Editing Jimmy Young (boxer) (section)

===Later career===
Demoralised at having lost another close decision, Young went into a gradual downward spiral. In June 1978 poor conditioning, an increasing problem, led to Young being outpointed by prospect [[Ossie Ocasio]]. While better in a direct rematch, in January 1979, Ocasio again earned the win and went on to fight the world champion [[Larry Holmes]].

Young won a short three-round brutal battle with unranked Wendell Bailey, showing flashes of old form. But in other matches of note Young fared poorly. He was stopped due to cuts by new heavyweight contender [[Gerry Cooney]] after four rounds in a fight where he was dominated. He also lost on points to another rising prospect and future heavyweight champion [[Michael Dokes]]. In the 1979 match with Dokes, Young was out of shape due to lack of training and weighed 229&nbsp;lbs., nearly the heaviest he had weighed throughout his career and around 15 lbs. heavier than his ideal fighting weight.
However Young was able to slim down for his fight against British champion [[John L. Gardner (boxer)|John L. Gardner]], occurring in December 1979. Young outpointed Gardner, knocking him down in the 10th round. The triumph over Gardner as well as wins against Marvin Stinson and Jeff Sims were probably his last notable wins.

Starting in 1981 Young appeared to be making a comeback, winning five in a row, including a TKO over previously unbeaten Gordon Racette.  In 1982 however, Young's comeback was cut short when he was defeated on points by future champion [[Greg Page (boxer)|Greg Page]]. He became a "trial horse" for emerging contenders, dropping decisions to more future champions in [[Tony Tucker]] and [[Tony Tubbs]]. He continued fighting with mixed results until 1988, when he retired at the age of 39.