fighters who succeeded after being out for years

[margaret thatcher]

3 years minimum


den lebedev quit boxing for 4 years when he was a prospect, then came back at almost 30 and went on to become a unified world champ


more famously, ray leonard came back from 3 years out to beat hagler


henry maske came back from over a decade out to beat virgilio hill

[Controversial]

Foreman, out for 10 years

[mickey1975]

Terry Dunstan got to a Prizefighter final and won an English after 9 years out.

[Controversial]

Vitali Klitschko had 4 years out

[orbtastic]

Jofre

[oogiebe]

Ali, of course.

[bigjack]

Leonard 1 fight in five years and beats Hagler

2 years 11 months


Suppose it depends on who they beat on their return and after how many fights

[Deserter]

Ali, of course.

It amazes me how many people forget that when evaluating his career.

[dookus]

Fury's never been better since his years-long misadventure

Edit: ah, my mistake, he was out 2.5 years before Seferi. Three years between title fights I suppose

[forcefraser]

Leonard 1 fight in five years and beats Hagler

2 years 11 months


Suppose it depends on who they beat on their return and after how many fights

Hagler won the fight. Leonard got the decision

[bigjack]

Leonard 1 fight in five years and beats Hagler

2 years 11 months


Suppose it depends on who they beat on their return and after how many fights

Hagler won the fight. Leonard got the decision

Despite that,still an amazing result to compete with the undisputed champ outside his natural weight division

[stujones]

Henry Maske 10 years inactive beat an active a reigning world champion who best him 10 years previously.

Whilst I think most fans view it as a disappointment, Mike Tyson did partially unify the world heavyweight title after 3 years out

[forcefraser]

Leonard 1 fight in five years and beats Hagler

2 years 11 months


Suppose it depends on who they beat on their return and after how many fights

Hagler won the fight. Leonard got the decision

Despite that,still an amazing result to compete with the undisputed champ outside his natural weight division

Very true. Great fighter was Ray Leonard. Tough as nails and skills to burn.

[coghaugen11]

Hagler was very faded v Mugabi

[Steveh583]

no ones mentioned mike tyson

[D4v3]

I think Tom Doran had been out for a bit before winning prizefighter and winning that war with Cummings

[tony1234]

Herol Graham did pretty well in his comeback

[coghaugen11]

Herol Graham did pretty well in his comeback

Yes! Johnson was supposed to be the next big thing.

And Bomber stood Brewer on his head til he ran out of steam. Calzaghe struggled with Brewer by comparison.

[Petu v.d. Pajm]

They didn't win a world title after returning but Frankie Duarte, Lupe Aquino and James Scott all had a 3-year layoff (Duarte in a deep drug abyss, Aquino&Scott in prison) and returned to be top-notch contenders.

Larry Holmes more than 3 years after being knocked out by Tyson. His return was a good one too.

Tony Ayala Jr. returned adequately after 17! years off.

[garethhop]

Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Vitali Klitschko, but Ali the greatest no doubt.

[Petu v.d. Pajm]

Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Vitali Klitschko, but Ali the greatest no doubt.

Special note need to be given for Jack Dempsey who managed to stay out of the ring for full 3 years and remained world heavyweight champion for that whole time. Of course, his record after return was only 1-2 with a win over Jack Sharkey and two title fight decisions lost to Gene Tunney.