Isn't it a bit naive to expect past era fighters to be competitive against modern fighters...?

Somebody call Stipe Miocic and tell him he isn't allowed to be a modern athlete cause he works a job on the side

 

Boxing ain't the NFL. As early as the twenties the top boxers were 'full time' and had training camps. Nice bait though.

And guess what, most pros nowadays aren't 'full time' anyway. Guy my dad knows managed to get to commonwealth level whilst working as a teacher. Even Euro champs will have jobs to pay bills, unless they are exceedingly popular.

 

I think that you have it backwards. Years ago, with the abundance of fight venues, there were more guys making a living by boxing. You referenced the large number of fights they had. If you fought twice in a month, even at $100 a fight, you were making more than double what a steel mill worker was making. My grandfather worked in coal mines and steel Mills during the 20s and 30s and made about $60 a month. That was why guys fought.

The percentage of guys making a living from boxing now is pretty small. Especially among the guys fighting 4,6,8 round fights, everybody has a job. If you have sponsorship or a signing bonus it is possible to do nothing but box but that is rare.

 

I think there would be some surprises if you match the past with the present day. But the guys today are not as good as say the 1970s or 1980s. They don't have the fights or competition and it shows. Boxing is not as much fun as it used to be.

 

My thoughts, exactly. Because I have been addicted to boxing for decades now, I still watch most everything that gets broadcast. But, rarely is the level of competition high. And, as you say, it often just isn't fun or exciting to watch anymore. When I watch the skill level and work rate of fighters in the 70s and 80s versus today, the decline these days is dramatic.

 

I would agree with this. A lot of the top athletes today are gravitating towards MMA over boxing. The gym I belong to now is mostly made up of young fighters that want to learn boxing to enhance their striking game for MMA.

With that said, I do think a lot of the pre 1960's fighters are badly overrated on this forum by folks that know a lot about boxing history but very little about the sport from a competitive standpoint because they never actually competed or had any boxing training. I respect all fighters and recognize the accomplishments of the old time fighters from the early 1900's and respect them for what they did in their era but I stop short of believing most of them would be competitive against the athletes of the last 30 years or so.

 

This is definitely accurate. There are still 20s and 30s fighters that are very impressive, though.

 

I agree. I can watch film of a guy like Benny Leonard and recognize how truly great he was in his era and how innovative he was. I just stop short of believing he would be able to beat a prime Roberto Duran, Manny Pacquiao or a Lomo.

 

This. Guys didn’t take up boxing to keep working in the steel mill or other tough labor jobs. Even in the 50’s my Grandfather tookup boxing, so he never had to work in a steel mill again.

Carlos Ortiz and even Freddie Roach have commented that fighters don’t have a chance to get much ring activity these days, since there aren’t as many shows.

Jimmy Carter, who was a good friend of my Grandfather stressed that a young and active fighter really needs at least 4-5 fights a year to stay sharp and anything less than 3 fights is asking for trouble, since gym work and sparring can’t substitute for actual ring activity.

It also becomes easier to become less disciplined with huge gaps of inactivity, which is why so many fighters nowdays come to camp to get in shape to make weight instead of preparing for their opponent. Ronny Shields would often tell my trainer that these kids eat like they’re going to the electric chair instead of keeping a strict diet like they should and then wonder why they underperform.

 

I disagree. Fighters of the last 30 years or so train like crazy and are way more aware of how to get the most out of their athletic performance. Boxing is the same as any other major sport. Trainers and fighters have learned from the past.

 

Lomachenko lost to an Uber driver

 

And a politician. An upstanding man of the people.

 

It's naïve to think these modern fighters that gas out early would stand a chance against guys who went 15 rounds before breakfast. The last 2 fighters to fight a lot of fights were Chavez and Duran , Duran won fights in 5 decades ! LaMotta a guy who I don't rate extremely high in middle history would go through the middleweight division like a whirlwind. I could see Greb wiping out about 2 or 3 divisions