After Floyd Mayweather Jr. turned 36 years old on Sunday, concerns about his age began to sprout up.
After all, we all know what happened to Roy Jones Jr. against Antonio Tarver in 2004. Or Sugar Ray Leonard against Terry Norris in 1991. Or Muhammad Ali against Earnie Shavers in 1977. Heck, Manny Pacquiao is showing signs of slowing down at 34 years of age.
But the concerns surrounding Mayweather heading into the March 4 fight against Robert Guerrero are exaggerated.
Will Mayweather begin to slow down? Of course he will. Nobody, not even Ali, defies Father Time for very long.
But to suggest he's going to lose to Guerrero on March 4 is not only misguided, it's also not giving Mayweather enough credit for the fighter he has been for so many years.
Mayweather has gone a perfect 43-0 in his career, dating all the way back to this October 1996 professional debut against Robert Apodaca. That includes 26 knockouts. If he fought Pacquiao these days, he would probably beat him, too.
While Mayweather's knockout victory against Victor Ortiz in September 2011 came with some controversy (let's be honest, Mayweather would have won that fight regardless), we all saw how he performed against Miguel Cotto. That was a very strong display against the historic Puerto Rican that also saw Mayweather step out of his comfort zone and get aggressive at times.
Mayweather is still an outstanding fighter and the best boxer in the world. On top of that, age doesn't mean as much to him as, say, Pacquiao, because he's always been a defensive-minded fighter who blocks the best of them, then counter punches the living daylights of them. He hasn't taken as much punishment at this age as many greats had before him.
Guerrero is no slouch. The 29-year-old is 31-1-1 in his career with 18 knockouts and he's coming off a splendid display against Andre Berto in November. He not only has the skills, he has the confidence to give Mayweather a battle.
But Guerrero isn't in the same league as Mayweather right now. No one is.
Mayweather may have just turned 36, but he's still got plenty of fight left in him.
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