AGELESS QUESTION: WHO HAS THE ADVANTAGE WHEN YOUTH BATTLES EXPERIENCE?
In addition to the amount of wins, losses or knockouts a fighter possesses, another number exists that is often discussed in the buildup to a prizefight: age.
However, history reveals that neither 43-year-old former Undisputed Light Heavyweight World Champion Antonio “Magic Man’’ Tarver nor unbeaten 29-year-old top rated cruiserweight Lateef “Power” Kayode will have a clear advantage or be at a distinct disadvantage when they clash in the main event on Saturday, June 2 on Showtime.
The same goes for the evening’s co-featured bout between 40-year-old former Undisputed Junior Middleweight World Champion Winky Wright and undefeated 28-year-old Brooklyn native Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin.
Boxing’s history includes many instances of fighters in their 40’s taking on 20-somethings, and SHOWTIME color commentator and boxing historian Steve Farhood assembled a list of marquee fights in which the result favored the more experienced fighters and the reverse, a list of bouts in which youth ruled the day.
20’s over 40’s:
WINNER AGE RESULT LOSER AGE
Muhammad Ali 20 KO 4 Archie Moore 48
*Chad Dawson 29 W 12 Bernard Hopkins 47
*Canelo Alvarez 21 W 12 Sugar Shane Mosley 40
Joey Archer 27 W 10 Sugar Ray Robinson 44
40’s over 20’s:
WINNER AGE RESULT LOSER AGE
*George Foreman 45 KO 10 Michael Moorer 26
*Archie Moore 41 KO 11 Yvon Durelle 29
Bernard Hopkins 43 W 12 Kelly Pavlik 26
*Bernard Hopkins 46 W 12 Jean Pascal 28
*Bob Fitzsimmons 40 W 20 George Gardner 26
*Denotes World Title Fight
Clearly, there are plenty of examples on both sides of the situation here, and it’s all going to come down to the individual fighters in the ring on fight night. So who will prevail? Quillin over Wright? Tarver over Kayode? We’ll see on Saturday night.
