A controversial bout
In a hotly anticipated bout, former World Boxing Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson will soon take on social media influencer-turned boxer Jake Paul at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The pair will go head-to-head on Friday, but the big question on everyone’s lips is whether the fight should be going ahead in the first place.
he is now 58 years old and hasn’t fought a boxing match since 2005
Tyson rose to prominence as a ruthless fighter in the late 1980s, but he is now 58 years old and hasn’t fought a boxing match since 2005 when he lost to Kevin McBride. That hasn’t stopped excitement building around the aging boxer though, given the impressive shape that he has got himself into for the fight.
He also appears to be fully in the zone. He gave Paul a taste of his power during a particularly fiery weigh in on Thursday after the 27-year-old appeared to step on his toe:
Whether or not you think the fight should be going ahead or not, it is an official match sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. If it goes ahead, Tyson will join the ranks of the oldest professional boxers in history, but he is only third in the list. VegasSlotsOnline News has listed the current five oldest pro boxers in history to see who Tyson will join.
5. Bernard Hopkins
Age in final fight: 51 years old
Years active: 1988 – 2016
Nationality: USA
Weight category: Middleweight and light heavyweight
American boxer Bernard Hopkins is a legend of the sport. He still holds the record as the oldest boxer to win a world title, breaking George Foreman’s record at the age of 46. He then broke this record twice, winning the IBF light heavyweight title at 48 and the WBA super title at 49.
He was known for being highly strategic in his fights, with good speed and power while also holding a solid defense.
His final ever fight came in 2016 when he went up against his fellow American Joe Smith Jr. Smith ultimately knocked a 51-year-old Hopkins out of the ring in the eighth round. The aging boxer hit his head and twisted his ankle on the way down, causing the ref to end the fight with a TKO result and completing Hopkins’ 28-year career.
4. Dewey Bozella (1959 – 2011)
Age in final fight: 52 years old
Years active: 2011
Nationality: USA
Weight category: Cruiserweight
Dewey Bozella, hailing from New York, has the most unique story on our list. The American only ever competed in one professional bout in his entire life, doing so on October 15, 2011 at the age of 52 years old.
Bozella had a passion for boxing since he was a child, training with world champion boxer Floyd Patterson in his youth. However, before he could turn that passion into a career, Bozella was wrongfully imprisoned for a murder he didn’t commit. He spent 26 years behind bars and continued to train his boxing skills in jail.
Bozella went on to claim victory against Larry Hopkins
It wasn’t until October 2009 that he eventually made it out of jail thanks to new DNA evidence. He then secured a fight on the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins vs Chad Dawson fight in 2011 at the age of 52. Helped by Hopkins in preparation for the fight, Bozella went on to claim victory against Larry Hopkins.
He never fought professionally again, but he is now a public speaker sharing messages of perseverance.
3. Larry Holmes
Age in final fight: 52
Years active: 1973 – 2002
Nationality: USA
Weight category: Heavyweight
Larry Holmes, one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, was actually 52 years old when he competed in his last professional bout in 2002. The American had a long and illustrious caree in which he held the WBC heavyweight title from 1978 to 1983, among other accolades.
In a career that spanned nearly three decades, Holmes posted a staggering 69 wins, including 44 KOs against just six losses. He didn’t lose once in his first 48 professional bouts, beating Ken Norton, Muhammed Ali, Gerry Cooney, Marvis Frazier, and Carl Williams in that time. Michael Spinks ended the run in 1985.
The Easton Assassin even won his final fight at the age of 52 against the then 36-year-old Eric “Butterbean” Esch. In securing that win, he ended his career with 69 wins and just six losses. Not too bad at all.
2. Jack Johnson
Age in final fight: 60
Years active: 1898 – 1938
Nationality: USA
Weight category: Heavyweight
Our next list entrant is from another generation of boxers, but he is possibly the most influential of the five. Jack Johnson paved the way for African Americans in the boxing world, fighting at a time when racial segregation was still enforced in the US through the Jim Crow era.
Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight champion. In his journey to that title, he fought legends of the world of boxing. One of his most famous fights came against James J. Jeffries in 1910. Jeffries said he wanted to fight Johnson to prove “that a white man is better than a Negro.” Johnson won the fight.
The final fight in Johnson’s legendary career came in 1938 when he was 60 years old, two years more elderly than Mike Tyson now. He actually lost seven of his last nine bouts, including the final one against Walter Price. He suffered a seventh round TKO at the hands of Price.
1. Steve Ward
Age in final fight: 64
Years active: 1977 – 1987; 2010 – 2021
Nationality: England
Weight category: Cruiserweight
Finally, topping our list at the grand old age of 64 is Steve Ward, an Englishman from Nottinghamshire. His career is not an integral part of boxing history like the rest of the names we have mentioned, but Ward does hold the Guinness World Record for being the oldest pro boxer.
made a comeback in 2010 when he fought for 11 more years
Ward’s original pro career began in 1977 and lasted until 1987. He had to retire for a lengthy stint from 1987 after an industrial accident injured his foot. The British boxer had surgery to rectify the issue and made a comeback in 2010 when he fought for 11 more years, winning the Midlands Area Cruiserweight belt in the process.
Ward broke the record for being the oldest boxer multiple times. He first secured it in 2011 at the age of 54, before losing it to another fighter. He regained it in 2016 and then broke it again in 2021 in his final fight at 64. He beat a 50-year-old Adrian Parlogea in Mansfield.