Age no barrier to my world title ambitions, says 40-year-old Skelton
Matt Skelton will become the oldest first-time challenger for the world heavyweight title when he faces WBA champion Ruslan Chagaev in Dusseldorf a week on Saturday.
Skelton's 41st birthday is on January 23 and he is a 25-1 outsider to pull off the biggest shock in modern boxing.
Skelton: 41 this month
Uzbekistan's Chagaev tamed the 7ft 2in, 22-stone Russian Nikolay Valuev to win the crown that Skelton is contesting — and he is unbeaten as a professional.
Skelton, who only turned to boxing at 35 after travelling the Far East as a kickboxer, said: 'The age thing is always coming up but it's not an issue for me like it seems to be with everyone else.
'It's more about your lifestyle and how you've lived your life.' Skelton's promoter, Frank Warren, believes the Chagaev camp may have been lulled into a false sense of security by his plodding win over Reading's Michael Sprott.
Chagaev had knocked out Sprott inside eight rounds and fancied an easy voluntary defence.
