How would the Classical Pugilists fare against early boxers?

From 1882 to Louis's era was vastly different. I would think the better comparison could only be made up until about 1920 at the latest, and probably more realistically only until about 1912 to 1915.

In that range, may be they could have held their own. Boxing was still a crude and rough sport, and tacticians were few and far between.

In that regard, transitioning from bare hands to gloves hands would be the learning curve. I don't think stances and defensive tactics were quite as distinguishable by then.

But just think, in the bare hand era, you had a free hand to grab and hold your opponent with. Even holding and hitting was often permissable.

That would be a significant transition to get used to.

 

Fascinating eras indeed, wish we had more records to go off of. I'm really only familiar with the Tom Cribb vs Tom Molinoux rivalry

 

You can line Ali, Dempsey, Marciano Tyson and the rest in 1 line, and the greatest fighter of all time, Henry Hen Pearce would knock em out with 1 punch.

 

If it's under Figg's rules, they'd do very well indeed.

 

If we could bring up the boxers of yonder years, they would be augmented by many factors. Privileged to train in full gymnasium facilities, having camp somewhere up in the mountains, more oxygen from altitude and hyperbolic chambers, more modern trading methods. More tape of who to watch. Also more fancy diet with supplements and meat that has jacked up steroids growing the cow.

They say a welterweight is a welterweight 147 pounds then and now. But if you take into consideration weigh ins with drastic weight cutting as well as the propensity to be bigger boned as time escalates. Everything is in favour for the modern boxer. Old timers would be studs in this era!

Less fighting, more protective gear, the old fights like rocky Marciano getting his nose busted in half, theoretically shows how tough thier era was. Same with big George coming back , proving the 70s was stronger than the 90s. Even dumbbells these days have turned into kettlebells. Sports science and all the above yadda yadda yadda then we have 'pee pee mouth' fighter drinking his own urine to boost his immune system lol.

The one thing that is cool though about nowadays is not ' don't lose that o' but instead being champ in multiple weight classes, the result of fighters testing their mettle (Manny Pacquiao) also because if more junior and super divisions, as well as maybe some extra sports science help if you understand what I mean lol.

Anyway we've come up to an even newer era where the status quo is to have easy unblemished careers being protected... All of the best of the best fighting each other; a thing of the past.

Whether you blame it on Don kings exit from the game, or Mayweather s blueprint, or a character flaw, or no more beating hearts of an assassin (odlh) we've got a watered down fight card era.

 

Let’s go back to the true Classical Age and let those Greek Olympians fight a modern guy … but the Greeks get to wrap their hands in wraps that are covered in sticky stuff and then dipped in glass.

Find out who the real tough guys are.