Who are the fighters who were older and moved up way past their prime weight to defeat a younger champion. Leonard-Hagler and RJJ-Ruiz come to mind.
I would also class Lewis, not Ruiz, as the champion when Jones entered Heavyweight. I guess Ruiz is a titleist, but for me, that is a distinction from champion.
And besides, Roy is only a couple of years older than Ruiz. Roy wasn't old or past his prime at the time.
dlh/sturm...ahem toney jirov wilfredo vazquez vs Elloy Rojas, I think..although only 4 lbs thobela virgil hill at cruiser mccallum hearns over hill
Whoops. When I meant older in the topic title, I mean fighters who were older in age. Leonard was past-prime though, Hagler wasn't.
I think Hagler had slowed, & his reflexes seemed lesser from fights leading into the match with Leonard. I would not call the Hagler of '87 a vintage model, myself. I think he looked better & stronger across the board in '80-83. With that said, people probably over-state how much he'd slipped. The signs were there, but that was still a great, great fighter in a lot of aspects Leonard beat that night.
Hagler's legs had clearly slowed down and was easier to hit by the time he fought Leonard. Since the Roldan fight you could see his defense declining. Leonard of course was past his prime too, and above his best weight.
Thomas Hearns - Virgil Hill Hearns had slipped quite a bit from his best days, was fighting 4 weight classes above 147 and was 6 years older than the undefeated Hill.
