Do you think hw boxers from the past (20s-50s) were more skilled than now?

I think it is case of American heavyweights gone down hill.

Fury is probably better. Joyce. who knows yet.
but AJ, Whyte, Chisora, Haye etc. are no better.

 

AJ and Joyce medalled at the Olympics so proved their credentials before entering the pros.
Haye, 2 weight champion has the credentials
Chisora and Whyte just battering rams.
Fury is probably the only top boxer I've ever disliked not that he isn't great mind.

 

How do we know that?

If we go back 50 years, The Ring's end-of-year HW (which I believe is the subject here) rankings for 1972 looks like this:

Joe Frazier, Champion

1. Muhammad Ali
2. George Foreman
3. Jimmy Ellis
4. Ron Lyle
5. Floyd Patterson
6. Ernie Terrell
7. Jose Roman
8. Joe Bugner
9. Ken Norton
10. Jose Luis Garcia

Now the 1970s is often seen as a special HW era, since we had 3 greats, Frazier, Ali and Foreman, active (and fighting each other!) at the same time.

But once we get past Foreman, there's not much to write home about. The fact that the highest ranked non-american (one of just 3) was Jose Roman (all the way down in 7th place!), illustrates how different the boxing scene is today.

But let's pull up Ring's latest (2021) end-of-year HW list for comparison:

Tyson Fury, Champion

1. Oleksandr Usyk
2. Anthony Joshua
3. Deontay Wilder
4. Dillian Whyte
5. Joseph Parker
6. Andy Ruiz Jr.
7. Luis Ortiz
8. Joe Joyce
9. Filip Hrgovic
10. Frank Sanchez

I don't think it's obvious, that the HWs were (overall) better 50 years ago!

 

Audley Harrison won Olympics gold.
Don't forget him.

 

Wilder and Ruiz are not as good as Ali & Frazier.

 

I hadn't
He got a lot flak of the cynical British public and British/General forum on ESB much the same as Amir Khan did.
Obviously on the classic forum people are much more respectful.
My advice to people obsessed with 'glass chins' is have a go yourself and see how easy it is.

 

They're both one offs and will never be repeated.
There may never be another human being like Ali again, never mind a boxer.
And Frazier was the same, a one off.Big left hook, bottle by the bucketful and the epitome of black 70's cool.

 

I agree.
but the American writer who made quip about British heavyweight years ago probably was being just as cynical & unfair. as persons on internet.
I'd rate Henry Cooper above Audley Harrison personally

 

The American press ridiculed Don Cockell when he fought Rocky Marciano and endured 9 rounds of brutality.
Critically though and testament to Rocky's class he commended Cockell for his courage.
Cockell was never the same again.

 

A lot of fighters (in fact the VAST majority) today are not as good as Ali and Frazier.

But I thought, we were talking "generally speaking".

 

if the Americans are as good now as 1972 list, that would mean there is an equivalent of a 1972 Foreman being pushed out of the 2021 list by Frank Sanchez etc.

 

you provided specific lists
I did not figure that generally
you confirmed my point. the Americans have suffered slump of quality. yes?

 

Most of them

 

Definitely have seen a shift in the sport with the closing of most inner city free gyms in the states along with a national program that has fallen to pieces.

On the contrary, eastern European boxing has especially flourished since the fall of communism.

The sport is simply not anywhere near as popular in the US as it was in past era's but in Europe we are routinely seeing sell outs all over the place especially in the UK and are seeing countries like the Ukraine produce amazing fighters. The sport is very healthy overall from a skill/talent perspective. The talent has just shifted to other places unlike the 20's-50's which were US dominated.

 

You can't make true comparisons of fighters from a hundred years ago to now. Diet, nutrition and technology make things common now that were completely unheard of back then. Not to mention that the sport of boxing itself has changed in that time, along with the politics that govern it. You won't find many greats from that long ago with a style that would compete against the specialized fighters of today in today's rules of boxing, but I'd bet there are at least a few who would still be quite dangerous.