Bantamweight Champion Harry Forbes Article - On Current State of Boxing

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On boxrec and boxing bios, there's a snippet of an article I came across, written by Harry Forbes and said to be published on November 22, 1911 for the Tacoma Daily News. If it's been posted, I'll delete this. I have not been able to find the whole thing but I thought I'd share the snippet anyway. Here it is:


"Boxers Today Not As Good

The boxers today do not know how to fight...In the old days, when the bell clanged for the beginning of a bout, the boxers did not get together like a couple of engines in a head-on collision. They sparred around a bit and tried to figure out the other fellow. When they saw an opening they led. They didn't rush into clinches and try to cave in the other fellow's ribs with inside blows or try to crack his neck with smashes to the base of his brain. That isn't fighting.

...The fighter today believes that endurance is the thing. He studies and hardens himself for the purpose of being able to take a beating and be classed as a 'good, game, willing fellow.' The old fighter was a boxer, who seldom wanted a punch. He studied generalship and the art of landing punches that would prove effective. A fighter trained in the old days to be able to land effectively from any angle, and when they did hit, every blow carried a sting with it...

...The wearing of bandages is a later day trick. I seldom wore them. When I did it was the only time that I ever hurt my hands. The present day fighter resorts to bandages because he thinks the chances of injuring his hands are lessened when he cracks an opponent with a misdirected punch on the head or elbow. But that's just where that fighter is wrong. Bandages are of little or no use.

When they are put on they fit snugly. As a fight progresses they tighten up and the fighter finds it impossible to close his fist tightly. Then when he lands a punch it's with a half-closed fist, and the result is a dislocated joint or a broken hand. The bandages do not add to the power of a punch unless they are built of concrete or some other hard material..."



Let me translate and sum up: You're doing it wrong, kid. We were much better and your new rules stink!...Bah, humbug! :twisted: Back in my day...





...Some things change so much, and some things stay exactly the same.

 

It's going to get pretty bad when everyone is wearing armor with digital sensors to detect pounds per square inch and number of clean hits. Guys like Darchinyan and Margarito will be bitching about it. You'll hear things like "You have to remember when I got knocked out, I wasn't wearing armor like these pussies."

 

People were really interested in this one.