Here's a good one. Joe Louis at 18 years old. Primo Carnera at 18 years old. With everything you know about modern training, nutrition, technique, who would you pick to bring into your stable?
If ANYONE answers Carnera, log off. With these things and natural evolution, Louis is 6'3, 235 now and still has his skills. No question.
Yeah you have to pick Louis, but think about it. Imagine what you might get with a modern Carnera. Here is Primo http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/PrimoCarnera.jpg A freak of nature. Maybe he would be an even bigger freak. Even if Carnera's physique didn't change, he may also get some of valuable knowledge left over by the Stewart era.
With hindsight we know Joe Louis is the answer. The real answer is which ever one is the best fighter at 18. That's who is making it into my stable. So it's only Joe Louis for me. Let me make this clear though, a lot if you out there, if you didn't know who they were and 18 year old Joey and primo came into their gym, would totally go for all those muscles on Carnera and dismiss young Mr Barrow on sight. Truth is, modern heavyweight boxing depends a whole lot on bulk. That's the fashionable theory of our times.
Size though incredibly important today can be over come by technique. Boxing is as much mental as physical and that said I would take the one who showed more motivation, willingness and ability to learn. Joe Louis would be the Cruiserweight champ with a shot at heavyweight gold but Primo would be a top 10 heavyweight contender. That said Joe would be the better payoff but Primo with the right trainer and mindset would probably go farther in today's heavyweight division.
since they are 18 already it is 19 years too late for modern nutrition to have any effect on height. i don't get the sarcasm people have to the concept tho, if we clone a pregnant woman and put one in a 1920's environment of poverty and childhood diseases and one in the modern world with plentiful protein rich foods and decent medicine/hygiene, the modern environment is far more conducive to reaching that kids potential height. carnera's size wouldn't be the advantage it was and you can make more money below hw now, i think the difference between louis and carnera's career earnings would be bigger now than it was then.
I'd probably pick Carnera without a second's hesitation based just on the picture. Of course, if you actually get to see how the boxer moves and punches, that could well change. A brilliant trainer could probably bring Carnera much further along than Louis, because Louis fulfilled his potential whereas I believe a lot more could have been done with Primo. Also Carnera's career wasn't exactly managed very well.
No, 240lb that's what Jimmy Wilde would dry out at today. At 240lb on the scales, after just a cup of tea and a current bun Jimmy Wilde could easily rehydrate a further 25lb of rock hard, solid muscle. His "walking around weight" (including homburg hat, crombie overcoat and sunglasses) would be much higher.
With modern training and diet, Carnera would be 7'3, 350 and knock people out with jabs. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk