''We don't want to admit it, but athletes gets better'' ...& Mike Tyson Mysteries

There is a huge difference. Today countless sprinters routinely run under that time without putting the full effort, not even to mention counting all the athletes that run better than Owens since 1936. In a present day, he wouldn't even come anywhere close to being the best with that time (actually wouldn't even enter the top 100 times of 2014).

 

Athletes in general are in better condition but that doesn't mean that boxers are more skilled fighters. Look at James Toney one of the most ill disciplined fighters of his generation yet also one of the best. Skill can overcome slight physical advantages.

Sports where there is a big skill component makes physical conditioning alone a less important. Though clearly being at peak physical condition does clearly help with boxing, look at the Klitschko's they are so dominant partly due to the fact they are in better shape than many of their peers.

I also think the improvement in conditioning is not as big as some would think. Many people point to athletics records and say, but look at how much faster Usain Bolt is compared to Jesse Owens. But you have to factor in that Owens didn't run with blocks, ran on cinders not on a high tech running track, didn't wear low friction skin tight running gear, or have super lightweight running shoes. A TED talk I watched said that Owens with the advantages Bolt had today would only be a single stride behind and this is an event with a much smaller skill component than boxing so the correlation between the two is minimal.

 

Very good post. :good

 

In 1968 Bob Beamon made a long jump world record 890cm. The best result this year was Greg Ruthefords 851. It is a HUGE difference. And it was really 46 years ago!!!
In 1986 Juri Sedyh made a hammer throw world record 86,74m. The best in 2014 was Pavel Fajdeks 83.48m. Big difference again.
Also in 1986 Jurgen Schult made a discus throw WR 74.08m. The best in this year was Piotr Malachowskis 69.28m. Huge difference again.
In 1990 Randy Barnes made shot pur WR 23.12m. The best in 2014 was Joe Kovacs 22.03.
Womens WR from 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m are all done in 80s. So are womens WR in shot put and discus throw.
In 1980 olympics Soviet Unions weightlifter Yuri Vardanyan made a total of 400kg in 82,5kg weight class. Last olympics 2012 the winner of 85kg made a total of 385kg.
The biggest total ever in weight lifting is Leonid Tarasenkos 476kg made in 1988.

These are only a few examples that not all sports have evolved in last decades as some people seem to think.

 

I agree with the point you're trying to make but these records are bad examples as they were set at a time when Eastern nations (and the US too, look at Florence Griffith-Joyner) were blatantly ans systematically using all kinds of drugs. No woman has an actual chance to beat FloJo or Marita Koch's records. They're are almost non human.

 

Beamons record was attained at altitude. It was a freak jump, and he never jumped anywhere near that length before or after.

And the female records of the 80s were attained by women who are probably living as men in a Moscow appartment block after having to have a *** change from the amount of testosterone they were on.

And then theres Flo-Jo...Do we need to go on?

 

It does not change the fact that many athletes were better in 80s than nowadays. In 80s we had Tyson, Leonard and Hagler...Do we need to go on?
And hey, go and try to do long jump in Mexico City. Maybe you notice it is not so much easier over there.

 

sprinting isn't boxing.

or are you trying to argue that it is?

 

why aren't sumo wrestlers constantly improving? its well known their art is dying, each generation gets worse than the last?
where is your improvement there?

 

The Klitshko's are perfect examples of what Mike Tyson was talking about. He just answered the reporter's question truthfully, that indeed modern heavyweight boxers like the K-bros are much bigger, stronger and better trained and conditioned than heavyweights of his era and before. Why argue with the man. I mean if anyone would be an expert on this subject it would probably be Tyson who lived the life of a heavyweight boxer and is known to be a student of boxing history.

 

I totally agree with you on this. Look my earlier post. But exactly the same thing applies with professional boxing. Or do you think that Tyson, Holmes or Duran were not in drugs during their bouts?

 

I consider the 80-s in the modern era anyway.

Im talking about people whop think athletes from the back and white era and back could compete with modern athletes.

Are you really denying the fact that Beamons jump beiong at altitude(and wind advantage) contributed massively to his jump??

Why do you think he never got near it, before or after???
From wiki...

"n making his record jump, Beamon enjoyed a number of advantageous environmental factors.[8] At an altitude of 2240 m, Mexico City's air had less resistance than air at sea level, although the rarefied atmosphere in Mexico City would have made a difference of only approximately 4 cm. Beamon also benefited from a tail wind of 2 meters per second on his jump, the maximum allowable for record purposes. It has been estimated that the tail wind and altitude may have improved Beamon's long jump distance by 31 cm (12.2 in.).[8] In addition to Beamon's record, world records were broken in most of the sprinting and jumping events at the 1968 Olympic Games. During the same hour Lee Evans set the world record for 400 metres that lasted for almost 20 years."

 

This, but saying that boxers are generally better also because of the fact they're better athletes, e.g. Wlad, only thing that holds him back is his chin and his ability as a fighter (not a boxer a fighter), but if he was born 70 years ago, he wouldn't be as good as he is now, where as a vitali would have been (maybe not as good, but similar) because he's such a good fighter as well as an athlete.

The way I see it is this

Boxer = Athlete + Fighter, Now the athlete has improved over the years, but whether the fighter has its debatable and ulitmately comes down to individuals.

Boxing/Fighting involves lot more Instincts than say a sport like football (soccer for some) or basketball, and I believe that results in a slower rate of evolution compared to such sports as those, hence it is hard to compare these sports to Boxing/Fighting.

 

I do not think that athletes from 30s of 40s could compete nowadays. I agree with you on that. But from 1970s already there are many better results in many sports than there are from last few years.
And of course the conditions of Beamon jump were perfect. But so they are nowadays. All long jumps have been made with tail wind. You get some advantage from altitude but it is not that much. Even if it is 31cm it would have still been the best jump by far this year.

 

Boxing is the only sport where the skill aspect has regressed !


Just look at the conditioning of fighters today ,their level of inactivity etc .Half the fighters today aren't good all around boxers ! Most of the heavy weights today have little to no head movement ! Once again until I see it In THE BOXING , I disagree with Mike !