Your thoughts on the Arc of Boxing

Mike Silver is BOTH Right (capital R emphasis) and wrong (small w emphasis), he has been wrong and at times not accurate about some great fighters of the last 40 or so years... OF COURSE Some of them would measure up & make the Grade.

But he is Right that Many would have fallen away or been just very good or ordinary fighter among the MASSES of Fighters!

I think too many people on these boards complicate things and break things down too much, there are Only a few Real Consideration... NUMBER of Fighters, Number of Fights, Number of years and the SIZE of Fighters... Damn NEAR ALL post 1970/80 fighters would be Fighting at Higher Weight divisions back then, Simple.

BHop would be swimming with Conn and Co and eventually shooting for HW hopes, RJJ would have been a HW, passing briefly through L-HW (maybe)... DLH would have been a MW cum L-HW and so on and so on.

That CHANGES Everything!

"Would they have Swam among the TOP? and 'if' so, "for How Long?"

these are honest and realistic questions, and the answer is...

 

I am not convinced of this at all. We can all name some names from the past but the demographics were vastly different. You would have to be completely disingenuous to argue otherwise.

 

So many gems...

 

I know this thread is from many years ago, but one point I resist against is the contention that yesteryear was better because there were more fights.

I don't necessarily think it helped that guys were riding the rails from town to town, fighting every two weeks, carrying injuries that never healed, not researching opponents... How does one even maintain conditioning at such a pace? Were there running tracks and gyms on trains? What you got was a compromised product. And I simply don't think that you can "fight your way into shape"... There's too much damage for the little amount of conditioning.

 

This is a very dangerous book, if it falls into the wrong hands!

Of course we can all laugh at the absurdities put forward here... but what if a young fan, with no historic knowledge, gets hold of this book? If he believes even half the nonsense, will he not turn his back on boxing, and seek out another sport that isn't complete garbage?

 

Best book on boxing I have ever seen....and almost all who read the book agrees !!

 

Silver is very biased, and hates modern fighters. I'd love to debate him on some of his stances. He said something like Klitschko could not last three rounds with Ali. Sure, Mr. Silver whatever you think. Don't buy much into chummy reviews from the IBRO. Some of them roll their eyes at his stuff.

 

You didn't want to answer this question (#65) 6 years ago, so I'll try again:

How do you feel about the absurd, over-the-top denigration of today's boxers, that is being promoted in this book?

 

LOL at Roberto Duran, ordinary contender. What's wrong with this guy?

 

Burt really was a great poster.
Miss his contributions.

 

He certainly was.
Is Bert still with us?

 

Yes he is!

I've just had word from Henry Hascup - who tells me, that he actually talked to Burt today. He's 92 and not in the best of health, according to Henry.

 

If you or anyone else are so interested in this subject then read the book..thats all...you know Manny steward, teddy atlas, and Freddie roach are not morons and agree completely with silver

 

So you can't/won't answer a very simple question?

 

its all relative from historical perspective