It's worth bearing in mind considering how much weight modern weight cutting drugs allow a fighter to shed. A LHW today can easily be in the 190s and many Cruiserweights are naturally as big or bigger than heavyweights from even Ali's time. I don't need to present facts, just logic. No human alive has seen every HW on the planet train, so it's an impossible thing to assert that Rocky was the hardest training HW that ever lived. Call him the hardest training of his generation, or of several generations before and after, sure, that's within the realms of possibility. Of all time? Including generations you weren't alive to witness? No. Since I figure you're going to refute this in some way how about you present some facts? Which trainers, experts or whatnot asserted the above? And what sort of dataset of fighters were they working with? Yes I know. But there's a limit to what fighters can realistically achieve, especially when you're not just dealing with a size difference but a skills and power difference as well. Do you pick Beterbiev to beat Tyson Fury? If that fight were made tomorrow and you had to bet on the outcome who'd you be putting your money on and why?
If he didn't have huge power behind that shot he wouldn't have knocked out Lewis, unless you still subscribe to the outdated notion that Lewis had a glass chin (which has numerous times been disproved with actual, you know, video footage). Lewis took clean shots off Tyson, Vitali, Tua, Briggs, Bruno, probably a load more I'm forgetting, and never went down. The shot Rahman landed on him was about as hard and clean a shot as anyone could land on a fighter against an undertrained Lewis that wasn't braced for the shot and took the full impact as a result. It was a combination of factors that caused the KO, and not ones that anyone, let alone Rocky, could easily replicate. No, he was a modern day light heavyweight. You want to disagree? What 185lbs heavyweights have there been in the last, oh, thirty years? Name some names.
Well, to be honest if you told me to bet on James Toney or Rahman in a bout. well I think most would say a guy bigger then Foreman and capable of one shotting Lennox Lewis, I’d say should go without saying once upon a time should beat a blown up shot natural SMW? Badly too. But we saw the outcome despite its offical result. I’m not for or against anything your saying entirely but things you’d deem unreasonable happen when exceptional men are involved.
I disagree. Marciano was always a heavyweight. He fought in the heavyweight class. He was not a Superheavyweight. just because they invented the wrong division above light heavyweight does not change what Was previously a heavyweight. Those old champions are all still heavyweights. Heavyweights are still there but they are incorrectly named now. You want me to name a heavyweight weighing 185lb in the Superheavyweight division? That’s a foolish question to ask. It is the Superheavyweight division now. Rocky and none of the 20th century heavyweight champions fought in that weight class. It was a well delivered shot that landed flush. Lennox was susceptible to it. And any other heavyweight getting the right room to replicate that punch in Rahmans place can replicate its effect. The impact was as hard and as clean because Lennox was susceptible to it as he came off the ropes like he did. Like I say, put someone else there throwing the exact same punch as he comes off the ropes like that and it’s goodnight mr Lewis all over again. Lewis was wary of that kind of punch and was more prudent because of it. if Lewis can’t get out of the way from an overhand right, while he’s on stalling mode, as he bounces off the rope near a corner..it happens again. The key is getting out of the way. See, Lewis being a SHW he needed to rest part of a round. But hardly anyone was intelligent enough to pressure him in those moments because He was such an expert of controlling pace. and it was during these moments where he was trying to stall that Rahman clipped him.
Lewis controls the fight with his jab and gets an easy win, maybe even a late TKO due to the accumulation of punches...
Yes, there are always outliers that disprove the general rule. It's why I never say with one hundred percent certainty what the outcome of any matchup will be.
Lewis Tko3. Ain't no way on Earth a CW, that came in under 200 is beating Lennox. He'd be a guy Lennox would go at and Immediately bomb out of the water.
I think it's safe to say Seamus has long been critical of Joshua. So your claim that he "said nothing about the guy who loses in those situations" is wrong.
No, of course that's not possible, but there is a reason why we have historians and experts spending most of theirs career studying boxing in order to create real attempts to rank fighters from different ages. They are the best available sources when it comes to this field. Boxing historian bert sugar "he was dedicated, i don't think anybody ever worked harder than Rocky". Boxing trainer don turner's answer to the claim that Marciano was the most conditioned HW in history "he was unbelievable, 8 months in training camp..." Hall of fame trainer charley goldman once said to Marciano "i've been in this boxing business fifty years and i've never seen anyone like you yet. Work. Work. Work. Train. Train. Train. Sometimes, i suspect you're not even human". Red smith with a sportswriting career that spanned over five decades said "“Rocky couldn't box like [Gene] Tunney, and probably couldn't hit like [Joe] Louis, but in one respect he had no challenger. He was the toughest, strongest, most completely dedicated fighter who ever wore gloves" Manny steward said Marciano's training routine was unbelievable and so on...
At risk of patting myself on the back, that's the finest collection of prose this site has witnessed in many a day.