So if Greb's shadow boxing session had been filmed in modern, HD quality... would that have made him look any less silly?
Greb has the greatest resume in the sport relative to his era. Are we thus to believe that Greb's era was a million times worse than that of Floyd and Manny?
Possibly, I won't contradict you there. No, but it was way way worse nonetheless. The level of boxing was nowhere near.
Why do you suppose? These guys were beyond full-time boxers. The amount of rounds some fought are mind-boggling. The conditions they performed in were downright medieval. They had few of the benefits of scouting and prep that modern fighters take for granted so they had to develop a style around this itinerant career path.
Yes, they were full time boxers, but they simply lacked the skillset modern boxers possess. It's just the way things are, sportsmen evolve, boxing is no different.
I've never rated him that high, the footage does not impress me. He's better than many in that era, but still a far cry from modern boxers.
What some people don't seem to get there heads around, is that not all that glitters is gold, and not all that is gold glitters. There have been fighters who looked incredible on film, but were just missing a key ingredient. There have been fighters who looked awful on film, but had an unorthodox style, that somehow worked. Forgive me for throwing in a quote about a famous runner, but somebody once said of Emil Zatopek "He does everything wrong except win." The same thing might perhaps have been said about Harry Greb in his day.
I am wondering why people are even judging Greb by this footage. He was past his prime, blind and will be dead not long from this footage. We can get a ideal of his style, but this is like looking at Tyson at the end of his run or Louis in his last fights.