[Barnburner]

Boxing did "evolve" from about 1900---> 1930 or something, in my opinion. The general style is quite a bit different I feel. There will have been small advances due to better nutrition and other input chemicals shall we say. Better technology that allows not so much better training but better physical analysis. However overall the advances are much smaller than other sports due to boxing being more a thinking mans sport that can also rely on determination and guts/toughness etc. You don't usually see anyone win a 100m race because they have more heart than the people next to them or they outwitted them. It's purely physical and these small differences in lifestyle etc need to be taken into account.

However saying that if you put the likes of Ezzard Charles in the ring today he'd still be awesome. Same goes for many a fighter from the previous era.

I also feel that people like Bob Fitzsimmons and Sam Langford and people from that time would get thoroughly beaten by the likes of Jones Jr, Marvin Hagler, Monzon etc. Just by watching the tapes you can tell there is a clear difference in the way they fought from the way they do now. Which is why I've concluded that boxing somewhat "improved" to meet the stylistic requirements of today's era about 1930. The rules of the sport changing also is a factor in that though.