through bigger men time after time. In the ring his style is arguably more impressive than his achievements. Freddie Roach in the years he has had with Manny has changed him from quite a one dimensional fighter who fought with speed and ferocity to and all-round fighter with multiple tools to his arsenal. His footwork and movement have improved dramatically since he first arrived on American shores. However, one weakness frequently noticed about Pacquiao is he has the tendency to over-commit coming forward and get caught more so than tremendously savvy fighters such as Maywether do. Regardless the excitement he brings in every fight is difficult to match when compared with all of boxing’s great fighters. His list of notable fights is endless, winning trilogies against Eric Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez, alongside both fights in a double against Barrera, he also has wins against Hatton, Cotto, Mosley and Dela Hoya. Unfortunately this career no doubt will soon be over as like Klitschko Manny is a politicians in his own country and just recently lost a controversial decision to Tim Bradley last night. Does he come back?
    Article by Jon Campbell

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