what is the difference between the past greats and the modern greats

Only advantage they tend to have is being naturally bigger than they used to. you forget everything the new fighters do is copied from the older fighters I mean head movement,upper body movement, bobbing and weaving, footwork, slips, picks, shoulder rolls, counter punching, feints, all the punches all the different styles swarmer, boxer/puncher, pure boxer, wild slugger down to the turtle shell defense and beyond that that tactics to win moving behind the jab circling away from the opponents power hand ...throwing punches from different angles, figuring out the opponets rythem and timing them based on it etc. was all used and developed by the older fighters and there trainers boxing technique has not improved you could argue on average defense might have improved for most fighters but there more defensively minded now which is weird since there naturally bigger with less rounds more padded gloves and better healthcare.

 

Today's fighter has the advantage of DVD's for training and vidio's for fine tuning.
Much of what was from before, ain't taught any more because the trainers are not as good.
Lousy foot work, not having one jab, much less four.

There is much that is good in a great modern fighter....but they'd not be champions for the most part in the true 8 weight class of anchient times....gee, so long ago...back when I could name 8 of 8 champs.... ok, i'd had to think to remember any thing under welter.

Then you fought to eat and would take fights to do so. Fought more often.
Were in the gym all the time and the level of men in the gym was higher as the man said, more needing to feed his face.

Do you want to see a perfect build for a boxer... just look at scrany chested Tunney, then look at his back and lats.
Too many idiots fight benches...Hayes also got a beach build, which is weight that must be carries and fed O2...and ain't got absolutly nothing to do with boxing.

The old fighter had to be weighed in on the same day of the fight...that made a great difference...they did not have all the half weights of today.

Which makes boxing so dammed easy. You need no discipline to stay close to fighting weight, you can always go up a half a weight.

Then you had full weights...not that you absolutly had to come in at Max, there was fighting weights, that was best for the fighter.'
A Billy Conn who was Lt. Heavy champ fought at 168, in that was the weight where he was fastest, had the most endurance and seven pounds did not bring any advantage of power, vs quick.


Then when a Champ went up in weight, he went up a lot....giving up lots of reach.
Today with so many half weights,....helll most of you don't even know the word reach....

Back then one had to stay in one's natural height, weight and reach to be compeditive. Today, there are all sorts of half weights, filled with fighers who were too lazy to stay in thier own weight class.


But what you don't get is, not only was the tallent pool deeper, the divisons between the weights was huge.

So Only the True Greats could go up a weight and win a Championship vs the One and Only Champion of the Whole World.

Today your "splitner" Champs goes up a half weight against a 1/4 champ that he thinks he can beat, having his choise of four and is proclaimed great. What for BS.

What for stupid BS.

Then later he fights some other one from a half a weight higher when both are a full weight higher and everyone thinks they are talking about real champs, neither ever being undisputed four belt One and Only Champ of the world.
A Champion is the One and Only Undisputed Champ, not a belt holder in six divisions....

That is the difference, there are dammed few real Undisputed Champs...(Jones was not undisputed in having dodge DM for 7 years) but you guys buy best is from today.

It is not from today.....Hopkins, was the Undisputed One and Only Champ...Taylor too, but he got three gifts, two vs Hopkins and one vs Winky.

Tyson, Lewis, Hopkins and Taylor....name me four belt...really Undisputed Champions of the World since four belts?
4 Belts is modern.... One and Only Champion of the World...is the proper terminology.

sports medicine where a Jones's could not do what Archie Moore did every six months, go down from 195 fighting weight as heavy to Light Heavy...Moore fought on the same day 8 hours later, and was not weight drained, and did not have 36 or more full hours to put on 10 pounds of water and food. Moore also beat better heavies than Ruiz all the time.

No IMO the greats of today are only great today, but couldnt' compeat in the real days of 8 weights with a single line of Contenders who had to be active against Contenders to get a crack at the champion.
yes there are a few fighters at thier best weight who could have beaten the best of thier weight from the old days...they are taller today..that gives them more Reasch......I don't think they are tougher.
Today a name fighter loses and he needs a sports shrink...in the old days, his first words were when do I fight again.

Today, the challanger can pick which Champ he wants to fight.

There was one line of contenders, in the old days.

In the old days, if a Champ went down and picked the number 6 contender it was a easy make money fight, untill he fought one of the top three or four Contenders.

There was that big a gap between top five and bottom five one single line of the big weight Contenders.
Today, the number one contender is number 5, perhaps number 6 or 7 really. He is not a real contender in the old fashioned view. A real contender was in the top 5, those who could call out a champion.
To call out a Champion as odd as it seems, one beat up everyone standing before you....one champ, one line , build a fan base by beating very good fighters, not beat a bottom ten contender and wait, to be some one's manditory.

Today a middle rated contender who fights the man directly above him or below him it's going to be an intersting fight, like then....but today it's too dangerous...if one loses one is lost....there is not five or six fights a year...to make it back....
Nope, no reason to fight a live body....three or four nobodies will do instead.
If you do not fight the best you don't become the best.


The difference between an old time Champ and a real top four contender was very little. Today the difference between a Modern Champ is he's 1/4th Champ, of the top 10 four are champs, of the bottom 6, three or four are top ranked contenders, who might well want to fight a different champ so remove them selves from the listing.
So today a Manditory is someone who might or might not be in the top 8 contenders.

In the old days....but no one really gave a **** about a fight between number 6 and number 7....ie your number 2 and three contenders of today....stupid....today so such, there must be a "Champ" you can beat....just wait your turn...why risk anything to fight a live body.

Back in the old days, live bodies fought live bodies all the time and if it was a spirited good fight the loser was not as lost as Oh My God, he'd Not Undefeated So He's **** of today.


yep in the old days a good fighter fought good fighters, or you'd never get real "non hating"* fans to pay out money to place their ass in a seat for a good fight.
* Hate was not why one went to see a fight....one went to a fight to see a good fight, may the better man win. I know that is so odd so to think of with Modern Days.


yes neutrician makes a difference...Erdi went from a 9 round fighter to a 12 round fighter because of that.

But back in the day, you had to be near your fighting weight, a fight could happen inside a few weeks, with in ten days if some one pulled out....or even less...and if you were not ready, and fit, you lost your chance to be some one, or remain some one.

Today, you have too many hamburger joints to make for fighters ready to fight two days after the hat was dropped.
Modern days with the good fighters there is a lot of money being a "Champ" contender...to fight some one on the drop of a hat is stupid for a name....back then "names" fought a higher contne.

Today, Contenders do not fight only Contenders, why should they...they can pick which 1/4th Champ they want to fight...today too often Contenders fight bums to remain contenders and get away with it.

But what the hell, in Modern times you are not talking about Champions fighting Champions, you are talking about splinter champs fighting splinter chaps in thier own weight or half a weigh heigher.
Oh, I forgot, no one wears hats any more. There is no single line of contenders and splinter champs fight splinter champs and you think that is like Basillico vs Robinson or something.

 

Don't know if anyone has said this but modern gloves make a huge difference, the modern oversize glove means it's possible to hit much, much harder now whilst creating a larger target area. This means modern fighters don't need to throw with as much power to get the same result and it's easier to land flush.

 

atsch

Modern techniques are shitty.

Look at the way modern fighters jab

C'mon

Lack of technique is the major problem with boxing today.:deal

Not many fighters today could fight in the 1940's and 50's...but there are TONS of fighters from that era who DOMINTATE in today's pitiful boxing climate.:yep:yep:yep


There aren't as many different styles today...especially at heavyweight.

WHERE ARE THE BOB & WEAVE FIGHTERS????????????

Even the short guys stand too tall.

Fighters from the past knew how to get inside and tear **** up.

 

Technique wise, I'll take a older figher anyday..

But MOST IMPORTANTLY the biggest factor whether its today fighter or a fighter of yesteryear, it's all about where the fighter came from...

Take Manny Pacquaio for instance, he was literally eating out of trash cans as a youngster so his hunger would rival anyone from any point in history as to the REASON he fights the way he does, not quitting for anything, he's kinda a throwback and he's grown on me to the point that I'll gladly put him in a ALL TIME list,

Then you have Mayweather, came out of a boxing "womb" and is god gifted. But he is also SO keen on the boxing politics where as he'll ALWAYS have a hard time being accepted by OLD TIMERS except for the admission of his immense talent..

 

:happy:happy:happy

 

:rofl:rofl:roflpatsch

 

You seem to romanticize today's fighters.

 

The length of bouts has changed a lot.


Modern nutrition being better is a MYTH.

Fighters in the past had clean water free of Strontium..mercury..and lead.

The air they breathed was free of florocarbons and carcinogens.

They ate fruits and veggies free of pesticides and poultry and meats free of hormones.

Modern supplements don't cut it..or make up for all the **** that's in the food..air..and water.

 

Here’s my opinion and I apologize if these have been mentioned before but I didn’t read through all five pages of this topic:

One big difference has to do with the fact that boxing was king in those days. The best athletes wanted to box not play football or basketball.

Honor was also a great factor in why they fought, letting it all hang out to be recognized as the best with the money being secondary. There was one champion for each weight division and becoming a champion meant something, an achievement that truly was great and not given to you by default because of the large amount of championship belts for each division. If you won the belt you really were great.

An element of toughness is also lost in today’s boxer because of improved training methods that make it easier for the boxer to get in shape (not saying it isn’t difficult just not as tough). Training methods of the past might have been counterproductive and could stifle a boxer trying to make weight in the healthiest way possible hindering his chances of coming in at 100%, having the boxer dig deeper for inner strength while still going three extra rounds than today’s contender.


Lastly, we are raising a bunch of pussies in the world who want everything handed to them on gold platters and when we do give them everything they complain the platter wasn't gold enough. Political correctness makes winners out of losers by not counting how many runs a little league team scores in order not to hurt little Johnny's feelings after they get trounced by their opponents. If your team lost every game of the season they still give you a trophy. Yes, even though you couldn't score or never won a game you still get a trophy.

 

The truly greats could fight in any era and be great.
mayweather
Pac
leonard
hagler
hearns
robinson
tyson The list goes on but you get the point. I think the B and C level fighters of today are better because of technology.