Sick and Tired of the Nostalgia for Past Era Fighters

Maybe so but in sports that require more than just athletic ability you can't make a direct comparison as easily as you can with track and field.

Even if boxers now are better athletes than before that doesn't mean they have better skills, chins heart etc.

 

You're making a huge statement there. They're bigger because they can drain 15 lbs and regain it after the weigh in. They're stronger because a welterweight now is a middleweight in the 70's. They have better nutrition? What percent of boxers have nutritionists? Better training? For shorter fights, less often, with softer gloves?

Come on, Joe Frazier was 5'11. He was ACTUALLY 5'11. Not the Felix Trinidad or Ray Leonard 5'11.

 

Just trying to fit in.

 

:huh

 

Not completely agree!!! In the other lower weightclasses I might agree. But today's Heavyweights were to slow compared to the likes of Ali & Frazier. The bigger athletes today also were taken out of boxing because of better opportunity in other sports. If they're tall & heavy they'll be a Basketball player, some makes money of Football, baseball, Hockey. Only if they cant make the cut in those sports is where they think about getting into boxing.

BUt in the lower weight classes, Since they were basically the same size as the fighters of the Old days, only today's fighter has better defensive and offensive techniques. Today's boxers has the benefit of modern nutrition and visual technology. They can now study every movement of their potential opponents to prepare their defense and offense. Roach used this tools to to study his fighter's opponents, Donaire study Dachinyan 's movement to counter his offense, just to name a few.

 

This article and the research that it is based on, seems to me to be speculative at best - and contradicted by my own experience. My preferences were NOT formed when I was in my 20s. I hate everything 80s - the music, dress, etc. etc. - and prefer the styles music, culture etc of a period when I was just a young child, the 60s and 70s.

And it is the same with respect to boxing. Although the era I remember best is the 80s, I have far greater reverence for the 60s and 70s - the Ali era when I first started watching boxing. And I doubt that many of the guys who are big boosters of the eras of the 40s and 50s, and earlier, are 80 year old men from my dad's generation.

 

Yes and no

There were a lot of great fighters from past decades better than today. Liston was a monster, Louis was incredible, I don't see Floyd or Pac beating Henry Armstrong, Ezzard Charles is top 3 h2h from 160 to 175...

Loughran or Tunney who fought in 1920's and 30's were better skilled than 99,9% of current LHW-HW fighters.

But I don't see Marciano handling Bowe, Lewis or Klitschko's. Some posters are Rocky's fanatics and see him ripping everybody. And it's not only because of Rocky's size, when it comes to fanaticism and sentiment many forget about that styles make fights.

It isn't about era in general, but particural fighters.

As for size I recently watched Williams-Martinez. This is a good example that size isn't everything and smaller skilled ol' school fighter does have a chance against "bigger, stronger, and have better nutrition and training" athletes.

 

Then you're making your statement even more ridiculous by generalizing boxing to one weight division. Wlad is one of the faster heavyweights today and he makes Foreman look like Ali.

 

OOOO. Tito has his own personal inch measurement. Gotcha:good

 

As in... Ray Leonard admitting he's only 5'9 and Trinidad being visibly shorter than Roy Jones when they were listed as the same height.