Best late starters

Best boxers who started boxing in their adult life.

I can only think of Joppy and Wilder so far, but I'm sure there is better examples.

 

I think Nate Campbell started boxing in his twenties.

 

Sergio Martinez took up boxing at 20 y.o.

 

I just looked, Campbell started boxing at 24!

 

Bonecrusher Smith started when he was 23 or so. Considering that he had a fine career

Rocky Marciano began boxing in the army

 

Dwight Qawi is the best example considering he's by FAR better than anyone listed so far.

 

Even though I feel I shouldn't really mentioned him because he's terrible, Lucas Browne picked up boxing in his mid twenties

 

Better than Marciano too?

 

Yeah. Weird that I forgot him since I'm a huge Qawi fan.

 

He was involved in MMA before that IIRC, so was training boxing

 

Hasim Rahman
Sam Soliman
Chris Algieri
Tim Witherspoon
Ray Mercer

 

Big Joe

 

Hopkins apparently had zero boxing experience of any kind until he was 21

 

AFAIK, Hopkins was involved into boxing when he was young, but stopped in his late teen and only started up again when he was in jail

 

A stretch of wall near the front is given over to framed photos of Hopkins, who made his amateur debut, not far from here, at age 10. Bernard Hopkins Sr., a garbageman and drinker who later died of liver cancer, had boxed, as had two uncles, JuJu Hopkins and Artie McCloud, the latter a promising middleweight until he was locked up.

http://grantland.com/features/james-verini-bernard-hopkins-boxing-refusal-die/

 

Sorry, didn't see you list Marciano.

 

Algieri was a kickboxer champ IIRC, so he doesnt really qualify. Same thing for Soliman

 

algeiri ::

he doesnt qualify anyway

 

ah, there you go then. the popular press seem to have gotten it wrong.

 

Is it an indictment on boxing that guys can start that late and succeed? Can't imagine it in fitbaw or tennis etc

 

Ian Wright and Theo Walcott took up the sport relatively late

 

Rahman would be my choice. Even though he can't be put in the same league as Hopkins and Qawi, he did win the ultimate prize and knocked out one of the greatest heavyweights of all time to achieve it.

 

Sergio Martinez

 

I think Nigel Benn started boxing in the army, in his late teens.

 

Well, boxing (and other combat sports) is the sport where non trainable attributes like toughness and mental fortitude are the most important. In tennis, a guy with the skillset of Maidana would obviously go nowhere, but in boxing, he managed to beat up a lot of fighters more talented than he was by sheer willpower, agressivity and a jackhammer of a right hand.

Also, boxing is far more open, got to a local gym and you can meet up with a good trainer and spar with solid fighters quite easily. In tennis, I suspect if you're not in the clique fairly young, you'll be on the outside looking in.

 

I think there's something to it

 

It is the thing that I have often repeated (and also used as an excuse for skilless heavyweights)

Unlike in most sports, in boxing you don't have to be all-around better than your opponent. One edge is enough, if you can make it count. A huge punch alone can win fights etc.

In some sports that require more talent than anything (such as track-and-field) you sometimes see similar cases. I could imagine that in football (soccer) you might have some late starters who have become good pure strikers, too. A late-starting footballer is never going to become Messi, just like none of the guys mentioned here is Pernell Whitaker

 

I think this is the main point. IIRC, a few years ago, a team of amateurs made it to the finals of the most important cup in France. So it's shows (to a certain extant) that it is possible for late starters to be competitive with the pro in football. The thing, is that they never gets the chance to prove it, since in most sports, the system is much more rigid. For example, in hockey, if you didn't play in the developement leagues, when you were young, you'll never get drafted, and you'll even never be invited to a training camp.

 

This, and what Azazel said.

Ali got his start in boxing when somebody stole his bike. If the reaction to his bike being stolen had been the desire to run after them with a racquet, he might just be the greatest Tennis player of all time.

Presuming his black ass could have gained admission to a club in 60's Kentucky ::

With boxing, the doors were always open and there were people there ready to train him.

 

Boxing is obviously a much more natural action than playing football or tennis and some people will have more of a knack for it.

Also if you're good enough to beat a fairly low level of opposition and be a winning fighter its a lot easier to advance and make a career and improve over time whereas in other sports you have to pretty much jump straight it in and compete against the best.