Why were the old giants bad?

Abe Simon was diagnosed with and treated for Acromegaly. I remember reading an article where he even talks about it. Not sure whether it was before, after, or during his boxing career. He had all the classic symptoms, including the big brows and the hair all over his body. Carnera not so much.

 

This is why no one takes you seriously. Either take it back or pack up your things. Jesus.

 

What do you mean no one takes me seriously? Its just a joke.

 

It was just a joke. Because you called Preem ugly lol.

 

I think, as noted, there are so many more big men today that there are, by law of averages, bound to be more good ones.

But I also theorize that to some degree, more youth are exposed to sport and physical activity at younger ages and continued involvement in sport than was common a decade and more ago.

That wouldn’t necessarily lend itself to boxing aptitude, but it certainly would lend itself to more coordination and general athleticism. If you play a lot of soccer as a youth, and especially if you play it in organized leagues with coaching, you’re probably going to be more nimble on your feet and coordinated in your footwork than if you don’t.

Which brings me to another point — it’s also possible that exposure to organized sport (even different sports before discovering boxing) might make an athlete more apt to learn how to be coached. So if you then become a boxer, you’re probably going to be easier to coach and thus more likely to absorb technique and fundamentals more quickly.

Or I could be completely wrong.

 

I actually doubt that Primo had acromegaly, because later in life, he became a successful TV wrestler. Acromegaly really messes with the joints and causes extreme pain, which is why Andre was crippled not long after Wrestlemania III and was dead at 47. A middle-aged man with the disease, in my humble opinion, could probably not have started a wrestling career.

 

because the Natural Size Fighters and Heavyweights were just much better, especially at different times, Best Era's, Best Era for certain divisions and all that. Natural Size guys were just better, Ring Mag was Classifying 2000 Fighters over 8 Divisions up until the 60s or something.

and as Djanders said, the earlier Giants weren't quite as bad as what people make them out to be.

apart from the RARE Giant (LL, Bowe, Lil Klit)... when do we every see GIANT S-HW's fight like this?

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Guys like Holmes and Ali probably had the perfect stature for a heavyweight. Bigger is not always better.
Old fat Larry practically held Holyfield to a standstill.

 

I have this old documentary from the 1960s about James J. Beattie, who was 6'9" heavyweight. I haven't watched it in years, but there were athletic commissions and doctors at the time who were afraid Beattie was too tall and would just have a heart attack and die if they allowed him to fight in their state.

Beattie wasn't very good. If he'd died, it wouldn't have been because his heart gave out.

I tend to agree with the notion that as people got bigger over the decades, there were just more tall humans who were also athletic.

And the mindset among those boxers also switched from people telling them "Hey, you're big, you should become a boxer" ... like was the case with Jess Willard, who didn't even like boxing ... to Tyson Fury, who LOVES boxing and prides himself on coming from a long line of fighters.

Beattie was more of a case where a manager said "Hey, you're big, you should become a boxer."

 

most person who look at for first time Tyson Fury some years ago say same of him. un-co-ordination. clumsy. awkward. he wobbly fat ' hunch" . ugly. & also even did punch own face.
but they see him win fight so closer look now & appreciate skill

not one or few footage film of old giant like Abe Simon in win fight. if it was they say " good jab' or 'skills giant "' or some what the ever. even Abe Simon. yes he boxer not just big man off street corners

 

I would add that you would need a lot of big men, even to find a Willard or Carnera level talent.

 

Considering his record, skill set, size and feats. Carnera was a unicorn as much as Fury is today.

 

I think part of the answer is they were overshadowed by better fighters who were smaller than they were . And by better fighters I mean fighters who fought a lot more times (in real competitive fights) at a younger age than is possible to do so at that level in the modern age. And these were guys who were naturally more athletic . Hit them with small gloves and were able to hit a giant more times than a giant could hit them. And not get as tired as a giant would over the same length of time.

The other part of the answer is the giants themselves were somewhat restricted by the limitations of the training effects on giants in those days. Nobody is making a giant run as far as they did then. Nobody is training them under the old ways to keep up with smaller men. They have bigger gloves now. The little guys need to hit them more times to make an impression. The pace of boxing at championship level, 12 rounds instead of 15, suits bigger guys.

Advances, which undoubtedly include PEDs, had yet to benefit the very tallest fighters who had previously been too gangly and stamina restricted to reach their modern potential. Without the body building to fill out, in proportion to classic sized heavyweights, some of the taller ones had thinner arms, longer necks and protruding Adam’s apples which was less suited for boxing.

it’s not that Carnera, Willard, Baer and Godfrey were not already good fighters the way they were. But they would have been better in the future when fighters fight less often and size can matter more.