I think at cruiserweight he looked less like a body builder and more like a well muscled fighter - like a Ken Norton or a Dick Tiger - but as he developed into a heavyweight, I think he clearly wound up with worst stamina. And who doesn't hate running?
Yeah the more muscle mass he put on the more that became an issue, and he lost a lot of his footspeed, which was imo his most stellar feature (along with chin and heart) from CW through the Douglas fight.
Are you implying his modern scientific training method of lifting weights when his heart rate was elevated didn't actually help him? Are you a science denier?
Ali not having his right hand in the guard position when he jabbed Louis not returning his left to the guard position after jabbing. Liston not cutting off the ring. Holmes carrying his left too low. Trinidad's vulnerabilty to the jab. Tons of swarmers being unable to fight backing up.
Nice one, L That one with Louis not returning his left to the guard position, not sure he really ever fixed that did he? I know he had to sort things out when he got hammered by Schmeling, but I'm sure in later fight he still did that.
I know you're joking, but I do think sports science is extremely overrated. It absolutely has its place, but with physical application it's useless. I'll take 100+ years of experience and results over a study whipped up and tested on novices. Look at Tyson and Holyfield - two guys who really pushed the envelope when it came to 'modern' S&C training; then look at Bowe. A guy who was lazy, but trained old school under Futch. Better stamina than both, and stronger too. Lennox Lewis and Wlad both had stamina issues under the same sort of training. Vitali didn't... I think the tried and true cardio builders are better for virtually everyone. Although modern weight training with Westside Barbell conjugate programs is brilliant for boxers power. Which is probably why we've so many more explosive athletes in the sport since the 90s. Well, that and the 'medication".
Sugar Ray Robinson didn't have too many flaws but one might have been brawling a bit too much. He never wanted to be boring but he could possibly have made some of his fights a little easier. Though he could have lost some appeal from the fans he quite capable of stinking the joint out if he had that mindset.
It doesn't help that half the "scientific training" isn't actually based in science at all, and half the time people make dubious assumptions to extrapolate.
Yeah, I was actually more talking about body building, powerlifting and strong man studies - where there is some actual backing - but in boxing, it seems there's a helluva lot more bro science and in terms of cardio, it seems to have had a notable effect. Although the opposite is true, it seems boxers of more recent decades are indeed more explosive.