Why can't smaller fighters hurt bigger fighters today

They can, just watch Alvarez vs Fielding or Pacquiao on his way up, or David Haye coming up from crusier

Sometimes bombers can't handle higher weight classes, like Foster, sometimes they can, like Moore, or Langford

 

they can, but keep in mind that even bigger fighters don't hurt smaller fighters often. I don't know how ANY of those guys take shots like they do.

 

I don´t get your question. I think you are here long enough that you´ve notized the discussions about men getting taller with earths population rising.
If you ask about gloves: Sure, small gloves do make you punch sharper, do more damage to less padding, as well as bigger man have more power to acc. bigger glove masses than small man, who would always take the tradeoff between getting hit/wrestled by an anyway slower, stronger man <--> more KO chance.

Beside gloves, I think you know the answer. The chances of finding big man with skills are most slim in HW boxing. These chances got higher, since avarage man got taller/bigger and therefore men >= 6'4" do exist much more often today. You can calc. this via normal distribution and take the higher population in consideration --> Double digit factor more potential SHWs do exist than 60-80 years ago --> p(SHW_today) > p(SHW_yesterday).

In other short words: The HW era today did isolate among other weightclasses due to higher professional level, that can not be hurdled by smaller men over the long run.

 

Back in Walcott's day, it wasn't uncommon to see established world class boxers take on rank beginners - in fights that would make no sense (or even be allowed) today.

So a good welter (for example) could be matched with a heavyweight, who had no knowledge of even basic boxing techniques… and toy with him, before knocking him out.

Of course we don't see anything like that today.

 

I suspect that necessity becomes the mother of invention!

 

They knocked out a bunch of bum heavies who wouldn't make it into the top 50 today.

 

It helps when the gloves are smaller and the rounds shorter.

Another factor is PEDs. There is no getting around this.

A less physically athletic bigger guy can work faster, react quicker, keep it up for longer without getting tired. So can the smaller guy, but when the smaller guy is waiting on the big guy to get tired -and it dosnt happen- ability ends up being the only edge the little guy might have left.

 

Dana White told a story on the Joe Rogan show about Roger Mayweather, in his 40's, beating the **** out of a young HW in the ring. The young guy had insulted Roger in his own gym, so he made an example of him.

An elite WW or MW can probably beat up a number of HW fighters that just aren't very good.

 

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Larger glove size is one factor. A theory is back then is the fighters had manual labor jobs in addition to being prizefighters. Even the mundane tasks often required one to break a sweat. As such, they were better conditioned.

Barbados Walcott was a powerful man. Very compact.

The other factor is the average heavyweight is much bigger today. About 30-50 pounds bigger.

 

Primo is hardly a sterling example of a solid chin tho.

 

PED’s

 

Nothing. In sparring I seen Medzhid Bektemirov knockout Gerald Washington and floor both Wilder and Breazeale and I doubt he was over 180 lbs at the time. I still to this day think Bektemirov screwed up royally trying to fight as a light heavyweight and could've possibly had some success at the heavyweight division.