Why were many old time boxers so scrawny looking

Did you manage to do better against Foreman when trying to stand your ground at the higher weight?

 

George never got Magna the musclebound blimp. I think that's a good thing, I'm quite taken with my ability to form a sentence.

George was a tank, though. You just bounced off that guy. I don't know if ANY kind of strong would have been strong enough. I'd have probably been better in the clinch and hit a little harder, though. Might have kept him off a bit more. For awhile. THen it would hurt when I was tired, a lot.

 

Because they LIVED boxing, and like I said would only do what was necessary for a boxer. Why would a golfer need to improve his 100 meter sprint when it doesn't equate to anything useful in his field. Majority of boxers back then also had a 9-5 there was no time for something like lifting weights when it wouldn't help them in any way.

I don't understand how running would make one weaker, particularly when conditioning is of the up most importance in boxing especially back then when 15 rounders were a common thing.

Also I've never heard of any boxer having ruined his career due to running, saying the old timers were dumb for running because they could ruin their career due to knee and ankle injuries is like saying the old timers were stupid for hitting a heavy bag because it damages your hands, wrist and elbow joints.

PS. You seemed to have a go at another poster on here because you claimed he had never been to a boxing gym yet if you actually had been you'd know any boxing coach would tell you that running is very important while lifting weights is not.

 

I disagree utterly.

I've met bodybuilders who could fight, and I've met more who can't. I've watched a skinny 150 pound South African amateur destroy a 220 pound man in 2 rounds.

I agree with a lot of what you are saying, but that last part is just false. No man without training can end a boxing match in 2 seconds, because that kind of power has little to do with muscle.

I'm a huge advocate of universal training in preparation for a fight. Too much weightlifting ruins a practical body. I don't honestly think I've ever seen too much cardio ruin a boxer in my entire career, but you definitely want to space it out, and train in a lot of different ways.

 

Yeah, Foreman is the only fighter that I've never, not even once, seen outmuscled by anyone.

Would you say that he was physically stronger than Lewis and Wlad, who are also known to be very, very strong?

Well, history shows that the fighters who ran and didn't lift weights did much better than the fighters who lifted weights and didn't put in their road work.

Lifting a ton of weights and becoming big and strong doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be punching harder or knocking people out quicker, it just means you're putting on weight and muscle that most likely isn't needed.

As with everything, different forms of training need to be done in moderation.

 

Bingo. Running can kill your size. What I mean but that is some of the muscle density. We're not talking 3-5 miles but the 5-15 miles daily types with fewer and bigger concentrated meals, rather than many more smaller sized meals & nutritional benefits most athletes get today.

Byrd failed because he dropped too much weight from his stabilized fighting days. You can't just trim yourself down like that without hurting your resistance or stamina.

I think this is a particular reason why many boxers had smaller thigh measurements back in the day. They had strong, very conditioned legs. But their legs were for the long haul of a fight, and not quite as big as some fighters legs are nowadays. Longer distance running can do that to you. But then now that I think about it there are many boxers that appear rather top-tall, especially some of the HWs. This may be more because of a dismissal of leg-based conditioning (Interval training or distance) in favor of alternatives like swimming. I'm not sure. Genetics plays a part, naturally.

 

Yep it's pretty good

He's often refereed to as the GOAT. It's not undisputed, though, much like SRR at #1 isn't.

 

I don't see how it couldn't be undisputed...he's lost a whopping 1 major match, and he was injured going into that match.

He's beaten that cocky young guy in the documentary several times and as far as I know is still top dog in that sport, which would make him top dog for nearly 30 years now.

 

Well he also lost 6-0 to Devon Larratt but was well past his best. I think his victory over Cyplenkov only a year or 2 ago cements his place as the GOAT...even tho Cyplenkov is left handed.