Age hits as hard as any heavyweight, and St. Joseph boxer Rob Calloway said he took his first notable blows from that adversary while in a July training camp.

"I just noticed that I'd lost some speed," said Calloway, who was working out with Hasim Rahman in Arizona while the two prepared for summer bouts. "It was different than I'd ever felt. I told (wife) Robin, 'Something's just not right.'"

Since then, the 39-year-old boxer hasn't won a bout.

On July 19 at Civic Arena, Max Alexander fought Calloway to a draw, ending a streak of 13 straight wins - a more than two-year stretch. Calloway followed that with a loss to two top contenders: Alexander Alexeev in Germany (technical knockout in three rounds) and Grigory Drozd (TKO in seven rounds) in Russia. Calloway hadn't lost back-to-back bouts at any other point in his professional career.

In the Drozd fight last weekend, Drozd knocked Calloway down eight times in the seven rounds.

"I think I can get by with the speed I've lost when I'm fighting those guys who aren't the top 10-type boxers," said Calloway, who is 70-9-2. "But it makes a difference when you're fighting a top-five guy in the world. The speed helped him catch me a little off balance."

Calloway doesn't plan to walk away today. He said he'd like to reach 90 professional fights - he's at 86 now - while working toward a retirement bout at Civic Arena in November 2009.

"I still feel like I hit just as hard as I ever did. I can take a punch just as good," Calloway said. "Even as I've gotten older, I've always been able to adapt and be successful. So I want to get a few more fights in. I just know that what separates the good fighters from those top-five contenders is the speed. And now I know it's time for me to retire."

Even as the number of future fights dwindles to a handful at most, Calloway knows he danced away from age much longer than most top professional boxers. And he's able to appreciate the long career even as he's bittersweet about the coming conclusion.

"It's been a great career," Calloway said. "I've seen a lot of the world, had a great time, accomplished a lot and just loved it all."

Sports Editor Scott Pummell can be reached at scottp@npgco.com