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conditioning wise:
hand speed has been increased.
We have seen gradual increases in hand speed over the years, besides the athletic freaks of each era.
Robinson was really the only guy with great hand speed for his time, since then we have seen many with equivalent or better.
So taking into account how fast would Robinson be with the improvements of today? Probably similar to Roy Jones.
Stamina has stayed relatively the same. you have fighters with good or bad stamina. mostly because it's from sparring and running, Something boxers have done for years.
Strength/power: has stayed the same. Don't go by weight class go by actual fight night weight.
you can't put on muscle and say fighters are stronger, they have to go up a weight class. cutting weight because you get 2 days isn't an athletic enhancement, it just means Duran at 135 could have fought at 130 if he wanted too. Although, going by todays standards - the boxers that don't cut surprisingly do the best.
the main difference is boxing style. Now, there are a lot of old tricks lost in boxing, but fundamentally it's improved (sorry some may disagree). So it's hard to pin point if it's got better or worse.
You see a lot less moving of hands and shoulder bouncing now, athletes are more controlled and telegraph less. Thats really the biggest improvement in my opinion. At the same time though, trainers aren't as good and boxers don't know as much.
Durability: A lot of boxers in the past were very tough and could recuperate immensely. A modern example is Marquez. you can drop him but he get's up, he survives. Going by my own experience in boxing gyms, people just don't like getting hit any more. I think it's good to have fights not getting hit, but in sparring - condition yourself. Thats why 186 lb Rocky was so damn tough.
Feel free to add on or argue: my main points are really style and speed being the only big changes.
hand speed has been increased.
We have seen gradual increases in hand speed over the years, besides the athletic freaks of each era.
Robinson was really the only guy with great hand speed for his time, since then we have seen many with equivalent or better.
So taking into account how fast would Robinson be with the improvements of today? Probably similar to Roy Jones.
Stamina has stayed relatively the same. you have fighters with good or bad stamina. mostly because it's from sparring and running, Something boxers have done for years.
Strength/power: has stayed the same. Don't go by weight class go by actual fight night weight.
you can't put on muscle and say fighters are stronger, they have to go up a weight class. cutting weight because you get 2 days isn't an athletic enhancement, it just means Duran at 135 could have fought at 130 if he wanted too. Although, going by todays standards - the boxers that don't cut surprisingly do the best.
the main difference is boxing style. Now, there are a lot of old tricks lost in boxing, but fundamentally it's improved (sorry some may disagree). So it's hard to pin point if it's got better or worse.
You see a lot less moving of hands and shoulder bouncing now, athletes are more controlled and telegraph less. Thats really the biggest improvement in my opinion. At the same time though, trainers aren't as good and boxers don't know as much.
Durability: A lot of boxers in the past were very tough and could recuperate immensely. A modern example is Marquez. you can drop him but he get's up, he survives. Going by my own experience in boxing gyms, people just don't like getting hit any more. I think it's good to have fights not getting hit, but in sparring - condition yourself. Thats why 186 lb Rocky was so damn tough.
Feel free to add on or argue: my main points are really style and speed being the only big changes.
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