Ranking the Most Impressive Wins in Boxing History by Fighters Over 40

In boxing, a fighter is often past his prime by the age of 30. The brutal reality of the sport can age a body quickly, especially when it comes to competing against the very best in the world. 

If 30 can be old, 40 is usually ancient. By that point, or before, technical skill almost always gives way before explosive power and quicker reflexes. 

That makes the accomplishments of Bernard Hopkins particularly remarkable. And he figures prominently on this list, with several of his great post-40 fights not even making the cut. 

But although nobody has quite defied Father Time to the degree that Hopkins has, he has had company over the years. 

10. Juan Manuel Marquez UD Mike Alvarado

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Juan Manuel Marquez is the latest addition to boxing's over-40 all-stars. After recording the biggest win of his career when he knocked out Manny Pacquiao at age 39 in December 2012, Marquez fought to a split-decision loss against Timothy Bradley in October 2013, two months after turning 40. 

Earlier this year, Marquez turned in a classic performance in pummeling Mike Alvarado for a unanimous-decision win. Alvarado is as tough as they come and a former world champion, but he's a solid level below a prime Marquez. 

And, remarkably, Marquez still looked to be in his prime last May. 

9. Sugar Ray Robinson UD Denny Moyer

Sugar Ray Robinson competed until past his 44th birthday but was largely a shadow of himself after 40. He lost to and drew with middleweight champion Gene Fullmer at 39. Post 40, he lost to former champion Terry Downes and future champion Joey Giardello. 

While he fought often after 40 and won more than he lost, most of Robinson's post-40 wins came against second- and third-tier opponents. Among his best victories during this period was the 1961 unanimous decision over Denny Moyer, who would go on to become the inaugural WBA and WBC light middleweight champion shortly afterward. 

Boxrec quotes a Ring report that states the majority of ringside press and fans felt Moyer actually deserved to win this fight. He did win a rematch by decision in 1962.

8. Sugar Ray Robinson SD Ralph Dupas

Sugar Ray Robinson was four months shy of 42 when he beat Ralph Dupas by split decision in January 1963. In his next fight after this one, Dupas defeated Denny Moyer for the WBA and WBC light middleweight belts. 

The light middleweight title was a brand-new one in the early 1960s and likely of little interest to a legend like Robinson, who had already reigned as the undisputed welterweight and middleweight champion and was intent on one last run at the 160-pound crown. 

Fighting in an era when the half weight classes were more accepted and belts had proliferated, there is no question Robinson could have been collecting alphabet-soup titles well past 40. 

7. Roberto Duran UD Jorge Castro

Roberto Duran ruled the lightweight division in the 1970s and was involved in some of the biggest fights in the sport's history in the 1980s at welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight. In 1989, at age 37, he beat Iran Barkley to become a middleweight world champion. 

Duran would continue to fight until after his 50th birthday. While he remained a tough and crafty veteran and popular attraction, most of his wins after 40 came against lower-level opponents. 

He lost exciting fights with the likes of Vinny Pazienza and Hector Camacho. But even near the end of his career, the legendary Hands of Stone remained capable of pulling off some big wins. 

By far his biggest post-40 win came at age 46, in 1997, when he defeated recent world champion Jorge Castro by unanimous decision. Castro was 29 and still in his prime, only two years removed from a Fight of the Year victory over John David Jackson. 

6. Bernard Hopkins UD Kelly Pavlik

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I was conflicted about ranking this one as low as six on the list, but viewing Kelly Pavlik now, in retrospect, Bernard Hopkins' dominant win over him in 2008 seems less astonishing than it did at the time.

Pavlik had stopped Jermain Taylor, the man who had ended Hopkin's dominant reign as middleweight champion. Although Pavlik was coming up to a 170-pound catchweight to face Hopkins, he was still heavily favored against the 43-year-old former champion. He publicly vowed to be the first man ever to knock Hopkins out.

Instead, Hopkins put on a clinic, bullying the younger man and roughing him up en route to a 12-round unanimous decision. The fight wasn't even remotely close.

As the fight ended, Hopkins jumped onto the ring ropes and stared down defiantly at press row, where so many writers had picked against him.

5. Larry Holmes UD Ray Mercer

Larry Holmes ruled the heavyweight division from 1978 until 1985. He ran his record to a perfect 48-0, just one win behind Rocky Marciano, before losing back-to-back decisions against former light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks in 1985 and 1986.

Holmes should have won both of those fights, and the second one was particularly egregious. The Easton Assassin walked away from the sport in disgust, before returning more than two years later to face the skyrocketing Mike Tyson in 1988.

Tyson demolished him in four rounds, and most fans assumed that was the end of Holmes; run. Instead, he came back again, in 1991, and fought another decade, with surprising success.

The biggest win of Holmes' over-40 career was his unanimous decision over then undefeated Ray Mercer at age 42 in 1992. Mercer was a hard-punching Olympic gold medalist, fresh off a brutal KO of Tommy Morrison.

Holmes fought a brilliant technical fight and schooled Mercer. He followed up that win with a very competitive loss to Evander Holyfield. At 45, Holmes would give Oliver McCall all he could handle in 1995.

Holmes won his last fight at age 50, beating Butterbean by 10-round decision.

4. George Foreman KO 10 Michael Moorer

George Foreman was among the most destructive heavyweight champions of all time in the early 1970s, bludgeoning other legends like Joe Frazier and Ken Norton for early stoppages. But in 1974, he was knocked out by Muhammad Ali and lost the heavyweight belt. He was upset by Jimmy Young in 1977 and retired from the sport.

In 1987, Foreman returned at age 38. At first, few took his comeback seriously. But as he built himself back into fighting condition, it became clear that his dangerous power was still with him.

In 1991, at age 42, Foreman gave a surprisingly competitive fight to Evander Holyfield. He lost a second bid for a world title when he was outworked by Tommy Morrison in 1993.

But in 1994, at age 45, Foreman became the oldest heavyweight champion in history when he knocked out Michael Moorer in Round 10. Foreman lost almost every round of the fight but hung in the pocket, looking for the opening for his sledgehammer right hand.

Big George fought his last fight at age 48 in 1997, getting completely robbed in a majority-decision loss to Shannon Briggs.

3. Bob Fitzsimmons UD George Gardner

The third heavyweight champion of the gloved era, Bob Fitzsimmons was also the first three-division world champion in boxing history. Fitzsimmons was a blacksmith by trade, and the countless hours of pounding a forge no doubt contributed to making him one of the sport's top pound-for-pound punchers of all time.

Fitzsimmons captured the middleweight title in 1891 by hammering fellow legend "Nonpariel" Jack Dempsey and stopping him in Round 13. In 1897 he knocked out "Gentleman" Jim Corbett to capture the heavyweight crown.

"Ruby Robert" dropped the belt by Round 11 KO to James Jeffries in 1899. Jeffries was a gifted athlete and a bear of a man who outweighed Fitzsimmons by about 50 pounds.

Jeffries remained active, and in 1903, at age 40, he beat George Gardner in a 20-round fight to capture the light heavyweight championship. While Gardner has sunk largely into obscurity today, he was truly one of the top talents of that era, holding claims to the middleweight and heavyweight titles at various times, along with the undisputed light heavyweight belt.

2. Bernard Hopkins UD Antonio Tarver

Bernard Hopkins was already past 40 when he dropped back-to-back decisions to Jermain Taylor in 2005. I thought Hopkins deserved to win both fights, but they nevertheless brought his decade-long reign at the top of the middleweight division to an end.

Many fighters would have walked away in disgust after two close losses like that at age 40. Hopkins instead moved up in weight and took on Antonio Tarver, the reigning Ring light heavyweight champion who was fresh off beating Roy Jones twice in the past two years while also splitting with 2004 Fighter of the Year Glen Johnson in a pair of good fights.

Although Tarver was north of 35, he had far less mileage on his tires than Hopkins and was considered a pound-for-pound star. According to the Boxrec entry on the fight, Tarver was a 3-1 favorite.

Instead, Hopkins pitched a near shutout, winning 10 of 12 rounds on all three cards. He scored a flash knockdown and had Tarver's eye nearly closed by the end of the fight.

1. Archie Moore KO 11 Yvon Durelle

You could make an argument that the first meeting between Archie Moore and Yvon Durelle was the greatest light heavyweight title fight of all time. Moore was 42 and the reigning champion when he faced Durelle for the first time in December 1958. He had fought a heavyweight bout, weighing 15 pounds more, only four months previously.

Known as "The Fighting Fisherman," Durelle was a rugged Canadian from New Brunswick. He jumped all over the Old Mongoose, dropping Moore three times in the first round. He sent him to the canvas for a fourth trip in Round 5.

Showing astonishing recovery powers for a fighter of any age, let alone a man over 40 with more than 1,000 professional rounds, Moore gamely fought his way back into the fight and took control. He knocked Durelle down four times and put him down for the count in Round 11.

The two fought a rematch nine months later, but it was clear that the ancient wizard had taken Durelle's full measure by then, as he knocked the Canadian down three times and stopped him in the third.