Nah, it's you that cherry picks. Mitch Green and Ellis ate flush punches from Tyson and went the distance with him, but instead of it being that Tyson's power was exposed it's that they have iron chins. Green would get stopped the very next fight and Ellis had been stopped like 2x before. That is the problem, your logic and standards get flipped.
Chavez Jr. is a perfect example of how people's standards get flipped, all logic goes out the door. Most of his opponents were flat out BUMS. How many modern day fighters could be fighting 6-2, 9-4, etc. journeymen 10 years into their careers and not be criticized? Old time fighters get a pass, the standards are lowered and they're made into the unbeatable machines.
Tyson Fury was out of shape most of his career, the fat version would've lost to any current top 10 HW. It's only when he got into shape that he started demolishing guys. Fighters like Foreman, Ali, Tyson, Lewis, Bowe, were showing flaws at all points throughout their careers.
Young Wlad was losing to Purrity, Sanders, Brewster (a fight where he gassed early), after he hired Steward right before the Peter fight, he started demolishing these same level of opponents. He would've lost to Peter too but his holding/defense which was still in it's infancy, was just enough to allow him to survive. Brewster, Sanders, Purrity are not better than Haye, Pedvetkin, Jennings, Pulev etc.
When a HW gets dropped by a 188lb Cooper your chin is questionable PERIOD. When a 196lb fighter like Peralta is eating flush Foreman punches your power is questionable. When guys previously KO'd go the distance with you like Ellis your power is questionable. When you're losing to Jimmy Young, McCall, Golota, etc. etc. your resume is questionable.
These are the standards modern day fighters/heavies are held to and when you hold these same standards to the past fighters it makes them look like jokes.
There is a reason why there aren't any 190lb or even 200lb heavies anymore, when you're that size your power and durability put you at a HUGE disadvantage. Does this not happen in the lower weights too? If a guy comes in even 1-2lbs overweight it puts the other fighter at a disadvantage, when a smaller fighter moves up in weight how often does he carry his power?
Brilliant comments! It's crazy and mind boggling how these old nostalgic fan boys hold modern heavyweights to an absurdly high standard, compared to the old heavyweights. It'd take time for them to slowly realize and admit that modern super heavyweights totally blow away, and are superior to those old heavyweights by an astronomical margin.