Any old school boxers who would have benefited from modern weight training?

None.

 

I’m not a trainer, but it seems sensible to me that a “sport” such as boxing, many fighters could do much less than what I see. As many hours as can be should be dedicated to boxing. Modern guys… James Toney, Salvador Sanchez, 80s Tyson understood IMO. Obviously the conditions of the old timers made it very difficult to train wrong. It seems at times the order of priority is Cutting, S&C, Pads, Sparring, the rest. Cutting weight shouldn’t be an event it should’ve been a daily methodical process/maintenance you should be comfortable, see someone like Hagler.
You must know it takes much longer then the next day to be rehydrated fully. A fighter shouldn’t be 10-15lbs over as a professional, sloppy and turning your training into a fat camp. At its best weights are for injury prevention, perhaps strengthening the neck… conditioning? I see fighters tired today and I see fighters before “S&C” coaches doing 15 hard rounds…

 

My silly tangent aside - perhaps more then any it could’ve been Jimmy Wilde? He had room to grow in his weight class.

 

There's no evidence that boxers have benefited from weight training. If anything it's quite the opposite.
It's common sense that excess muscle would make a fighter slower, stiffer and more likely to tire out.

 

I read how Louis in his comeback stopped playing golf because it didn't properly engage him physically, and he switched it with table tennis. Even deep into his comeback, his power was nowhere near what it was just two years before, and I don't think that more table tennis would have made a difference.
Perhaps weight training could have helped him regain his lost muscle mass which would boost his athleticism, explosiveness and strength.

 

Nothing could've helped him at that point. He was done. Father time defeats us all.

 

Old boxers had it worked out but as a supplement i'm sure some would have benefitted a little. Most seem to think weight training automatically equals big muscles and a slower boxer but that's myth. Train right and you need not be putting on much muscle at all while strengthening your the big muscles of your core and legs and that's not going to hurt. It just needs to be done right.

No-one can tell me that bob Foster would not have benefitted from the program Michael Spinks went on before challenging Holmes. Foster absolutely would have been somewhat better as a heavyweight. What Mackie Shilstone and spinks did was incredible really. He gained 25 pounds while losing body fat. He looked great in there with all things considered.

 

Can't do much worse than Bob Foster's ventures into heavyweight. That's one.

 

He was a shot fighter but I find it strange just how much weaker he was in his comeback even after getting himself back to fighting condition.
The power difference from 1948 to 1950 is immense. He could knockout a relatively fresh Walcott in 15 seconds but in his comeback he couldn't put away half his opponents who were nowhere near Walcott's level (excluding Rocky and Charles of course).
I can only attribute that to Louis' muscles atrophying and him losing the power that comes from those muscles.
I don't think golf or table tennis was the best way to get himself back into shape at that age.

 

Might of helped Packey McFarland. His walking around weight was about 139 and since there was no Lght WW div. He was constantly cutting the weight to make 133 pounds which was the LW at the time. He was also fighting at WW and dominating there as well but he was under the 147 limit. He was incredibly quick and fast of foot. If he decided to only campaign at WW , then this might benefit him because he had the perfect frame to add the strength and muscle weight without sacrificing too much speed, he was 5 foot 7

 

Denver Ed Martin and Fred Fulton spring to mind.

Two lanky rangy guys who could have been built up into monsters.

 

Golf (I presume) would help his technique as the mechanics of a swing are similar to that of a punch (putting entire weight behind it).
Table Tennis (I presume) would have helped with his reactions.
Louis deteriorating in that that fashion is not surprising. Compare the Louis of the Mauriello fight to the one of the Walcott fight, there's just as much of a difference. His degradation was gradual.

 

No, weight lifting and boxing do not mix very well at all.

 

It’s a little early for me to imagine an athlete’s muscles atrophying in his late 30’s. Shot or not, Louis was a 37-year-old man who regularly set foot in a Boxing ring for professional, high level matches. Speed was probably a bigger detriment to his punch at that age.