OK, not hating on older fighters but I think alot of people are in denial about the physical and skill development in the fighters. Where as in every other sport that has been able to record performances, it has shown that athletes improve, somewhat we are to believe boxing is so different. Here is some comparisons of equally great fighters of their time comparing fighters from pre 1970 era to the more modern fighters, 1970's and above. Forget resumes or ATG rankings, these are simply an argument for the more modern fighters in regards to H2H matchups. Without knowing the names of these fighters and just watching them, flat out simply vote which fighters looked more impressive. Floyd Patterson VS Mike Tyson: On this fight it clearly shows Floyd has inferior footwork in cutting off the ring, less explosive, worse defense, not as good combinations, his opponent doesnt even know how to keep his left hand up either. [yt]eFeB4j3kc-w[/yt] [yt]_MY3RtJUrD8[/yt] Ray Robinson VS Ray Leonard: Ray Robinson fought like a modern fighter, way ahead of his time hence why he was in a league of his own back then. Even then, looking at the 2 side by side, put resumes and names aside, most would pick SRL to beat SRR via UD, Looked faster with better footwork. [yt]60GuoYpmbJo[/yt] [yt]1GC70st9y80[/yt] Marciano VS Holyfield: Marciano is possibly the most overrated fighter of all time H2H. Sorry but bring your head down whilst covering your face trying to jab your way in would just be so ineffective today, hence why dont use it anymore. [yt]Wcwalp0TRfc[/yt] [yt]aLjs77jMMD0[/yt] Jack Johnson VS Lennox Lewis: :rofl :rofl :rofl And jet Jack is picked by many on H2H mathcups. Apparently he had supreme defensive abilities, the inventor of the John Ruiz show. These guys ook like the kids at my gym first month of training. [yt]Bh1XtsVKFFA[/yt] [yt]7duq91-mGoQ[/yt] There's loads more videos I can put up but im lazy now. Anyways these videos are proof enough boxing like any other sport has evolved. Athletics records are broken all the time, heck even in games like tennis men & women are serving faster than ever. Is it that inconceivable to think guys are punching harder than ever too?
if you saw a mayweather fight on old sepia film you would see it like that. you have to build of this stuff man. ray leonards fav fighter was ali and copied all the gimics and stuff while dominating his technique and defence. marciano isnt a cutie....for **** sake we Alllllllllllllllllllllll know that he was a pure puncher he didnt box maybe a jab to set up. but clearly wasnt a defencive genius. so i dont know why you picked him. floyd patterson is a great heavywieght champion and deserves his hof credentials but your comparing him to tyson who is a natural 220 plus pounder who is reknownd for his punchign power and handspeed where as floyd is known for his handspeed and booming left hook...BUT only released his left hook by timing and a set up. jack johnson compared to lennox lewis!!!!!! come on man different ball game there. i feel the 12 round rule has made guys more flashy. you can tell guys can get by with 12 rounds while 15 means extra tiring. you can now let your hands go and not be bothered about the later rounds. heavywieghts with awful stamina can win 9 rounds then just collapse on the other guy to the finishing line. also boxing is now more on technique and flash instead of just pure chin heart and workrate. why we rate robinson so highly is that he was a fighter through and through but had the handspeed and combinations that could put guys away, while ray leonard would of just got by the rounds
Who cares who SRL fav fighter is? It doesnt matter if SRL learned his moves from Ali, end of the day we are better cos we learned from the past and added onto it. IMO Ali was a better natural talent p4p but SRL had better skills and relied less on insane speed and reflexes. We know Marciano isnt a cutie, but he is an ATG and picked by many on a H2H matchup. What other modern ATG's would you compare Marciano to? LL, Tyson, Holmes? He is outgunned by all of them. I compared him to Holyfield as he is closest to him in size, still Holyfield wins. Sure Marciano was tough and had a punch, but that just shows you that a punch alone made him the greatest HW of his era...not working for Sam Peter though. Patterson & Tyson have simmilar styles, both known for speed, both would rank around the same page on an ATG list. Thats where the similiraties end, everything Floyd did, Tyson did better. Better defense, better footwork, better combinations and variety of punches. Patterson was an ATG, its only fair I compare him to a fellow modern ATG, ie Tyson being the closest match. I could go on with more comparisons such as 2 middleweights renound for their chins, Hagler-Lamotta. Lamotta looks embarrasing on tape. Jack Johnson-Lewis. Whats the problem with this comparison? Both huge and tall HW's for their time, both considered the best of their era and ATG's. By you laughing at this comparison, are you just conceding that the modern fighters indeed >>> older fighters? Im only comparing ATG's to ATG's on equal standing. I know some old time lovers is gonna come here and try start comparing SRR to Margarito to prove a point as to how the older days were just as advanced in technique. And oh the black and white tape dont change a thing. Its not how colourful their bodies look like, its how they pull off the techniques. I watch their skills, not their looks. I watch Lamotta follow a guy around the ring, whereas I see a guy like Hagler cut off the ring properly. I see Floyd trying to jab from a distance and simply ducking covering his face to get in, I see Tyson weaving left and right throwing deadly combinations at the same time. I see Marciano having very amateurish defense, simply ducking and covering his face moving in witha jab to get it (painfully slow at that), whereas I see Holyfield throwing combination counters to move in. Its not the film, its the fighters.
