Could the trainers of the past learn from today's men?

It obviously still takes the right mind to implement the changes and improve but maybe the old timers could get more done with a fighter with some of the changes of today?
For example could Eddie Futch have faired better with Riddick Bowe if he had Alex Ariza as his chief second and not Thell Torrance? Could Futch have gotten more time out of Bowe if he had an assitant that was a nutritionist/conditioning coach, and not just an apprentice/spit bucket holder during camps? I mean how long does it take a trainer to show an assitant how to prepare the corner between rounds of a fight, about four minutes?
I also think because the sport has changed and fighters dont fight as often, trainers should put more pressure on their fighters to stay in shape year round with the assistance of a nutritionist or conditioning coach. This is somthing the old timers wouldnt be used to experiencing because fighters fought more often in the past.

 

I think that the old time trainers were better than the trainers of today.

I think that much more strongly than I think that the old time fighters were better than the fighters of today.

We might just be seing the slow death of the legendary fighters because there are no more great trainers.

 

I agree...Fighters fought so often in the golden age of boxing, had so many styles to contend with,schooled by great fulltime trainers, that the great survivors who reached the top, had what was then called "bottom".
That was the ability to carry on in a crisis, because they were forged through numerous tough fights , to dig deep and survive no matter what...
An example would be why Roy Jones went downhill after 50 or so bouts,
being kod a few times while a Ray Robinson had over 200 bouts,and while way over his prime , this "bottom" allowed Ray to always last the distance....It was ingrained in Robinson...

 

I also think that once a fighter starts giving orders to his trainer he is heading for a beating.

The relationship between fighter and trainer has perhaps changed somewhat over the years.

Better if a fighter is willing to be a slave to his trainer.

 

I would say no. What modern fighters have over the older generations are ancillary things-nutrition is one thing that's always mentioned, weight management and so on but these are usually aspects which come from people who are brought in...I certainly don't think insert-modern-pressure-fighters-name-here's trainer could do a better job than Yank Durham did with Frazier, I don't think Roach is as good a trainer as Futch. I honestly believe that from the 30's to the sixties boxing enjoyed it's golden age; boxing knowledge has gone backward imo...overall.

 

I agree with this

 

I do think great trainers are getting fewer, however Freddie Roach is a great trainer as is Naazim Richardson.

I think people are forgetting boxing is not athletics it is fighting, these modern improvements might make the guys better athletes but that does not make you a better fighter.

 

good point and it could be the missing piece to why so many fighters from the past are superior to fighters today.

it wouldn't make sense that magically by being older or from a different era they're better but along with the fighters, the trainers have changed and this obviously makes a world of difference

 

One thing I think trainers are forgetting is the basics, there too hung up on making their fighters more advanced and learning new stuff, a prime example would be Floyd Mayweather Sr 'improving' Ricky Hatton.

Look at what Roach did with Amir Khan, he sorted out the fundamentals and look at Khan now.

 

There are less trainers who really know how to teach the technical side of the sport today, but there are some, not all of them the famous few, if you know boxing techniques through and through and you know how teach you can be a trainer as good as any.

 

You can't teach an old dogs new tricks, Ricky Hatton kept rushing in with his hands down, I'm pretty sure Sr didnt teach him that. Senor made the mistake of trying to get Ricky to box, it was never going to work, Ricky needed to maul, wrestle and pressure. Then again Pacquaio would always be a nightmare style for him

British boxing, in terms of technique has fallen a long way. Look at the likes of Buchanan, Conteh - you just don't get technical types like that now. Although Frankie Gavin has some silky silky skills

The guys who teach the kid iniatially are the underrated 1s who never get any credit, the guys like Roach/Steward often get allot of credit for polishing up some gold

 

It has regressed and this is evident in all the divisions but the question is still lingering with heavyweights where there is no weight limit. Weight and ways of weight and muscle gain have been a big thing but the rounds have been shortened and the 2 best Heavyweights Lennox Lewis for one never stopped a man after the 8th rd and never got off the floor to win

Mike Tyson once TKO'd a man past the 8th man Jose RIbalta and Mike was another man who never got off the floor to win

Could it be the muscle gain that has a short window of opportunity?
Would 15 rd fights make it necessary for these guys to get into better-less-weight-condition?

A lot of times it is conditioning that allows a fighter to get off the floor to come back and win or to KO a man late in a fight. Like the great Vince Lombardi said " fatigue can make a coward of us all"

 

I think the only thing that could be improved on with the older trainers is the physical training side of things. Obviously, we know a lot more about the human body nowadays and people know a lot more about nutrition and creating an athlete. Boxers may be getting better athletically but there has been little change to the technique of boxing and the things needed to help with that. A lot of those old-time trainers have forgetten more about boxing than a lot of guys will ever hope to know.

So the old timers would need to learn from the modern conditioners not modern boxing trainers.

 

Don't have time now, but would like to come back 'n talk about this in detail.