This is a great question - because so many modern fans like to mock the current era. But as someone who saw the 1990s-2000s era, I think the Top 10 HWs and Cruisers of this time may make mincemeat of just about any other era in history. Too big, too powerful, too well-trained.
Other then you're completely correct? Not at this time Ok I'll say this. Way too many here have a syrupy nostalgia for past era fighters - ridiculously when it comes to HWs. Of course there's more than nostalgia behind these views.
Nostalgia, fanboyism and ulterior motives all play a part. Their favourite fighters have long since retired so they take consolation in asserting that they could beat the best men of today who have every advantage over them, against the run of improvement over time in all athletic fields (and logically, this improvement would tend to be greatest in the most lucrative sports). And conveniently, it's completely untestable!
I feel like Danny Jacobs would get more respect in other eras, he's just unfortunate that with the crop of middleweights he came up with , he was never gonna be the top of the division I kinda feel like to get respect you have to be the number one or two guy in the division,whereas in bygone eras people respected at least the top 5 and possibly the top 10 Ken Norton was never the number one or two in the division, as an example, but was and is a respected fighter
Today's MW division is really quite good, and Jacobs is a marker of that. He'd have been a top guy in any era.
I think one of the prime candidates here is Usyk. Not only does he have the 'burden' of being modern, he also isn't Western and fights in an extremely undesirable division. There seems to be a weird bias against Eastern European fighters - although, it's probably not as weird as the fanatical love for them that some have - and Usyk suffers from this. A little like Kovalev and GGG, he basically can't ever beat anybody good. This couples in neatly with the weird idea that crusierweight was some barren wasteland when Usyk became champion. I feel like people just write off the wins vs Briedis, Głowacki, Hunted and Mchunu due to ignorance, and only know of Gassiev because it was the undisputed superfight. The many quotes to the effect of: "he was scared to try his luck at heavyweight", "he's never beaten any body good", "he needs to test himself", etc; are full of ****. In reality, Usyk has the best résumé between light-heavyweight and 200lbs since Floyd Patterson retired. Another things seems to be that people don't understand how weigut works. Usyk and his competition are bigger than the vast majority of fighters Dempsey, Marciano, Jeffries and Co were and beat. Just because they're not heavyweights by name, they basically are by size.
You make a valid point with training, but if they are fighting each other, stands to reason they would use the same training techniques or at least have access to them. Take Fury for example, if he fought Dempsey during the 20's, more than likely he wouldn't be fighting with the style he uses today, he may be very similar to Jess Willard. The one thing that cannot be changed is the size. But, on the rarest of occasions the smaller guy can win. Ask AJ. so, if an overweight, 6'2 guy can beat the mess out of a top 5 heavyweight today, guys like Louis, Ali, Liston, Tunney have a chance to do the same. It's not a foregone conclusion that today's heavyweights beat the past era every time out.
Manny Pacquiao is a legitimate welterweight who fights middleweights. And he wins. So size is not everything. It´s about style and skills. It´s often said that big guys don´t like fighting guys who are a lot shorter than they are. Because short guys tend to adapt to fighting big guys while the big guys lack the experience, so they struggle.
Bias against fighters not from U.S, U.K or Mexico is crazy level in forums. Oh, yeah, and the same Huck too is undervalued because he is from europe, EE origin and Germany. 209 lbs Huck had attempted to try his luck and fight vs 225 lbs 32. y.o Povetkin, Olympic, World and European champion in boxing, former amateur KB champion. Undefeated Povetkin. We had not saw this level of courage from a lot of empty hype jobs, worshiped in forums comments. Not alone that not only european and especially EE fighters are undervalued and disrespected in forums, this curse hits also Hunter's CW prime version, Dorticos, Tabiti and hits them damn hard an a lot. Crawford needed to test himself 0 before get title fights from WBO in next weight divisions. Even if compare with Loma and arum effect, Usyk had to stop 9 boxers in row to get title fight vs Glowacki from Poland in Poland. Disrespect level eastern european fighters are getting is going further: even the same Briedis had been avoided fighter and get his first world title fight vs Huck in Huck's own promtion in Germany. Nope, commented as overvalued and too highly rated etc a like. I wish to see a lot of boxers who does have balls to fight vs event's promoter in his promotion and country he is living and selling tickets. Total disrespect, still doubts and how bad he is etc. Even the same Glowacki fought for title in U.S and U.K before get title fight vs Usyk in his own country. Deep disrespect for fighting opponents in their prime etc like thing. Worship for cherry picked cans crushing fights in backyards and WoW, how cool they are.
This is definitely the most entertaining era since the 90's. Even if none are proven better than the likes of Prime Povetkin, Vitali or Wlad, The Klistchko era was the most boring era of boxing... probably ever?
Not only. To some extent size matters a lot. I think Dorticos will KTFO cold prime Floyd Jr, ofc prime Loma and also Clenelo. Cold and clean. He just is too large and he will beat up Beterbiev up cold too. In distance. He just is too large, hits like 220 lber at weight ins, moves like 200 lber at weight ins and a lot of stuff he does have is well polished. Yeah, one dimensional etc.
