1920-1940: The great era of modernisation of boxing technique

Great thread, something I've often wondered myself. No doubt in a lot of H2H battles between old fighters, a lot of old fighters would still win due to their toughness (fighting one every other week or more frequent than that) but in terms of boxing technique, I would say it started in the timeframes outlined by the thread starter, and really became refined with the likes of Ray Robinson. Archie Moore is an innovator in terms of punching also.


Roll all of the influences together and you get the massive range of styles we see today. Some of them still manage to be less refined than fighters of 60/70 years ago (Valero I'm looking at you!)

 

Very little doubt can taken, if we think the advent of Cinema and Film made an impact. Clearly, during its intitial stages, footage is terrible.. not unlike the footage we see of Corbetts style... Very, very poor... yet ..well suited for the time.

Janitor mentions improvements between 1860 and 1880?? Janitor, perhaps those improvement are in the journalists ability to script????

Between 1910's.. 1930's.. a very clear difference can be seen.. Take a look at Papke vs Ketchel... the most boring 20 rounds on tape... Compare that to anything of Mickey Walker.. An obvious difference in skill levels.

The consistentcy of ring action became more intense, ring craft well advanced, defences vastly improved, adaptability to opponents styles more informed .. due to film footage.

Advances have never ceased, and the basic skills of modern fighters are well superior to the 'originators' of defensive or agressive fighters of toady.

Every aspect has to be considered.. Film, Training regiems, Sparring, Fitness... everything.

As the years passed, combination punches (jab, right, left hook.. etc). become natural for fighter.. How often do we see this basic combo on 'old' film???

Gene Tunney was a genuine master of his feet (his feet).. and deffinately become a figure to study.

Jack Sharkey, incredibley fluint in style looks ahead of his time.. IMO.

Langford, via films available, appears to combine foot work, balance and agression and timing.. a very rare attribute. Tommy Burns had great timing and range also.

So much can be taken from these men, yet, so much has been improved upon since.

The modern fighter/trainer has to view footage of a future opponent, in order to gain an edge...or equalness of chance against his man.

Film is the key to boxings improvements in the early times, and all that co-insided.

 

There seems to have been a verry fundamental change over this period.

There is no film but given contemporary acounts it is hard to see it otherwise.

 

i agree with this as i have a training book written by a famous British Boxer in the 1900s and published in the 1910s A.J Newton.

and in this book Newton describes a guard that is exactly like the Mayweather guard except where Mayweather has his right hand next to his right ear Newton has the right hand in front of his face.

I have just flicked through it after seeing this thread and alot of the attacks are the same but the defence ist a patch on today

 

This is consisent with my observations.

 

you sound like some sort of scientist Janitor lol

its quite a good book as i was quite surprised how advanced some of the attacking techniques were