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The thing that never ceases to amaze me is the thoughtless disregard by so many boxing fans of fighters from so many years ago; this whole, with today's training methods, etc. Such post-modernism arrogance is no different than those crotchedy old-timers who discount all modern fighters as being too soft to ever measure up to the all time greats they listened to on the radio. Specualtion has no place for absolutism; it's a contradiction of concepts.
If you look at the big picture from the beginning of boxing's modern roots with Jim Corbett to present, more things balance out than most are willing to admit. Today there's more technical dieting and weight training...supposedly. Bigger men are "better athletes". Right.
Today's modern big men only fight for 12 rounds. "but they only threw one punch a round". Says who? How preposterous is the idea that older fighters only threw 1 punch at a time all round? IT'S LUDICROUS!! Just because Dempsey was the first to through multi-punch combinations with murderous intentions that people remember doesn't mean that previous fighters hadn't done it. Where does the arrogance come from that "ancient" fighter didn't know how to throw two or three punches at a time?
The fact is those who wrap themselves in the blanket of modern securtiy can't admit to themselves that there is a strong possibilty that we have grown softer as a society. They don't want to admit for every plus, there's a minus; for every convenience invented, for every luxury brought into the mainstream, there is something lost.
Think about people before the 20th century who lived in un-airconditioned or unheated housing, save for the cool breeze and fireplace in uninsulated walls. Would they not look at today's modern civilization as a bunch of pansies?
"...with the advancement of weight training and physical conditioning, blah, blah, blah...."
Do not put your faith is such trinkets of deceit. There is a price to pay for every luxury. For everything you gain, you lose something. For every modern convenience, something is lost in terms of raw survival skills.
We, in the 21st century, take far too much for granted. And that's gonna come back to bite us in the ass someday.
If you look at the big picture from the beginning of boxing's modern roots with Jim Corbett to present, more things balance out than most are willing to admit. Today there's more technical dieting and weight training...supposedly. Bigger men are "better athletes". Right.
Today's modern big men only fight for 12 rounds. "but they only threw one punch a round". Says who? How preposterous is the idea that older fighters only threw 1 punch at a time all round? IT'S LUDICROUS!! Just because Dempsey was the first to through multi-punch combinations with murderous intentions that people remember doesn't mean that previous fighters hadn't done it. Where does the arrogance come from that "ancient" fighter didn't know how to throw two or three punches at a time?
The fact is those who wrap themselves in the blanket of modern securtiy can't admit to themselves that there is a strong possibilty that we have grown softer as a society. They don't want to admit for every plus, there's a minus; for every convenience invented, for every luxury brought into the mainstream, there is something lost.
Think about people before the 20th century who lived in un-airconditioned or unheated housing, save for the cool breeze and fireplace in uninsulated walls. Would they not look at today's modern civilization as a bunch of pansies?
"...with the advancement of weight training and physical conditioning, blah, blah, blah...."
Do not put your faith is such trinkets of deceit. There is a price to pay for every luxury. For everything you gain, you lose something. For every modern convenience, something is lost in terms of raw survival skills.
We, in the 21st century, take far too much for granted. And that's gonna come back to bite us in the ass someday.
The D3vil
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