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I think you have to take into consideration that Boxing was alot more popular back in the day than it is today, so for instance if you were the heavyweight champ, it meant you really were no1 in that division without several other associations laying claim on having their own champ.
You also must consider that the fights lasted longer upto 15 rounds and referree's wouldn't stop fights unless it was completely obvious one guy had lost, which means there was alot more mental strength and stamina required from boxers back then.
Then consider the social aspects of boxing and what it meant in openly racist societies like in the US until the late 60's or the larger gap between the wealthy and the poor, which made opportunities alot harder to come by for many boxers, then the lack of sports science & technology used around the globe to help prepair and pamper boxers like they are today.
They couldn't study other fighters styles like they can today, so the preparation was totally different to what it is today.
I think many people look on past boxers and the things they had to perservere through and add that to the equation when deliberating whether a modern boxer stands up against the old skool.
If we're talking about straight skill sets, it's impossible not to consider these factors because I know for a fact that many of today's boxers would crumble under some of those conditions because boxers today are mentally 'soft' in comparison because they never had to go through that level of hardship on a daily basis.
You also must consider that the fights lasted longer upto 15 rounds and referree's wouldn't stop fights unless it was completely obvious one guy had lost, which means there was alot more mental strength and stamina required from boxers back then.
Then consider the social aspects of boxing and what it meant in openly racist societies like in the US until the late 60's or the larger gap between the wealthy and the poor, which made opportunities alot harder to come by for many boxers, then the lack of sports science & technology used around the globe to help prepair and pamper boxers like they are today.
They couldn't study other fighters styles like they can today, so the preparation was totally different to what it is today.
I think many people look on past boxers and the things they had to perservere through and add that to the equation when deliberating whether a modern boxer stands up against the old skool.
If we're talking about straight skill sets, it's impossible not to consider these factors because I know for a fact that many of today's boxers would crumble under some of those conditions because boxers today are mentally 'soft' in comparison because they never had to go through that level of hardship on a daily basis.
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