Recent Trainers or Fighters comments on Classic Heavyweights?

I'm quite curious about this myself. This was a good idea for a thread, and I hope somebody turns up something informative.

 

This might not be exactly what you're looking for but I heard two of our young pros talking about watching some fights on Youtube. One said, "Ray Robinson looks almost modern." The other asked, "think he'd be champion if he was fighting now?" The first one said, "No, but he'd do better than the other old guys."

 

Some real geniuses there... Hahahhaaaa

And probably in the next statement: "TBE Mayweather would toy with this dude..."

 

Would be great if some of those YouTube interviewers would bring some old fight clips to the gym and have top trainers and boxers break down the footage. I get the impression that most modern guys don't know (or think) much about the old-timers at all. I'd bet that most pro fighters today have seen very, very few old-school fights.

 

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I think you're right about modern boxers not watching old boxers on video. I doubt that Tom Brady has spent much time studying the old film of Sammy Baugh or that Barry Sanders watched much Red Grange video. No football fan would expect Brady or Sanders to be impressed by Baugh or Grange, but boxing fans think Evander Holyfield would be in awe of some old boxer? Why?

If you put the new trainers and boxers on video, they're going to be diplomatic, talk to them in private and you'll get their true thoughts about the old timers.

 

Just over the last few months I have become acquainted with a guy in his mid 30s, ex fighter, that is an excellent trainer. He has memorized whole fights of Willie Pep, Emile Griffith, can't get enough of fighters from the 40s-50s. I would venture to bet that, behind every top 'modern' trainer, there is somebody firmly grounded in "old school" knowledge. This is certainly true in the case of Roach, Roberto Garcia, Mayweather, Manny Robles, Eddie Reynoso, and many others.

 

Ha, I actually thought that was his name when I first heard it.

 

I find it interesting Steward places Wlad at 8th on his list as Steward passed in 2012. I wonder how much Wladimir would of moved up Sreward’s personal assessment knowing he would go on to beat, Pulev, Povetkin and fight on for 6 more years including a spirited loss in his final bout at age 40.

 

Roger Mayweather has quite a few clips interviewed on a YouTube about older fighters and has interesting insight.

 

This is almost laughable.

 

He's 100% correct on Johnson.

 

Then I suppose Dempsey's opponents who gave him fits would crush all. Like the clumsy Firpo who floored, him mediocre Brennan who gave Dempsey a rough fight and had a lead late in the match until Dempsey came back, the ultra-skilled Sharkey who was pasting JD, only to succumb to a low blow / sucker punch when Sharey complained to the ref, and the untouchable Tunney who won 19 out of 20 rounds.

Dempsey had top hand speed and power, but Ray must not be looking at his defense, lower weight, lack of quality opponents beaten, and such.

Did Arcel even see Jeffries, who Dempsey said was #1 and would have smashed him? Not likely. His comments seem to go from Dempsey to maybe Holmes. By the 1990's he was an old man, who suffered damage when some thug whacked him over the head with a pipe. I'd value his comment most in the 1930's to late 1970's. He retired after helping Holmes prep for Cooney.