At heavyweight probably not. Changes in modern training methods and the change to 12 round title fights has seen the rise of the super heavies. Heavies now are bigger, slower generally less athletic, throw fewer punches and less likely to trade. The smaller heavies of the past were simply more entertaining to watch. Doesn't mean they were better, they just gave us better fights.
you got it half right . . . all this modern training dont mean **** if fighters are not trained to box and they do not fight enough to pick up what they should learn in the gym. The modern HWs are utter garbage, and it is only a reflection of the direction of the way boxing is going in general . . . skill and knowledge are slipping
"Changes in modern training methods and the change to 12 rounds fights has seen the rise of the super heavies"atsch:roll::rofl Can you be more specific and name some of these methods ??????? Without todays modern methods..... How did Primo Carnera...Louis Firpo...and Jess Willard get so big???? How did they manage to fight 15+ rounds without the benefit of today's diet and advanced sports science/medicine??? :think They managed to get off the floor and continue battling and taking punishment ...while today's heavies can barely endure a decent jab to the chin. If sports science in the new age is such a reality WHY DON'T WE ACTUALLY SEE IT IN TODAY'S BOXING?? All I see is a sport packed to the rafters with mediocrity. Who would be boxing's poster boy for modern sports science ??? You can't mention either Klit brother...they have the stanima of Doc Holliday:rofl Primo Carnera threw a LOT more punches than the Klitshkos or anybody else today at heavy.Without the help of any of todays advancements. You can't mention Mayweather..he's doing what his Dad and those BEFORE him did... Who is the gold standard for modern training methods in boxing? Name somebody we can send back in time to kick as.s .
:deal You see guys that can't slip a jab..... outside doing plyometrics and turning over truck tires when they SHOULD be in the gym learning to slip a damn punch. NONE of that shi.t helps if you haven't paid your dues in the skills department. Many of today's Champions can't even bring their punches back after they throw... Not to mention the ones pulling straight back or falling-in with their hands down. It's an Epidemic Remember all that space-age shi.t they had Pacman doing? Falling-in with his hands down cancelled-out all that shi.t.
The old 15 round distance favoured smaller heavies. Sprinters and middle distance runners are bigger than long distance runners and it correlates to boxing. By reducing the championship distance it allowed bigger heavies to emerge and have success at a higher level. Can you imagine Wlad trying to go 15 rounds at a good pace? Those last 3 rounds would be a real struggle for a 250lbs fighter. If they bought back in the 15 round championship distance the super heavies would need to slim down to cope with the greater aerobic demand meaning they would sacrifice some of their advantages in weight and strength. This is why I think the 12 round distance has benefited taller fighters. I have not made myself clear in terms of how modern training knowledge and methods have benefited the super sized heavies. I am not saying modern training methods created bigger heavies as there have always been super heavies like Carnera and Willard but they have tended to be big lumbering oafs who were never athletic so smaller heavies just tore them apart like Dempsey did. A greater understanding of sports science has allowed super heavies training to be more specifically aimed to benefit their physical weaknesses. For example plyometrics have always been there but the understanding and benefits of such training are clearer and so a fighters training can be more fine tuned for specific benefits for a specific athletes weaknesses. Other aspects such as sports nutrition, physiotherapy, psychology have also benefited todays atheletes. Super heavies like Bowe, Lewis, Wlad are much more athletic and co-ordinated than guys like Carnera, Ellis, Bugner etc. Top athletes in all sports are in general are betting bigger, faster and stronger. How else can we explain why bigger boxers seem to be more athletic and co-ordinated than previous era's it clearly isn't due to better skills because today's modern heavies are generally cruder. How can a 6 foot 5 Usian Bolt run so fast when previously smaller sprinters were seen as the perfect size? Please don't confuse greater knowledge for sports science with learning how to box, one is physical conditioning the other is a craft and skill gained over time. I am not saying that modern sports science has made better boxers, just better conditioned ones for today's 12 round era. Though the current heavyweight division is hardly a good example of this with guys like Arreola, Solis and Ruiz Jr looking more like sumo wrestlers than boxers.
The big guys in the past sure could take a beating and get off the canvas for more. Todays sports nutrition, physiotherapy, psychology,heavies are FRAGILE as crystal. What kept the big heavies at bay in the past was the BOB AND WEAVE STYLE...deal:deal It's gone today...that is the ONLY reason we are still looking at those trashy Klitskos and had to endure Lennox Lewis' mediocrity. Shorter fighters today stand straight up like they're peeking over a fence. Beleive me....the same guys that tore up Primo Carnera and Jess Willard would tear up Vlad...Vitali....and Lennox.:hi:
No we wont they just dont make him like that anymore, thats one of a kind and its my favorite heavyweight fight of all time i dont see it being toppled in my lifetime.
For proof, look at James Toney. A natural 5-foot-10 middleweight has grown into a 250-pound heavyweight through modern bakery methods and improvements in cupcake and donut technology.
