Benny Leonard and Modern Technique

That's really a good point. Once an approach to fighting left-handers becomes mainstream then counter-strategies develop which in turn become mainstream as well. So the idea is to learn them all and experiment with what works against a particular fighter. Even better, come up with new strategies and/or counter-strategies yourself!!

 

Excellent post, would love to hear more.

 

And that’s one way that technique and strategy can evolve and become more complex over time.

 

Perfect!

 

I'm not sure that's evolving, as much as just the advantage of picking less familar tactics, which could equally be picking tactics that have gone out of fashion. The smartest fighters are the ones who can make adjustments and adapt on the fly anyway, as you're going to end up with someone who has worked out a counter to your plan at some point anyway.

 

I don't think he looks nearly as good on film as say Ray Robinson, yes there's quite a big time difference between those two even though they're both now 'old timey' fighters
I would put at least Duran, Armstong and Gans above Leonard though

 

This is the bum who thought Carnera had marvelous defense.

The bum never even knew how to ear muff.

 

eh

 

It’s evolution if we’re talking about people finding new ideas about how to use old tactics though. Evolution doesn’t have to involve making something up whole cloth.

 

Keep fighting the bad fight!

 

Evolution is adaptation to given circumstances. Boxing has been definitely evolving because rules has been changing for over a century.

Important thing to note is that evolution doesn't equal improvement. That's something most non-educated (as far as evolution) don't realize when they use it. Evolution is adaptation, but it doesn't lead to improvement.

 

Leonard probably wanted to praise a fighter who was badly threated by the media of their days because he deserved some praise. He was never elite fighter, but he was good and tough. Nobody wanted to say that back then and very few does even today.

Let's talk about the real master in this thread - don't change it to another pointless Carnera thread.