ESB Essay Writing Competition: Comparing fighters from different eras

That is because you are choosing to go down that route, in full knowledge that nothing can be proven because boxing is not measurable -fullstop- Despite it being quite clear that every other non-measurable sports, in one way or another has progressed -fullstop- If is safe to assume, thanks to modern training principles and sports science - boxers are overall slightly faster, stronger and fitter (for the purpose of boxing in a modern ruleset) -fullstop- I don't care if Rocky Balboa beat Ivan Drago or not -fullstop-

 

Yes they would -fullstop-

 

Because, even though trainers can't quite get the perfect mix (due to the reasons I mentioned above), their techniques of training for specific aspects of the game have improved slightly. There HAVE been slight improvements in comparable sports--old hammer distances have increased, the deadlift is slightly better now, and so on. Just not as much as many believe.

Of course, *supplementation* helps too.

But the "modern athletes steamroll old-timers" gets a little ridiculous--as if modern fighters have evolved genetically into supermen because of their training. Even today, you could train a modern person using "old school" techniques and produce a champion...and many have.

 

The fact that Greb could get away with that non sense and still stay the best of his era is not telling of his greatness, but of the era itself.:hey

 

I agree with that for the most part -fullstop- Nobody is getting steamrolled -fullstop-

 

That is what this is about. Measurable sports haven't progressed much, taking rule changes into account. I've given several examples. Now you say that non-measurable sports have advanced as well--how do you intend to prove this, given that the measurable sports don't strongly support your argument? :think

I gave my answer, which is:


Training has improved somewhat, but not massively (as corroborated by sports in which technique and conditions remain stable). Boxing technique hit a critical mass around Joe Louis's time, and has remained pretty much the same ever since. But since modern boxers come from a ten year talent pool (as opposed to seventy) and don't have as much experience, they aren't going to wipe out the ATG's.

 

He has more fitness, but he had to put more effort into it than Chagaev to get the same payoff. The difference isn't vast, but Chagaev's methods are simply more time-efficient.

Yes, that would tend to give him very high "specificity" scores. There's nothing like fighting to practice fighting, you might say.

 

I would consider the changes in the measurable sports pretty massive in the last 60 years, in almost everything -fullstop-