What makes aging so brutal is that it happens so gradually. The damage that occurred increased gradually until it was almost imperceptible. Until suddenly what you saw happened. If it’s not what you see in yourself It will be what you see with those around you. Maybe it’s friends or parents. And if it’s not what you see It will inevitably be how you feel. However it is here, rest assured that it is happening. And there is nothing we can do to delay it. Much less stop the unrelenting march.
Pay attention to the time creeping up and it may feel as if it slows down a bit. But don’t ignore it. And everything is faster. The young man quickly became an old man. Hindsight becomes both enemy and friend.
In boxing, one minute fans are escorting aging Klitschkos to the exit door to make room for a new batch of heavyweights, and the next the entire batch is in their mid- or late-thirties. One or two batches are considered “done.” Yes, that’s the way it is.
We tell ourselves it happened in the blink of an eye. But then we remember that next year is the 10th anniversary of Tyson Fury dethroning Wladimir Klitschko in Düsseldorf In other words, time has passed, heavyweights have come and gone. And we’re all a little bit older.
During this time We were treated to a great match involving the heavyweight division. Some were so good that time stood still for a moment. We are also forced to wait just like they do. For the battles we want to see only for them to never materialize. Until then, it seems to drag. It was then that we feared that some heavyweights were wasting their best years. This is a concern that has been intensified by the global pandemic. This cost many heavyweights at least a year of their careers.
We now see fighter Daniel Dubois as a relative baby at 27 years old, and we are amazed at how much progress he has made and how much time he still has left. We looked at what he did to Anthony. Joshua on Saturday (September 21) and suddenly saw Joshua The beaten man, the “old” fighter who was fading away. People who have free time and are now unable to work like they used to. Clearly someone is more mentally scarred than physical. As all sports have done to him since turning professional in 2013.
At 34 years old, Joshua is far from an old man. But he is moving towards an era where wear and tear becomes a sure thing. This is especially true in the heavyweight division where fights are hard to forget. He is now eight and a half years from the night he defeated Charles. Martin to win the IBF heavyweight title – the same belt he failed to win against Dubois at Wembley – and eight-and-a-half years on. Whether in terms of boxing or life conditions Remained representative for nearly a decade During that time there were other fights. Another win and a total of four defeats There is a training camp. Countless rehearsals and even during the rest Joshua is still fighting. Fight to control your emotions fight fear Fight the temptation to think about your next opponent. Whether physically or mentally, the 10 years a fighter must go through must be experienced.
The same is true of Joshua’s opponents. For example, Oleksandr Usyk, the man who defeated Joshua twice and is largely responsible for the London demon, is now 37 years old. He’s boxed just 22 times as a professional. This indicates that there is more to come, but no one should overlook it. It goes without saying that Usyk had hundreds of amateur fights before turning pro. So it’s a guy who can’t hold on to a lot of tires. The fact that he currently shows no signs of deteriorating is a testament to his skill level, his ring level IQ. and his ability to outthink his opponents. and fights beyond the boundaries of mere physical confrontation. Make no mistake, however, the 37-year-old is a heavyweight. There won’t be many great nights left. And as long as they keep fighting. I will forever ask myself: “Will this be the night when Father touches my shoulder?”
Because that’s another scary thing about aging. Do you see that? There’s no time for anything. And there’s no universal shared experience about how that happened. Usyk, for example, might be a bit of a freak and end up lasting longer than most people expected. Who knows? On the other hand, you have Tyson Fury, Usyk’s next opponent, who some feel is showing signs of age. His own fight with Father Time was affected by a period of self-destruction during which Fury did not. Sure he wants to get older? At 36, Fury is still a young man. speaks quite well Instead, he damaged himself physically in a way that aged him in terms of his athleticism. Some believe we saw signs of this with Francis Ngannou last year. Others will say this is why he struggled to create a good time against Usyk in May.
Only Fury knows how he feels both physically and mentally, and only Father Time knows when that tap on his shoulder will finally come. Until then, we have to admire the fact that Usyk and Few Rei, 37 and 36 years old respectively, remain two of the best heavyweights in the world. We should also accept that beneath them are thirty other people for whom time is truly of the essence.
Among them, in addition to Joshua (34), we have 41-year-old Zhilei Zhang, who is considered the toughest fighter in the division, and also Joseph Parker, who is now 32 years old and is a strong contender in the division. Fight Then you have fighters like Martin Bakole, 32, and Agit Kabayel, also 32, both of whom are on a high. But it needs a big fight, and soon it will truly come to the fore.
For some heavyweights, there’s still no end in sight. Deontay Wilder may fight again at age 39, and on December 7, Mahmoud Schar, age 40, will meet. Kubrat Pulev, now 43, in Bulgaria for the WBA “regular” title in a fight no one wanted. Whether seen or touched If that’s not enough There is also talk that Fres Oquendo, a name synonymous with the WBA trinket, is still interested in returning to the ring having not fought since 2014, however. Oquendo is now 51 years old.
Still, that makes Oquendo seven years younger than Mike Tyson, who, despite being retired since 2005, still “boxes” Jake Paul on November 15. That’s an “exhibition” for all accounts. Even that explanation might be too kind. On the other hand, it’s better to contrast it with the lies a nursing home nurse might tell a patient to get them through the day. “Yes, that’s right,” they tell a patient. this while feeding “You are still a big, bad heavyweight boxer.”
The only hope remaining is that it’s the last time we see Tyson near a boxing ring. And Tyson for his part will be remembered for many years to come. It was a time when he used to prowl the ring fiercely. Throughout the eighties and nineties, in fact, when thinking about that period in boxing history one is surprised by Tyson’s achievements at such a young age. Winning the world heavyweight championship at just 20 years old, he also shines a light on how things are going. How has it changed? In the end By today’s standards Boxers of that era could not even build a record against travelers. Never mind the best fight in the division. Especially in the heavyweight division. They will say they have all the time in the world and there is no need to rush. The only thing touching their shoulder is the protective arm of a coach or manager eager to preserve both their unbeaten record and their youthful ignorance.
However, for Tyson, there was no such protection. Whether it’s better or worse He achieved every feat at once and at an age when he was too young to appreciate its significance. And too young to handle everything that comes with it. As a result, he has become both an icon and a cautionary tale.
Maybe it’s because of this. We are therefore seeing a reluctance on the part of trainers and managers to push their heavyweights any time soon. Which is why people like 19-year-old Englishman Moses Itauma claim to be chasing Tyson’s (youngest) record. Heavyweight Champion) Itauma is likely to stand out. In addition to his immense talent, Still conflicting with others Also in the division, he is 10-0 and has stepped up in class. It seems that his age is not an obstacle. Or is it an excuse to hover over the brakes? Instead, it is a liberating thing and a reason to move at high speeds. Like Tyson, he was simultaneously supporting himself and going against the trend. While others waited and waited and often saw opportunities squandered, Itauma considered what was out there and made a decision even as a teenager. That he has what it takes to overcome all that and come out on top.
By the time he does, all of the aforementioned fighters will be gone. In fact, only Daniel Dubois (and perhaps Fres Oquendo) will remain. You see, the remaining twenty people are still very far away. Only 29-year-old Fabio Wardley and 24-year-old Jared Anderson fall into that group in and around. top level of division (Of course, Wardley was corrected by Fraser. Clark draws in March As Anderson succumbs to Martin’s unrelenting pressure and unconventional combinations, Bacole in August)
Whether this speaks to a lack of talent or just indicates that the fighter is maturing later as a result of modern training and better diet. It is still a matter of debate. But most fighters will tell you there are certain things they can do in their twenties. This did not come easily to them in their thirties. And the longer you leave it on, Magic is lost just when you need it most.
“I don’t know how I wrote those songs,” Bob Dylan also famously said in the interview. 60 minutes– “Songs from the early days Those are almost astonishingly written.
“Sit down and write something like that,” he said, recently reciting lyrics from his song It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding). “There’s magic in that. It’s not Siegfried and Roy’s magic. It was a different type of penetrating magic. I did it once.”
“Don’t you think you can do it today?” Dylan was then asked. His eyes turned sad and he shook his head. “Does that turn you off?”
“You can’t do something forever,” Dylan said. “I did it once and now I can do something else. But I can’t at–
