GSP plans to one day win MW and LHW titles

[Teh El Macho]

and by the time he's 30 or 32, he's going to be leaving his athletic prime & won't be all that special any more

That is absolutely wrong. Average male athletes reach their prime in gymnastics and olympic lifting as they turn 20 and early 20s, in sprinting and combat sports around in their early 30s and in powerlifting as they turn 40.

Can't remember for the life of me where the **** I read those numbers, but that's how it is. It just takes to look a couple of athletes in each of those sports to see their ages fit those descriptions.

Furthermore, when it comes to top, creme-de-la-creme athletes, not average, but top-tier athletes, they have the capacity to break those molds. Couture is one example. I dare to say GSP is in that category.

Having said that, LHW seems a bit too much of a stretch. That he can jump into that division and lay waste to most (not all) of the competition. I can see that.

I don't seem him making it to the top, however. I think LHW is a terrible idea.

[Wolf]

couture was in a lot better condition and I think much stronger than Sylvia. I don't think the same can be said about GSP versus some of the top LHW's. Yes his S&C is top notch, but so are the top LHW's.

[bob]

That is absolutely wrong. Average male athletes reach their prime in gymnastics and olympic lifting as they turn 20 and early 20s, in sprinting and combat sports around in their early 30s and in powerlifting as they turn 40.

Can't remember for the life of me where the **** I read those numbers, but that's how it is. It just takes to look a couple of athletes in each of those sports to see their ages fit those descriptions.

That's roughly correct. The point most people don't realise about athletic performance declining in most team sports is that it's at least as much to do with attrition than age. It's hard to go through a contact sports career without picking up several serious injuries. So essentially longevity has a lot to do with luck and professionalism.

[PointyShinyBurn]

Current Ring magazine champs:
David Haye: 27
Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins: 43
Joe Calzaghe: 35
Kelly Pavlik: 25
Floyd Mayweather, Jr.: 30
Ricky Hatton: 29
Joel Casamayor: 36
Israel Vázquez: 30
Iván Calderón: 32

Average (excluding Hopkins as a widley acknowledged freak of nature): 30.5

In something as skill-involved as combat sports, peak athletic performance is far from the only factor. What you're looking for is the sweet-spot between declining physical attributes and rising skills.

[Fighting Cephalopod]

HGH, guys, H-G-H. Maybe they'll have improved it in a few years and he can take something that'll let him grow a few inches, LOL.

He's a half-inch shorter than Vanderlei Silva, and he seems competitive at LHW.