Are Today’s Fighters Better Than The Great Fighters Of The Past?

[joseph5620]

Head to head, there isn't a single active fighter I'd pick to beat Robinson, Armstrong, Duran, Leonard, Pep, Greb, or Charles at those fighters' best weight class.

I wouldn't argue with that. Incidentally, those are fighters I rate at or near the top. But Greb is an exception head to head because I have never seen him fight.

[New England]

it's my opinion that fighters peaked from the 40's - 90's.


boxing was more prolific back then, so you did have lesser fighters being license and fighting, but you also had much better fighters at the top end.

they also stayed extremely active. robinson would take a 10 round tune up and carry a man / no hoper just to stay sharp for an upcoming championship fight.

today's best fighters regularly take half a year off or more.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

todays fighters are as skilled or talented for a few reasons

1. watered down amateur scoring system

2. wane in popularity, at least in the US,, boxing has taken a backseat to basketball, football, guys from the hood now see rap music as a way out and not boxing, etc

3. Guys dont fight often enough, lack of activity really stunts a fighters growth

4. padded records and being protected


those reasons are why we dont see many great fighters anymore,, and great fighters are few and far between, and the guys that are considered the best right now are remnants from the past like hopkins, floyd, or they have stayed active and took alot of fights like jmm, serg, ggg, bradley,,,,,

the 4 things i have mentioned, i believe are the reasons for lack of talent and skill in boxing today,,,

[Anthony342]

True and I would also guess reasons for a lack of popularity of boxing in the US.

[mickey malone]

todays fighters are as skilled or talented for a few reasons

1. watered down amateur scoring system

2. wane in popularity, at least in the US,, boxing has taken a backseat to basketball, football, guys from the hood now see rap music as a way out and not boxing, etc

3. Guys dont fight often enough, lack of activity really stunts a fighters growth

4. padded records and being protected


those reasons are why we dont see many great fighters anymore,, and great fighters are few and far between, and the guys that are considered the best right now are remnants from the past like hopkins, floyd, or they have stayed active and took alot of fights like jmm, serg, ggg, bradley,,,,,

the 4 things i have mentioned, i believe are the reasons for lack of talent and skill in boxing today,,,

No 3. Says it all

They're all wrapped in cotton wool these days, none of them, actually fight to live, do they!

[BattlingNelson]

Terrific bump.

And an outstanding read obviously.

[Anthony342]

No 3. Says it all

They're all wrapped in cotton wool these days, none of them, actually fight to live, do they!

Good point. How can they, when they're getting millions per fight?

[StarshipTrooper]

Nope. Many of them are not as good. But that doesn't mean there are no great fighters today. That belief has gotten ridiculous and I'm usually arguing for the fighters of the past because they get disrespected by NSB idiots.

The greatest fighters from the past still rank over fighters from the past twenty years if you look at the resume.

Robinson, Armstrong, Duran, Leonard, Pep, Greb, Charles, off the top of my head have better resumes than any of the current fighters.

Head to head is another issue.

And you've never seen me post that there are NO great fighters anymore. Floyd Mayweather is clearly an ATG and I think Pacquiao probably makes the cut too. Marquez is borderline and probably just misses. Ward POTENTIALLY could be an ATG but isn't there yet.

You see, the problem I have with Fl0mos isn't that they claim Floyd is an ATG. He is. The problem is they don't stop there: If they did no one would have an argument with them. The problems arise when they make statements like "Floyd would whitewash that crude bum Robinson" and "Floyd would make that no-skill Ray Leonard look like a fool" and "Floyd beats Duran, Hearns, and Hagler like they were amateurs". That's where the problems come from. Yes Floyd is an ATG fighter, but NO he's not some sort of transcendent GOAT that leaves all previous ATGs in the dust.

It's that simple really. And you can change the fighters' names in that paragraph and apply it to any deranged pack of nuthuggers.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Good point. How can they, when they're getting millions per fight?

no one is making millions per fight except the guys at the top,,

guys like wilder, cleverly, or whatever prospect,, they dont fight enough, and against challenging competition,,, then when they reach the big time, they are not ready for it, and get badly exposed,,,

Canelo is a great example,, they did great building him up to the shane fight, but afterwards they did him no favors by only fighting twice in a year leading up to floyd,,,
Canelo should have worked his way up by fighting angulo, k9, ishe, molina,, he would have been much better prepared to face floyd,,, outside of the trout fight, canelo really hadnt been tested at all at the top level, then they throw him in with floyd and floyd schooled...

Guys get protected so they may have that slim chance of becoming a star and making millions

[Anthony342]

Okay, not millions, but a lot more than fighters from the first half or so of the 20th century.