Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. aren’t the only major boxers to fight into their 50s. Here a five others who did it.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.
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Fifty-four-year-old Mike Tyson will face 51-year-old Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition this Saturday at Staples Center in Los Angeles. But it won’t be the first time former world champions have stepped into the ring at such an advanced age.
Tyson and Jones will compete over eight two-minute rounds in a contest not officially recognized as a professional boxing bout, but other evergreen fighters have competed at a high level — even sometimes in world title fights.
Jones himself last competed in a sanctioned bout in 2018 at the age of 49 with a unanimous-decision victory over an overwhelmed Scott Sigmon. But here are five fighters who went even longer.
ROBERTO DURAN
Less than a month after his 50th birthday, Duran (103-16, 70 KOs) stepped between the ropes for what would be the final time in his professional career.
Duran, a former four-weight world champion and undisputed lightweight kingpin, notched two consecutive wins in the year 2000 against Americans Pat Lawlor and Patrick Goossen, both via unanimous decision and the former taking place on his 49th birthday. The following year, “Manos de Piedra” went one step further.
In a rematch against Hector “Macho” Camacho at super middleweight, Duran tried — and failed — to avenge a defeat to Camacho from five years prior. Camacho, himself approaching 40, was ruled the winner by all three ringside judges, as he was in 1996 at middleweight.
BOB FITZSIMMONS
Old-time slugger Fitzsimmons was boxing’s first ever three-weight world champion and the lightest-ever heavyweight champ at just 165 pounds. And in 1914, the Brit went out with a win at the age of 51.
His six-round victory over Jersey Bellew on Feb. 20 at the Municipal Hall in South Bethlehem, Penn., came via “newspaper decision,” a common designation at the time that was determined by a consensus of sportswriters in attendance in regions that had not yet adopted the National Sporting Club of London’s rules regarding judges and referees.
BERNARD HOPKINS
“The Executioner” was 51 years, 337 days old when he was stopped in the eighth of 12 scheduled rounds by Joe Smith Jr. in a fight for a minor light heavyweight title on Dec. 17, 2016. But though he lost his final two bouts to Sergey Kovalev and Smith, Hopkins will forever be remembered as one of the sport’s timeless greats.
Hopkins not only fought into his late 40s and early 50s, he became the oldest to win a major title at age 46 before breaking his own record twice in 2013 and 2014.
LARRY HOLMES
Former heavyweight champion Holmes fought twice in his 50s. The first time was on Nov. 17, 2000, when he halted Mike Weaver in Round 6 in Biloxi, Miss.
Then, on July 27, 2002, “The Easton Assassin” called it a day in unique style. The 52-year-old won a 10-round decision over legendary sideshow fighter Eric “Butterbean” Esch, who weighed 300-plus pounds, at the Norfolk Scope in Virginia. It left Holmes with a final record of 69-6 (44 KOs).
JACK JOHNSON
The trailblazing Texan and first African-American world heavyweight champion continued to compete until the ripe of age of 60. Yes, 60!
Johnson lost to Walter Price via seventh-round KO in his final professional fight, though he continued to compete in short exhibitions known as “cellar fights” for private audiences until the age of 67 in order to make a living. He died at 68 in a car crash in North Carolina.
Naazim Richardson, the longtime trainer of Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley, Steve Cunningham and many others, has died.
Boxing has lost another great trainer
Naazim Richardson, the mentor of Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley, Steve Cunningham and many others, has died. He reportedly suffered a stroke in 2007 and had been in poor health the past few years.
Richardson, from Philadelphia, assisted Bouie Fisher before becoming a noted trainer in his own right working out of the Shuler Gym.
He arguably had his most success working with Hopkins, the seven-time world titleholder and a competitive fighter into his late 40s. Hopkins and Richardson both overcame challenges to reach the pinnacle of the sport.
“We feed off each other’s adversity,” Hopkins told the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2014. “Everyone has a story that could have ended their lives or stopped their careers. But somehow we found a way to not fall victim to those challenges. It’s good to know that he’s a fighter, not a quitter.”
Richardson made news in 2009, when, as the trainer of Mosley, he discovered a foreign object in the hand wraps of Antonio Margarito during routine oversight at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Mexican was allowed to fight and suffered a knockout loss.
Afterward, Margarito was suspended and his trainer, Javier Capetillo, was banned from working corners.
Richardson was a favorite of boxing writers. He was always available for interviews and invariably offered thoughtful, insightful comments.
His sons Tiger and Rock Allen, as well as nephew Karl Dargan, have fought professionally.
Roger Mayweather, another respected trainer, died in March.
RIP to my oldhead. Was the only Philly trainer to show me love when I started out. Was the last person in the locker room when Jrock lost to Charlo. And the last person in the locker room when Jrock beat Hurd. My man! pic.twitter.com/DFTSqmDt88
Is now the right time for young stars Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia to meet in the ring?
Momentum is building toward a showdown between rising lightweight stars Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia.
Is now the right time to do it, as Bernard Hopkins suggests? After all, both of them are hot in terms of both results in the ring and social media following. There is no question that the matchup would resonate with fans.
Or should the young, still-developing prodigies wait until they have a few more victories over notable opponents under their belts? Then it might become a true superfight.
DAZN commentators Chris Mannix and Sergio Mora discuss that topic in this episode of Jabs with Mannix and Mora.
In this installment of DAZN’s “Saturday Fight Live,” Hopkins and De La Hoya watch their 2004 fight on video and provide commentary.
Bernard Hopkins was 39 but he was well preserved and also naturally much bigger and stronger than Oscar De La Hoya when they met on Sept. 18, 20014.
Thus, De La Hoya, 31, gambled when he took the fight. And he lost the gamble.
The fight was largely tactical through eight-plus rounds, although Hopkins led on two of the three cards and seemed to be picking up momentum. Then, midway through Round 9, Hopkins landed a left hook to De La Hoya’s liver and he went down.
That was that. The “Golden Boy,” in obvious pain, couldn’t get to his feet and Hopkins was the winner.
“He hit me right on the button. Believe me, I tried to get up,” De La Hoya said.
In this installment of DAZN’s “Saturday Fight Live,” Hopkins and De La Hoya, now partners with Golden Boy Promotions, watch the fight on video and provide their commentary.
Bernard Hopkins outpointed Jean Pascal to become the oldest ever to win a major title on this date in 2011.
The first fight between Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins, which ended in a majority draw, left a bad taste in the mouths of both fighters.
Pascal, the WBC light heavyweight titleholder, thought he could’ve performed better than he did because he underestimated his quadragenarian opponent in December 2010. And Hopkins, trying to become the oldest to win a world title, thought he did enough to have his hand raised even though he went down twice. Many agreed.
The second fight – on this date, May 21 – the following year at the Bell Centre in Pascal’s hometown of Montreal would settle things and give Hopkins, 46, a chance to make history.
The Executioner wasn’t the athlete he once was but, as a result of disciplined manner in which he lived, he was remarkably well preserved and never more clever or determined in the ring. Pascal, 28, was a good, strong all-around fighter with youth on his side.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kat7J_qurd8
The first few rounds were uneventful before the fighters settled into a rough, give-and-take fight in which both fighters had their moments. In end, though, Hopkins landed the more telling blows and proved difficult for Pascal to hit cleanly.
Thus, the old man won on all three cards, 115-113, 116-112 and 115-114. With the victory, Hopkins surpassed George Foreman as the oldest fighter to win a major title in boxing history. Foreman was 45 when he stopped Michael Moorer to win the heavyweight title in 1994.
“You don’t get a chance to do this too often,” Hopkins said afterward. “You’re supposed to win titles when you are younger, in your 20s, not when you are 46. This is in the top two moments of my career, right there alongside beating [Felix] Trinidad.”
Pascal didn’t complain.
“Bernard fought a great fight,” he said. “He is a great champion. He has a really good defense and a lot of tricks. I’m a young fighter and I’m green. I was a young champion. These two fights [against Hopkins] will lead me to the next level. I learned a lot from Bernard and his style.”
Of course, neither fighter was near the end of his career.
Hopkins would lose his title to Chad Dawson by a majority decision in April 2012 but, remarkably, would win another major 175-pound belt by fairly easily outpointing Tavoris Cloud the following March – at 48.
Pascal is still active at 37 and as good as he ever was. He’s coming off consecutive upsets over Marcus Browne and Badou Jack. He evidently learned something from Hopkins: Age is only a number.
Inspired by the five-year anniversary of Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, here are six big fights fans had to wait for.
When it comes to whetting the appetite for the big event through a combination of chicanery, politicking and delaying tactics, boxing is a sport in a league of its own.
But, while most leading promoters view their abilities to let an anticipated bout “marinate” as something akin to an art, frustration among fans generally sets in long before the fights they want to happen come to fruition.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas five years ago on May 2 is a case in point.
Talk of pound-for-pound king Mayweather taking on Pacquiao first emerged when the Filipino sensation jumped two weight classes to batter a shopworn Oscar De La Hoya in December 2008. The intervening period did Pacquiao and the sport itself few favors.
As the list below shows, it takes a special fight to handle the weight of such expectations.
Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali I (March 8, 1971)
Joe Frazier scored a memorable knockdown of Muhammad Ali in their first fight. AFP via Getty Images
We can’t really blame promoters for the wait for this one, as Ali endured a forced 3½-year ring absence following his refusal to be drafted into the U.S. Army. In his absence, Frazier became a formidable heavyweight champion in his own right and, four years on from his previous title defense, Ali had the chance to regain his title at Madison Square Garden.
Was it worth the wait?
Absolutely. It takes a special fight to live up to or even surpass the promotional banner of “The Fight of the Century.” This was special. Ali’s quicksilver skills were on display early on but Frazier was typically unrelenting and turned the tide on “The Greatest.” A signature left hook shook Ali to his boots in Round 11 and another put him on the seat of his shorts during a dramatic final round. Frazier won a unanimous points verdict and the most riveting rivalry in boxing history was on the road to the gripping and horrifying brutality of its final act in Manila.
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Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns (April 15, 1985)
Marvin Hagler (right) and Thomas Hearns gave fans a classic in 1985. AP Photo
Middleweight king Hagler was slated to face Hearns three years earlier before the latter suffered a hand injury. A delay became a cancellation, something that left simmering animosity within Hagler. That was stoked by a press tour of 21 cities to promote “The War.” Enough was enough and, when the first bell sounded at Caesars Palace, the two men promptly set about trying to take each other’s heads off.
Was it worth the wait?
Yes, yes and thrice yes. The eight minutes of unruly mayhem Hagler and Hearns shared together are frequently cited as the best fight of all time and serve as a barometer against which all other fights are measured. The first round remains scarcely believable as both men unloaded a torrent of heavy shots. Both were hurt, Hagler was cut badly, but the exertions took more out of Hearns, who was unable to beat the count when “Marvelous” deposited his exhausted frame on the canvas a minute into Round 3.
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Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson (June 8, 2002)
Lennox Lewis (left) had no trouble taking out Mike Tyson in 2002. AP Photo / Mark J. Terrill
After sparring as teenagers, Lewis was unlikely to have anticipated both he and Tyson would be approaching 40 by the time they met in a professional ring. But the Briton’s first reign as heavyweight champion coincided with Tyson’s prison sentence for rape while Lewis won the title for a second time against an Evander Holyfield. Throw in the fact that the fighters were on either side of the HBO and Showtime pay-per-view divide, Lewis’ shock loss to Hasim Rahman and Tyson biting his foe at the initial media event and it’s a wonder their Memphis meeting ever came to pass.
Was it worth the wait?
Lewis will certainly think so because it left him emphatically as the last man standing from a great heavyweight era, with nothing left to prove. However, Tyson was a far cry from the “Baddest Man on the Planet” by this stage and offered little after a moderately encouraging first round. There was even a sense of Lewis propping him up until the Round 8 finale to prolong the punishment. In hindsight, Lewis scrambling through adversity against a prime Vitali Klitschko the next time out stands as a better achievement. Tyson was on his way to back-to-back losses against Danny Williams and Kevin McBride and a sorry career end.
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Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones Jr. (April 3, 2010)
Neither Bernard Hopkins (left) nor Roy Jones Jr. was at his best in their rematch. AP Photo / Isaac Brekken
Waiting 17 years and the duration of a record-breaking run as middleweight champion for revenge would drive most men insane. Hopkins is not most men. During their initial fight in 1993, Jones befuddled him over 12 rounds. Both would go on to achieve greatness but stay away from one another’s orbits for almost two decades.
Was it worth the wait?
Like Lewis, Hopkins took huge satisfaction from this redemptive triumph. But the wily veteran’s age-defying exploits at the end of his career were often more enjoyable on paper than they were in the ring. A defensive master who frustrated the best, Hopkins in his 40s was never particularly easy on the eye. And while the Philadelphia great extended his peak impressively, Jones’ best days were far back in the rearview mirror. On either side of this fractious, foul-stained encounter, he was knocked out by Danny Green and Denis Lebedev.
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Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Manny Pacquiao (May 2, 2015)
Manny Pacquiao (left) and Floyd Mayweather served up a dud in 2015. AP Photo / John Locher, File
As the sport’s biggest draw, Mayweather was a master at making sure he fought the best on his terms at a time of his choosing. Did the Pacquiao who scythed through Ricky Hatton and beat up Miguel Cotto in 2009 represent too much of a risk? Nine fights and five years later, “Pacman” was yet to record another stoppage and had been brutally knocked out by his nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez. The Money Team was ready to do business.
Was it worth the wait?
Mayweather was truly masterful here, perplexing Pacquiao and running out a clear winner. However, a brilliant performance does not necessarily make for a brilliant contest — a near constant during Mayweather’s peerless late career. The prospect of Pacquiao throwing fewer punches than his rival would have been unfathomable five years earlier, when this contest would have been far more competitive and rewarding.
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Gennadiy Golovkin vs. Canelo Alvarez (Sept. 16, 2017)
Canelo Alvarez (left) and Gennadiy Golovkin gave fans a night to remember in their first fight.(AP Photo / John Locher
Mayweather’s astute timing of when to box an opponent was also evident when he schooled a greenhorn Alvarez in 2013. The Mexican pretender to his pound-for-pound crown was paying attention. Middleweight title wins against Cotto and Amir Khan came at catch weights below the 160-pound limit before he stepped down a division to dethrone Liam Smith as opposed to facing Golovkin, who was busy standing a succession of full-fledged middleweights on their heads. After an all-Mexican grudge match against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the time was right.
Was it worth the wait?
Yes. A big drama show! Canelo and GGG served up 12 rounds of high-skilled, pulsating action and soaked up one another’s best shots, a particular novelty for any Golovkin opponent. Few doubted the Kazakhstani superstar had done enough to take the verdict on the cards but a split decision draw meant they were obliged to reconvene in Las Vegas a year later. That time another disputed decision in an even better fight went Alvarez’s way, and a third encounter is in the works.
Bernard Hopkins prefers a Canelo Alvarez-Jermall Charlo title-unification bout to a third Alvarez-Gennadiy Golovkin fight.
Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennadiy Golovkin III isn’t the middleweight title unification clash that Bernard Hopkins wants to see the most.
During a recent Instagram Live chat, the boxing legend loved a fan’s suggestion about Alvarez — a title-unification bout with Jermall Charlo, instead.
“That’s what I want to see,” said Hopkins, a partner at Golden Boy Promotions, which handles Alvarez. “Whoever is not on their game, they will experience an ‘L’ or a knockdown, knockout drag-out type of ending.”
Not only that, but Hopkins believes that the fight can present itself sooner than fans might think.
“That fight there is a buildup less than a year and a half [away] or sooner,” he said. “That’s the fight that I believe is going to materialize as a fight that everybody is going to be asking for. That fight there is … both of those guys have weapons in their arsenal that is danger, deadly for anybody in that weight division.”
Indeed, Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) and Charlo (30-0, 22 KOs) have a combined record of 83-1-2, 58 KOs. So, one could see its potential on paper alone.
Hopkins downplayed Alvarez-GGG III during the same chat, as he believes that Alvarez has learned enough from their first two battles to end a third fight “early.”
“You really want to see that?” he shot back to a fan clamoring about it. “Listen, I don’t think anything is going to happen any different [from their second fight].
“Eh, yes it is,” he added in a quick change of heart. “I think that Canelo has the blueprint — definitely [from] the second fight — to end it early. OK, you beat him twice, now you knocked him out the third time.”
After the two rivals fought to a controversial split draw in September 2017, Alvarez scored a majority-decision win in their rematch the following September.
The Boxing Hall of Fame induction weekend scheduled to begin June 14 in Canastota, New York is off because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez will have to wait to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
A Hall of Fame official told ESPN Sunday that the induction weekend scheduled to begin June 14 in Canastota, New York is off because of the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s class will be inducted with the Class of 2021 a year from June.
Hopkins, Mosley and Marquez were scheduled to be inducted in the modern boxer category. Also, Christy Martin and Lucia Rijker were to be the first women inducted.
“By combining the celebrations of the induction classes of 2020 and 2021, the Hall of Fame can honor inductees with all the bells and whistles that the Hall of Fame weekend is known for and provide each inductee with the recognition they each so richly deserve,” Hall of Fame Executive Director Ed Brophy told ESPN.
“By honoring the two classes in a one-of-a-kind induction weekend, the Hall of Fame will be able to put all the winning combinations together for the inductees, fans and the entire sport of boxing.”
Others set to be inducted were: Frank Erne and Paddy Ryan in the old-timer category; Barbara Buttrick in the women’s trailblazer category; promoters Lou DiBella, Kathy Duva and the late Dan Goossen; and journalists Bernard Fernandez and Thomas Hauser in the observer category.
Those who purchased tickets for induction weekend can use them next year or receive refunds.
The pool of fighters who become eligible for election next year is deep. Among them: Floyd Mayweather, Wladimir Klitschko, Miguel Cotto and Andre Ward.
International Boxing Hall of Fame officials are hoping that induction weekend takes place in mid-June as scheduled.
The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc with boxing and all other sports. One more possible postponement if the threat doesn’t subside soon: The International Boxing Hall of Fame Weekend.
The annual event, in which inductees join the pantheon of great boxers and contributors, has become an institution in June in Canastota, New York.
However, the Hall will be closed through the end of the month and possibly beyond. Executive Direction Ed Brophy told the New York Post that he hopes the event will still take place June 11-14.
“Hall of Fame weekend is still on for mid-June,” Brophy told The Post. “But we’ll continue to follow the rules and regulations of the county and the state and monitor all the different guidelines and watch what happens day-by-day and week-by-week as we go through March.”
The Class of 2020 is a high-powered one, as Bernard Hopkins, Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley are the marquee names that will enter the Hall. And, for the first time, women will be inducted. The first three honorees are Christy Martin, Lucia Rijker and Barbara Buttrick.
“It’s an historic class with the first females to be enshrined and have their plaques in the museum,” Brophy said. “Ticket sales for the weekend had been good since the fall when we made the announcement of the inductees. We’re still right on target for have a special weekend. We’re going to continue to monitor the next week and a half and the beginning of April and determine what is happening.
“Everything is day-to-day. It’s hard to forecast out to June. But the best position we can be in is to maintain our plans that are well underway and keep moving forward.”
Boxing Junkie managed to link Ukrainian legends Vasiliy Lomachenko and Wladimir Klitschko in spite of their weight disparity.
Six degrees of separation is a theory that everyone in the world is separated by no more than six social connections.
In other words, you know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Queen Elizabeth. Or so the concept goes.
We’re borrowing the six degrees concept – well, sort of loosely – to connect fighters from the past to their more contemporary counterparts in our new occasional feature, “Degrees of Separation.”
Example: Let’s connect Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Super easy; we did it in two steps. Senior fought Grover Wiley, who fought Junior.
In this installment of the Boxing Junkie feature, we decided to challenge ourselves. We set out to link arguably the two greatest Ukrainian fighters of all time — current lightweight titleholder Vasiliy Lomachenko and retired heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko — without knowing whether it was possible.
Remember, Lomachenko started his career at 126 pounds and currently fights at 135. Klitschko fought at more than 240 pounds. We wondered whether it would be possible to find the opponents necessary to bridge that enormous gap.
Also, we didn’t have much to work with in Lomachenko’s case; he has had only 15 opponents.
How did it go? Very well, thank you. It turned out to be fairly easy to link the two countrymen. It took more steps than we would’ve liked — 10 — but we’ll take that given what seemed to be a difficult task at best.
Check it out:
Vasiliy Lomachenko fought …
Jorge Linares, who fought …
Antonio DeMarco, who fought …
Adrien Broner, who fought …
Manny Pacquiao, who fought …
Oscar De La Hoya, who fought …
Bernard Hopkins, who fought …
Roy Jones Jr., who fought …
John Ruiz, who fought …
David Haye, who fought …
Wladimir Klitschko
Could you do it in fewer steps? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook. Or you can contact me on Twitter. And please follow us!
