Your thoughts on the Arc of Boxing

Boxing is still great. Perhaps not what it once was. We miss the 15 round fights and active chsmpions.

In truth the biggest change is that other sports have come along.
Boxing isnt so much a sport now as it is a rolling card game.

 

Time is a flat circle.

 

Oh that’s good to know and I hope he’s not in too much discomfort with his health.
I used to love Burts posts and the fact he was a first hand witness watching fighters like Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson.

 

It’s good and interesting but goes too far.

Saying De La Hoya would be as good as an average journeyman in another era is ludicrous. He’d at least be a solid contender.

Carlos Ortiz saying Duran wouldn’t even be a contender in his era is ludicrous.

Basically the stats are interesting, the arguments put forth the kinda’ stuff that gives us history buffs a bad name.

 

But of course a lot of today’s training camps are spent cutting weight.

 

I have not read the book myself, but have of course heard about the many outrageous claims... about how today's best boxers would be nothing but cannon fodder for the greats "back in the day".

You say, the stats he puts forward are interesting - so I'm wondering, which stats he's using, and where he gets them from?

For example, he claims (in the interview below - I don't know if it's part of the book) that today there are less than half the number of active boxers, than in 1955.

He also claims, that in the 20s there were more licensed boxers in New York City alone - than in the entire world today!

As said, I don't know, if these examples are mentioned in the book - but if they are, does he back them up with actual facts? Or is he just making stuff up, that fits his agenda?

http://www.doghouseboxing.com/DHB/Tyler012010.htm

 

You mean cutting water weight? Nah, that's mainly done in the last couple of days before weigh-in. That shouldnt affect preparations of a two month camp.

If a fighter trains very little between camps and balloons in weight it won't be the best way to prepare, but if they keep a reasonable walking around weight, the extra weight should come off naturally as a part of the intensified training and stricter diet.

 

By that logic : Many of the favourites of the past were Jewish, so fans who favour the moderns must be anti-semites then ?

 

It depends on the individual fighter.

There were gyms everywhere and packed with boxers.
If your "they were always in a train carriage" theory was true, then who are the guys in the gym ??

Let's not re-write history here. The old-time fighters trained a lot, boxed a lot, and really valued conditioning. Don't pretend they wasn't the case.

 

And before Jews, it was the Irish / Irish Americans.

 

Yeah, if you don't rate fighters from the 1890s you must have an anti-Irish bias.

 

Well you obviously have an anti ancient Greek bias.
You haven't mentioned fighters like Glaukos the Hammer once!

 

I'm extremely keen for you to score SRL - Duran 1 in the scoring thread mate. Might be back a handful of pages now.

 

I'll have a look.

 

At your leisure mate.