By Modern Standards, George Foreman was a Caveman

The success of Holmes, Foreman, Moore, and Hopkins in their almost senescent old age against top fighters of the next era indicate the constant improvement of boxing is something of a myth.

 

I'm British. Keep taking the meds, Glover!

 

I live in London. Barry Smith is also a Brit from memory.

 

There is precious little evidence save anecdotal that athletes are improving over time, unless you count performance enhancing goodies.
Yes, records in absolute sports tumble, and the ill informed seek to use this as evidence of improvement, but the truth is slightly less convenient.
Mass participation is the biggest single improvement in sports. There are now seven billion people in the world to choose from. In sports that have seen a massive increase in participation, records have fallen. The opposite has happened in sports where participation has fallen.
As an example, the UK had a running boom in the late seventies. It became a craze. The current UK marathon record is almost 30 years old. In spite of modern nutrition, hyperbaric tents, and altitude training in Africa our current Olympic marathon squad is an age behind the Eighties counterparts who had full time jobs and ate steak and kidney pudding prior to races. Difference is participation is a tenth of what it was in the Eighties.
Why am I telling you this? Well I read in the Thirties there were more professional fighters in New York State than in 2012 in the whole of North America.
Without the numbers, the talent pool is shallow.

 

I've got a great sense of humour.

If he's trolling, fair play to him.

But I just can't tell anymore.

There's been a rapid decline on here within the last year.

 

It's pointless taking this any further.

There's being clueless, and then there's you.

You're on a level all by yourself.


Congratulations!

:good

 

You're the only one who is out of touch. You live in a world where assumptions are truth and facts are irrelevant. :-(

 

Neither Klitschko has ever proven to fight well being backed up. This in itself would be a problem for either of them.

 

Boxing hasnt regressed, the heavyweight division has. Just look at the overall lack of body puching and defensive skills today.

 

I'm trolling. I was bored.

 

Difference is Vits was half a foot taller, nearly 40lbs heavier and only landed 8 more punches. Did i mention he quit? I guess thats what you consider "dominating" though.

 

What you about 'did I forget to mention' have we exposed an alt?

 

He was a caveman back then too but he still KO'd a lot of people. Lewis and Klitschko were packing glass so who knows.

 

I'd still put Shannon Briggs in the top 30 of today's era and a 50 year old Foreman battered him in his peak when he was better than he is now. That says it all.

 

Body punching among heavyweights has regressed because smaller heavyweights 30-40 years ago were less capable of knocking you out with one punch. Heavyweights today are bigger and hit harder.

Look at how people fought huge punchers back then. You won't find many examples of fighters that bothered working the body on guys like Foreman and Shavers.