This is Rummy's Corner.
Big George Foreman is widely viewed as the gold standard when it comes to the greatest
achievements for boxers over the age of 40.
More than twenty years after losing the heavyweight world championship against Muhammad Ali, Big
George made boxing history when he defeated Michael Moorer by 10th round knockout to become
the oldest heavyweight champion.
Foreman was just two months shy of his 46th birthday.
Just to put this monumental feat into perspective, the previous record was held by Jersey Joe
Walcott, who was 37 years old when he stopped Ezzard Charles in their third meeting.
So Foreman winning the heavyweight championship at age 45 - that's a record that still stands
strong to this day.
More recently Bernard Hopkins had become the new posterboy for success regarding boxers
over 40.
The Executioner became the oldest boxer to win a major world championship when he was
46 and defeated Jean Pascal in their rematch.
Hopkins would go on to break his own record when he defeated Tavoris Cloud to regain a
portion of the light heavyweight crown when he was 48 years old.
And Hopkins additionally won a unification bout at light heavy three months after turning
49.
Then we have the OG himself - Archie Moore, The Old Mongoose!
Some debate exists over whether Archie was born in 1913 or 1916, but either way - Archie
was an absolute marvel!
The Old Mongoose didn't even get the opportunity to fight for a championship until 1952, by
which point he was either 36 or 39 depending on which birthday you believe.
Archie was the longest reigning light heavyweight champion, with a run that lasted over 9 years,
where he was also successfully campaigning as a heavyweight contender.
The last of his 9 title defenses happened when Moore was two months shy of 45 or 48
- but either way, The Old Mongoose was well ahead of his time when it came to competing
and winning at the elite level well into one's 40s.
There are other boxers who have had success over age 40.
One that jumps to mind is Vitali Klitschko.
Doctor Ironfist made three successful defenses of his WBC heavyweight title when he was over
40.
But in my opinion, the three most accomplished boxers over the age of 40 are clearly ‘Big'
George Foreman, Bernard ‘The Executioner' Hopkins, and Archie Moore ‘The Old Mongoose'
Now let's turn our attention to Manny ‘Pac Man' Pacquiao.
Last July at age 40, Pacquiao challenged undefeated WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman.
Pacquiao jumped out to a fast start and he dropped the champion near the end of the opening
round.
Thurman persevered, and it wound up being an entertaining competitive scrap, where the
40 year old Pacquiao was showing flashes of brilliance from his glory days.
Pacquiao was fast and explosive, and at times he was mixing up his angles exceptionally
well, Even more impressive, whenever the much younger champion was coming on strong, Pacquiao
endured everything Thurman dished out, and usually came back with some fierce fire power
of his own.
At the conclusion of 12 rounds of action, it was a split decision.
One judge scored the bout 114-113 in favor of Thurman, overruled by the other two judges
who both scored it 115-112 for Pac Man.
Pacquiao had just become the new WBA welterweight champion.
With that distinction, Pacquiao became the only four-time champion in welterweight history,
and he likewise became the oldest boxer to ever win a major world title in that weight
class.
Pacquiao is now 41 years old, and he remains the reigning WBA welterweight world champion.
When you consider Pacquiao's long and illustrious path to boxing immortality, it truly is incredible
that he is still competing and winning at the championship level at his age.
When Pacquiao made his featherweight debut in November 2003, he was already a two-division
world champion.
That's when he squared off against Marco Antonio Barrera, and at that time, Barrera was widely
recognized as one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers in the world.
This was Pacquiao's big break through fight!
The blinding speed, the bludgeoning left hand, the aggression and energy and outright ferociousness!
Pacquiao simply dominated and overwhelmed The Baby Faced Assassin.
This wasn't just any old guy in there.
This was the great Marco Antonio Barrera!
And Pacquiao was making it look easy, before Barrera's corner stopped the fight.
Little did we know at this time that not only would Pacquiao improve, he would go on to
improve tremendously as he underwent a path that led him to greatness.
By the time Pacquiao won his trilogy against Erik Morales, he had already carved out a
tremendous boxing legacy.
At this point Pacquiao was no longer just a high volume puncher with a powerhouse left.
Pacquiao had evolved into a more complete boxer with a greater punching variety and
two-handed power.
Pacquiao was just shy of 28 years old, and he would continue improving with his best
days still ahead.
Beginning in 2008, Pacquiao had a streak of seven consecutive bouts that I personally
believe represent him at his absolute best.
This started with his split decision victory in his rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez
at 130.
Then Pacquiao stopped David Diaz to earn the WBC lightweight championship.
Then came the outstanding effort against Oscar De La Hoya where Pacquiao jumped two weight
divisions and put on an absolute master class.Pacquiao next moved down to 140 where he scored a devastating
knockout against Ricky Hatton.
Following that, Pacquiao had another tremendous effort when he dominated and stopped Miguel
Cotto.
And then in 2010, he had victories against Joshua Clottey, and also Antonio Margarito.
That stretch of seven fights - from the Marquez rematch up to and including the lopsided victory
against Antonio Margarito - I truly believe that was when Pacquiao was at his absolute
best.
I thought Pacquiao began showing visible signs of decline during his bouts against ‘Sugar'
Shane Mosley and also his third fight against Marquez.
The first fight against Tim Bradley - by that point, Pacquiao no longer had the stamina
to maintain his once extraordinary workrate.
But in the coming years, Pacquiao's decline from his best days - after the initial signs
of decline first surfaced, the decline was very slow.
I actually thought the 4th Marquez fight was the best effort we got from Pacquiao in years
at that time.
Of course, Marquez landed the dynamite knockout punch - and that was a punch that, at that
point in one's career, it could have very well ruined Pacquiao.
But it didn't!
Pacquiao remained an elite level boxer after that loss, and while his physical attributes
were still clearly in slow decline, Pacquiao made up for that through experience and ring
smarts.
Who does that remind you of?
Couldn't the exact same thing be said of ‘Big' George Foreman?
Young George Foreman was a destructive wrecking machine, whereas old Foreman conserved his
energy more and looked to set traps.
This difference in approach was the direct result of Foreman's wisdom and experience.
Couldn't the exact same thing be said of Bernard Hopkins?
When Hopkins was competing at light heavyweight throughout his 40s, he was no longer the same
aggressive boxer he had been during his early days at middleweight.
Hopkins utilized his wisdom and experience to play to his strengths where he could dictate the pace
to his liking.
And couldn't the exact same thing also be said of The Old Mongoose himself?
Archie always excelled because of his economical strategy that conserved energy where he can
set traps to land sharp counters.
Wisdom and experience translated into success for all of these boxers who have had success
at the highest level into their 40s.
Can Manny Pacquiao attain the same type of success that these three all time greats exhibited
well into their 40s?
Well, that's a mighty tall order, but I certainly wouldn't be quick to count Pacquiao out.
Pac Man is no stranger to effectively changing his style to better suit his attributes, and he is
now embracing the exact type of adaptability of style that previously allowed guys like
Archie, George, and Bernard to succeed in boxing at an advanced age.
Recent rumors have suggested the possibility that a mega bout showdown between Manny Pacquiao
and Terence Crawford could be in the cards.
I have no idea if that will actually happen, but that would be a high profile unification
bout involving Pac's WBA belt and Crawford's WBO title.
And right now, Crawford is universally recognized as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers
in the world.
Indeed, most observers view Crawford at worst as a top 5 talent, and many already view him
as the best boxer in the world today.
If Pacquiao in his early 40s can beat someone as highly regarded as Crawford?
Wow!
That would be mighty impressive stuff!
I'm not sure if that would necessarily put him in the same company with Big George, Bernard,
and The Old Mongoose - but it would certainly be an enormous step in the right direction.
I for one am looking forward to seeing what Manny Pacquiao does next.
His career may be winding down, but I certainly would not be surprised if he still has one
or more significant victories left at the elite level before he finally decides on hanging
them up after such a long and illustrious career.
Thanks for watching everyone.
I hope you enjoyed and have a wonderful night.
This is Rummy's Corner.