Do Today's Heavies Have The Same Guts?

yes THEY were and the TOP men STEPPED UP, some a couple of divisions even. a Credit to just how good they really were and how different things were.

yes far better times especially among the Big Boys.

 

Mcvey, I think it's just a different world today in general. People lived in harder times back then and were expected to 'just get on with it' regardless of the conditions.

I can even see the mentality shift from my father's time to my own. My old man was born in 1946, and his hands are all gnarled and calloused from working on cars or doing DIY work around his house.
I'm more inclined to just pay someone to fix my car or fix something around my place. I've grown soft and complacent.

But yes, old-time fighters were brave and tough to the point of masochism. I was watching Freddie Steele beating up Babe Risko a while back, and it's frightening to see the punishment that Risko had to endure. Certainly in today's climate, that fight would have been stopped much, much earlier than it was.
I'm truly surprised that there were not more ring deaths back then, considering the punishment a lot of the fighters had to endure, and also the frequency with which they fought.

Going back even further to the Sullivan-Kilrain fight, where they fought for over two hours in the blazing sun, drinking whiskey between rounds. It boggles the mind if you think about it.

In fairness though, it's better that those conditions no longer prevail today. Boxing is and always will be a very hard game, and there is no point in taking undue punishment just to please a crowd.

 

So against Wladimir, you don't think Mariusz Wach stood up to "a fraction of the punishment" the old timers were able to absorb?

And how about Shannon Briggs against his brother - when did you last see a heavyweight take this much punishment, but still refuse to quit?

 

The punishment Briggs had to endure was almost inhuman. He had incredible guts, I'll say that.
Someone like Margarito too. Paquiao beat seven shades of snot out of him, but he just kept taking it. Mosely also beat the hell out of him.

 

your right FF about the mentality shift, I've seen it many times in my life and I first became aware of it when in my teens in the mid-late 70s, most of the men 30 years and more older than me just appeared to be stronger, tougher and no _ucken nonsense about them, even quiet decent low key type figures...

here's the difference, I worked with a kid in contruction when I was 24, his Dad got him the job through connections, it was a weeked and summer earner for him. the kid was going onto become a Pilot and REFUSED to work the Jackhammer to chip out a portion of concrete wall that was over poured...

I understand the kids refusal, however once upon a time he would have been laughed off the job and told "to pack his toys" and _uck off.

thats the difference, head down and just get on with it No Matter What it was!

 

Yes, definitely a tougher mindset. People had **** health care, so if you hurt something or god forbid break a bone, you're going to a doctor who isn't going to help you much more than you could help yourself. I'm more referring to the 10's and 20's.

They also had to walk everywhere. Even in the 40's and 50's people still preferred to walk the stairs and not drive if it was just down the street.

Modern conveniences such as comfortable, reliable cars, air conditioning and drive thru windows have made people softer.

Personal pride and integrity was at the forefront. Craftsmanship and doing the best you possibly could was the standard.

Nowadays, its make a **** product because when it breaks (and it will) you'll just buy a new one, increasing profit.

In general, people don't want to do it the hard way, and if there is no other way, they simply won't participate or try.

In boxing, the most recent example of this is Haye, who trash talked himself into a fight with Wlad without actually earning his way there... Had he done it the right way, he may have gained the confidence and experience required to win. Instead, he talked a bunch of **** from across the street, and when the guy came over to deliver the fight, he ran back home!

Todays heavyweights are generally in much worse shape, and its clear the emphasis isn't on being in condition to throw a lot of punches for the whole fight, its to be as big as possible to land a fight-changing punch, even if you aren't a puncher.

Arreola is an example of someone who had pride and tries his damnedest, but just got pummeled. He never stopped trying, but his limitations in skill and cornermen prevented him from doing anything different. He also cried like a ***** aftrwards on live television, so that also puts an asterisk by his valiance...

It just seems like guys in general aren't willing to put the work in to be the best, and when they get the opportunity, they can't seize it, and I blame much of that on todays dearth in good trainers.the reat of the blqme lies on this drive thru world mentality we now live in.

 

:-(To answer the thread starters ? The answer is NO!:-(
The old timers back in the day, were tougher,mentally and physically, and had more balls, they fought sometimes 40 or 50 rounds without the benefits of peds or advanced nutrition, and supplements, and the refs just didn't stop fights when a guy was barely hurt like they do now, they let guys fight, until they were bleeding like pigs in a slaughter house, and they fought more for pride than money.
Most of the guys today are wimps compared to the old timers, they want the most money for the least risk, and are scared to fight guys that are a threat, because they don't want a loss on their record, the rest of them are so insecure they fell like they need peds to compete.
To many clowns in the sport today, like Haye, and that other dumb goon Broner, they run their pieholes, and trash talk, then get in the ring and lay an egg, or run around like a chicken, because they are afraid to get hit..

 

They have more guts today. Solis, Arreola, Andy Ruiz Jr...

 

I can remember fighters telling me that if the didn't " give value " for the punters they got short changed by the promoters and that was only back in the 40's and 50's in London, when fighters went to a cashiers office at the venue to get paid.

So it wouldn't surprise me to learn that fighters from earlier in the century had to give everything they had in the ring to get the money.

 

Arreola is an interesting case. There can be little doubt that he is full of Latino pride and he never stopped trying either against Vitali or Stiverne despite getting pummeled, but at the same time he is carrying a lot of excess fat and even people close to him say that he can't keep out of the fast food joints.
Is it that hard as a pro athlete to just keep off the junk food for a while?

I think him crying was a mixture of disappointment and hurt pride.

Solis is another example. Talented, but it seems like he just can't be bothered to get into decent shape and has serious motivational issues. You would imagine with the huge amount of money they stand to make, they would be willing run over broken glass.

 

Fists, it really shouldn't be an issue for someone committed to athletics. I think he may have some self-sabotage syndrome going on, because anyone who truly wants to become champ and believes they can will abstain from temptations.

That's the whole problem with today; he thinks he can be a top level fighter and still have a diet that features taco bell and wendy's.... I seriously doubt Wlad or Vitali would eat there for themselves.

Many fighters would be so much better than they are if they could just maintain a good diet and training habits. Arreola and Solis are posterboys for this.

Again, part of the blame lies on the trainers. They don't have the knowledge or motivational skills to get the most out of their fighter, and don't have the respect from their fighter to listen about diet and techniques if they do have those qualities. But those trainers wouldn't train these fighters if that was the case....