Why would we expect historic heavyweights to do well in the modern day?

Huge contradiction in the above 2 paragraphs.

I'm not gonna bother.

I do get like that sometimes.

Night all.

 

Bring a boxer from the early 1900's and stick Tyson Fury in front of him I think he'd have a heart attack

Same applies in most other sports, modern NFL players etc

 

H2h makes no sense given the stark changes between eras. The training methods and diets have evolved, not to mention the widespread use of PEDs in todays game. Natural ability hasn't changed much while toughness most likely has declined as people are more pampered today (food choices, health care, etc).

It makes more sense just to look at individual accomplishments and compare fighters that way.

 

I was watching a video about shot putting this morning. Sounds like a tangent, but it's kind of related.

There is a guy called Ryan Crouser, strong, agile, fast and explosive, and just destroying the field, and breaking long standing records.

Oh and he is 201cm

That isn't to take anything away from Crouser, but how can we expect athletes of old to compete consistently with these new super sized athletes who don't fit the mould of lumbering giants

 

Man guys like foreman, Lewis and Bowe are like action heroes for us. They paved the way for the next generation. Of course we revere them. It's like looking at your pops, at one point you thought he was the strongest man in the world. It's that feeling of nostalgia that we grew up in a era with these guys as number Ones so we clung on to that. We all love to say "he ain't **** " about the new guys, but mark my words, the kids watching fury, usyk, and wilder will probably do the next collection of comparing when they grow up and see new heavyweights. It's just a personal favorite thing, something that we were connected to and never forgot lol.

 

People often think "bring Joe Louis to modern day to fight Klitschko" as opposed to "drop Klitschko in 1935 and fight Joe Louis." Many of the pro-modern arguments also work in favor of the old timers.

 

Larger fighters exhibit greater ability today. Fighters of average size between eras don't.

 

At the same time @VOXDEI , I think it is a little misguided to discount Lennox Lewis. In that, I would term him a modern super heavyweight. And, Kronk style which seems to be the dominant style of said super heavies, went through Lewis, to Klitschko and now onto Fury.

Also, I don't want to discount for some early prototype big men in sport who were ahead of their time in terms of marrying sheer size with skill and athleticism. I suspect those athletes would likely be dominant in any past era and possibly still now. I'm thinking someone like, Wilt Chamberlain in Basketball. And I think Lennox Lewis fits into that category too.

 

Only heavies but modern fighters are too big why not create a new division over 240 lbs no fair compare Fury vs old timer.

 

Fury would poop in his Gypsy underpants before he'd have the heart attack with John L. Sullivan in front of him.

And I know what you meant.

 

The old-timers would have done fine, except that a lot of heavies would be cruisers.

I know of few guys in today's era who could throw 100 punches in the 15th round of a fight like Mariciano, Or even go 15, for that matter, much less 20 or more. And that is not to hype Marciano above Louis or Ali...its just an easy illustration.

As for the nutrition and understanding the science more, or whatever phrase was used, the old-timers had compensatory tricks. Not many guys today are soaking their hands in beef line to harden them, or chewing raw tree-sap to strengthen the jaw muscles.

Are you telling me that Andy Ruiz can be a heavyweight champ today, and Sonny Liston couldn't?

GTFOH!