Show us how good some of the old timers realy were? The tournament has involved the elite fighters of the division meeting one another to the same sort of schedule as they did in the 20s or 40s, and they are droping like flies.
To be fair it is a different sport now a days... Fighters just are not as tough in this era, but are better prepared in a safer enviroment, that is unrecognizable to many of us...
Not long ago I made a thread that ask how Murray Sutherland would do in the S6, and most posters felt he would do very well, and might even be a live dog to win the whole thing. The guys in the S6 are considered "elite" in the current scene. In Murray's day he was never more than a respected contender. He did win the IBF title at 168, but lost it after one defense.
Agreed. What struck me most was when Floyd was talking on 24/7 before the Hatton fight about how his body was breaking down. That's a guy who was already fighting only twice a year. Imagine if he fought every two or three months. This is not specific of Floyd but that was when it really struck me how difficult it is to stay successful when active at the top of your game.
But, to play a devil's advocate type role, maybe fighting less often is actually harder on the bodies, to a degree? Nowadays, it is almost like fighters fight, get out of shape, train into shape, peak, fight, rest and get out of shape again. Often you hear stories about how intrim fighters walk around 20lbs over their fighting weight. Maybe this is a lot more draining than the old school methods which was basically, train hard, fight, keep training and fight a couple of weeks after etc. Occassionally have a couple of weeks off and then keep training. Although obviously it leads to wearing the body out worse in the long term, maybe the idea of getting into shape then getting out of shape, then getting back into shape is actually harder on the body? Surely it would make it harder to keep getting back into shape, even every three months, and with many today it is more often every 6 to 12 months, than it would be to simply stay in fighting shape all year round. I would have thought that this is a major flaw in the argument of people who say that modern training techniques have improved.
Or what about guys like Charles Brewer or Thomas Tate? I still don't understand why they never fought each other? They gave most people they fought a very tough night, even when they lost. Not sure why Kessler dropped out? Doesn't make sense to me.
