Could a 19th century fighter realistically have beaten prime Tyson or Anthony Joshua

Could guys like Jim Corbett, Jim Jefferies, Bob Fitzsimmons, Sailor Tom Sharkey, Joe Jeanette, Sam Langford, Gunboat Smith etc realistically have a chance to beat a 1988 Mike Tyson or a 2017 Anthony Joshua? Or would Tyson and Joshua be too advanced for them?

 

Yeah but that assumes the fight makes it that long. If AJ was fighting Jim Corbett and somehow they ended up in round 16, then maybe that'd be relevant. But if Corbett didn't make it past the 3rd, it wouldn't matter.

 

Robinson even though he would be considered an "old time" fighter had a more modern style or a style more suited for modern times. And he'd be fighting men more or less his own size. The thing with heavies is that since it's an indefinite weight class, someone who was a 180 pound heavy in 1900 would be fighting a 250 pound Anthony Joshua in 2018, 118 years later. Not that they didn't have 250 pound super heavies back then who were also physically strong for a man that size, but those 250 pound super heavies back then didn't have the skill level of a top tier prime super heavy today like AJ. Or a 218 pound heavy like a prime Tyson.

As far as the sport evolving, to me, it's a yes and no kind of answer. Remember, fighters like Tyson or AJ don't represent the run of the mill modern day heavy. A young Tyson or an Anthony Joshua are diamonds in the rough, one of a kind. The cannon fodder that AJ and Tyson were fed on their way up probably could be taken by many old time under 200 pound heavies. Even some of the top contenders AJ beat like Eric Molina.

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Is it a given that Molina would beat 197 pound Jack Sharkey? I don't think so. In fact, many would favor Sharkey.

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Carnera was built much like a modern day heavy as far as muscle mass and build are concerned. Roy Jones at 193 pounds proved that a modern day 200+ pound heavy could be taken by an old time under 200 pound heavy when he defeated 225 pound John Ruiz, who is more representative of the average modern day heavy than a Tyson or Joshua.

So I'll say that perhaps your top tier heavy's like prime Tyson or AJ have advanced to the point where it would be virtually impossible for most under 200 pound heavies to beat them, but your Ruiz level modern day heavies could still be taken by under 200 lb heavies. That's my take on it.