When size is just too much to overcome

Glove size dosen't make that much of a diffrence the damage is done because of the ability to twist the hand on impact.

 

Listen to Fists Of Fury because he's right. Last night I stayed up late to watch Ezzard Charles vs Rex Layne and to be honest, I wasn't that impressed. A Bowe, Lewis, Ali, Holmes or Klitschko would've had a picnic. Size matters if you're good and these guys are good. I also watched Louis/Schmeling and was rather underwhelmed as well. A modern big skilled HW would probably be too much for them also. I think we have to start separating HW's by time periods when making comparisons say 1900-1950 and 1950-2000 for example. I'm really having a hard time seeing a six foot 185-200lb HW beating a six foot three to six foot six inch 240-250lb behemoth ala Lewis or Klitschko or a slightly smaller but faster Ali or Holmes. We're not talking about a Willard or Buddy Baer or dare I say Primo Carnera here after all. We're talking about big mobile men who can box and move, not oversized stationary targets with mediocre skills at best. Does anyone think that the Celtics of say 1950-1960 would beat the Celtics that just won the championship. Or the Giants of the same time period beating the Giants that won the last Super Bowl? I didn't think so. Athletes today are bigger, stronger and faster than thier predecessors. Look at the tough time Marciano had with men like Charles, LaStarza and Moore. Do we really think he beats a prime Ali, Holmes, Lewis, Holyfield, Bowe or Klitschko? I don't think so. That's not a rap on Marciano or any of the great old timers who should be given all the credit for what they accomplished in thier own time. I just don't think it's fair to pit them against the best of the modern era, against men generally much bigger and faster if not equally skilled.

 

I agree. Dempsey defeated Willard because he basically mooved there like a tree trunk with boxing gloves. Apart from Foreman who himself admitted that he wanted no part of Lennox I don't see the old champions (even Ali) doing well against modern skillful giants. You never konow though..

 

watching walcott on film against a fair heavyweight 6'6 220lb Hein Ten Hoff, Walcott like u said janitor would bring many tricks to the table only a few capable big heavyweights in history would be able to handle.

 

You seem to be suggesting that Willard and Carnera did not know how to use their size against smaller oponents.

They clearly did but it wasnt enough.

Carnera for example was a prety technicaly sound big fighter and his win over Tommy Loughran was a textbook display of how such a fighter should overcome a small slick heavyweight.

Willard for all his technical limitations clearly used what he had to good effect against Jack Johnson.

 

Well I'm not an expert.. In the Dempsey fight Willard was like 37 or sth - that may have contributed to my view of him. But since you probably watched a lot of these old fights..

Can you honestly say that those old time big heavies are comparable to Lennox or even Vitali when it comes to the power/size/speed/skills combined? It seems to me that back then they were (no disrespecting) more of a freaks of nature that chose to fight because of the size advantage - not nearly that technically sound and powerful as the two mentioned.

 

Lennox Lewis is in a class apart from the other superheavyweights that have been before or after for that matter.

Vitaly Klitschko is verry impresive on paper but for my mind something of an unknown quantity.

The bottom line is that while Lewis is something new, guys like Ramhan, Briggs and Akinawande are not. I am not saying that Jack Dempsey would go through Lennox Lewis like he went through Jess Willard but he probably would have taken apart the superheavyweights that Lewis proved himself against.

 

Loughran at 186 was giving Carnera 84 lbs ,there are limits.

 

Loughran lacked a key equaliser eg power.

Jack Dempsey at 186 lbs would presumably have taken Carnera.

 

Loughran was a little past his best days,Carnera stamped all over his feet,I dont think Primo was especially good at using his size Louis manhandled him,Gains beat him without too much trouble ,and he was not a big heavy.Dempsey would have killed Carnera.

 

Carnera got a lot better technicaly after the Gains fight and the first Sharkey fight and also got better at using his size.

I would venture to say that he got about as polished as he was ever going to get.

 

Sharkey did say that Carnera had improved between their fights.

 

I think one key difference between the Big heavyweights like Willard and Carnera compared to Klitschko and others is they held their hands low which is akin to suicide against a Dempsey or a Louis, modern superheavies are harder to crack but they can be cracked.

 

This is false. A mere 2 oz in the lower weights makes a difference. Take it form me, there is a big difference in the force of a blow from 6oz to 12 oz.