Wondering ,reading how is Jack Johnson,Stanley Ketchall rated so highly??Writers i.e. Nat Fleischer,Dan Daniel rate Langford,Jeffries higher than Ali??Were oldtime fighters More skilled,tougher?
no there is just a mythical aura surrounding old-time fighters and lots of people are scared to say that the new-timers would beat them. lke 20 years from now people will be on hopkins/pbf/pacquaio dick sooo much compared to now.
Look at them within the context of what they achieved in their respective eras, not H2H. From this perspective Ketchel is unarguably a top-10 middleweight, as is Johnson for heavyweight. Langford is the P4P GOAT, just look at the people he beat and how many weightclasses he jumped up over his career. The man went from 140 to heavyweight and beat ATG's all along the way. Jeffries, though, is overrated.
Because Ketchel was a murderous puncher and a tough fighter. Because Jack Johnson was a superb counter puncher ahead of his time and an excellent defensive technician. Because Langford was another murdeous puncher, with an iron jaw and under-rated boxing ability, with a superb resume.
Don't forget that we don't have the same kind of video footage of them available like we have for current fighters. A lot of people just have to go on memories or stories that they've heard, which can make them even bigger and badder.
Who cares much about the old timers. Mythical match ups are boring. Its about here and now. Plus the past fighters are held too high on a pedestal.
