So, how would Fitzsimmons do as a modern day...

There's no way to be fair about questions like this. If you are talking his way against now, then now wins. If you are talking how he handled his contemporaries versus how others handle their contemporaries, he would do just fine.

 

Right. He doesn't even have a puncher's chance against them.

 

As others have said it is almost imposible to say how Bob Fitzsimmons would fare against modern fighters under a modern rule set and perhaps not a fair way of comparing him to them.

What I will say about Fitz is that he was almost certainly the best finisher at 160 or 168 lbs that ever lived. He fought most of the top heavyweights of his era while weighing around the middleweight limit and knocked them all out except Jeffries, who was a dominant champion. I dont care how weak you think the heavyweight division of that period was, you just dont do that without being a truley exceptional pound for pound puncher.

I would submit that Fitz would be a serious threat to anybody today based on his finishing ability alone. Even against the top heavyweights you never know.

 

Under the rules of Fitzsimmons day, I think he routs most of the top-10 modern challengers. Under contemporary rules, I don't think he'd beat any of the current top-10 in either MW or SMW divisions.

 

I think he would have a good chance against anybody whose chin could be cracked basicaly.

Whatever he might have lacked I am in no doubt that he was the best finisher of his weight there has ever been.

 

Fitz was a former blacksmith with incredible punching power.

Upgrade his style to today's technique, retain his mental toughness from an era gone by, then very few fighters of similar wieght could beat him.

Like George Foreman once said, "I would hit them, and like magic they would go down".

 

Fitz was one of the greatest fighters, period. He was far more than a cracking puncher, he had a briliant fighting brain, was tough, cunning and pretty fast(but not pretty). The boxing rules haven't changed that much, its the styles etc that have changed but boxing is still boxing. For example , top amature boxers have to make a lot of adjustments in terms of round duration, overall duration, different gloves, no headgear, different scoring criteria, less protective refs, and so on yet an awful lot of the top boys make it. Fitz would be a handful for any M, SM or LH EVER.

 

Coming straight from his day to ours, fighting under our rules, might be hard on him. He'd still have a chance, though.
Coming up today, he might be like a bigger Alexis Arguello.

 

Based on footage of him, which is a pretty good base I'd say, he would not make it in today's boxing world, unless of course he trained under modern techniques.

Thrown in a time machine, and taken into this era, with his skills as they were, he gets creamed, that is just being honest, same with someone like Ketchell.

Based on his physical dimensions, power, length, and overall physical ability, trained under modern rules and with modern technique, he could've been something though.

 

I don't think today's refs would appreciate him punching guys in their throats and behind the ears regularly. he'd be considered a dirty fightrer I'd guess.

 

Corbett lays a pretty good shellacking on Fitz for most of the fight, as I recall. He really gave a beating in the 6th, IIRC with Corbett smiling like the sadistic ******* he was.

 

Plus Corbett a light hitter dropped FItz,which doesnt bode well for him if he took on the big guys today.Undeniably a super puncher p4p,but not hard to hit ,stylistically I dont think he would prosper ,all time great though he is.

 

Fitz's power was off the scale.

He was a wily cagey and extremely TOUGH fighter. From the film you might consider his style primitive but he's bound to have few tricks and touches that have been lost through time.
I mean, he's only got to land one accurate counter, or some ancient unorthodox shot, and he'd knock any of the modern middle or super-middle fighters out.

We're talking about a man who's arguably the greatest pound-for-pound fighter ever.