Interesting Argument : Current Boxing vs Old Boxing

[Dick-Sucker]

My All Time great list includes mainly old boxers with one boxer in the current generation. Anyway thats not the point. I came across a guy giving me this argument the other day.

On another forum.

"saying SRR, Ali etc etc, all those guys are all time greats is false. Boxing is at a much higher level now than it was then. The sport has progressed in all technical areas such as skill, speed and power. So much so world class fighters now are five times the world class fighters the older generation were. Thats why guys like Mayweather, De La Hoya, RJJ, Hopkins, etc etc are all time greats".

I thought the guy was dillusional for saying it. But as a shock to me others beleived what he was saying and agreed.

What are your thoughts on this? Is boxing at a higher level now?

Sure as oath the heavyweight division fkn isn't.

Ult

[TheGreatA]

Is boxing at a higher level now?

No it isn't.

[Silencers]

No it isn't.

Agreed.....

[KESSLER]

Boxing is NOT on a higher level now.

Only difference between then and now is that back then, you couldn't get HD fights .

[Dick-Sucker]

Boxing is NOT on a higher level now.

Only difference between then and now is that back then, you couldn't get HD fights .

Thats what i told the guy.

But when you think about it boxing is the only sport, not to have improved on from the past in standard. I think that shows how good and classic our sport is and will remain to be.

[KESSLER]

Thats what i told the guy.

But when you think about it boxing is the only sport, not to have improved on from the past in standard. I think that shows how good and classic our sport is and will remain to be.

Exactly.

Oh and another thing that's different now, is their trunks is alot bigger.
Back then they were like boy scout size

[TheGreatA]

http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157645

RiZooM tried to (unsuccessfully) argue the same in a Cotto vs Hearns fantasy match-up.

There is a difference between the old timers (late 1800's and early 1900's) and the 'modern' era boxers (after the mid 1900's).

http://www.ibhof.com/ibhfrost.htm

There were some good boxers like Corbett, Langford and Jack Johnson even in those days though but the rules were a bit different.

Jack Dempsey is one of the first who fought with more 'modern' rules in the heavyweight division.


The Long Count fight.

[raysan]

Id imagine boxing is pretty much the same because of weight classes. Other sports have progressed because guys are bigger faster and stronger, but weight classes have allowed boxers from past and present to be the same size. You cant even say conditioning is better because they went more rounds back then. The only argument you can make is with the heavies, because there is no weight limit, so guys are much bigger now and would dominate old timers like Marciano and that era.

[TheGreatA]

The only argument you can make is with the heavies, because there is no weight limit, so guys are much bigger now and would dominate old timers like Marciano and that era.

I don't think Marciano could beat someone like Lewis (great big man beats a great smaller man I guess) but I'm quite sure Marciano would still do well against smaller heavyweights like James Toney, Povetkin, Ibragimov and Chagaev.
Rocky did KO boxers who were 40-50 lbs bigger than him.
If Toney can hang with heavyweights like Rahman and Peter, Rocky could too but his style wouldn't be very successful against the best big men.

A fight against a very good super heavyweight like Klitschko would be big trouble for Rocky.

There were some big guys even in those days but they were comparable to Valuev today, successful because of their huge size but didn't have much skill/speed. Not as athletic and skilled as big boxers today like Lewis and Wladimir.

[tyson]

The sport has evolved like any other sport. The scientific approach nowadays make athletes faster, stronger and better conditioned.
However, many things remains the same many places, such as training methods, excercises and nutrition. Old school trainers make sure of this.

A modern day boxer trained with modern day scientific approach is in every sense the superior beast.

Over time, humans always evolve themself to be more efficient at what they do. I have no doubt that today's champions would beat yesterday's champions.
However, you always have freaks of nature who would be competitive all over.

Boxing today is more defensive-minded than that of old. The best often relies on counter-punching in the modern day boxing.
Being faster and stronger would mean that (most) of the old-timers would be too slow and stationary to defeat today's wonders.

Of course, we're now discussing the very best.
The general level of skill in pro-boxing today is not what I would consider high.

The difference from now and then, as I see it, is that back then people were fighters. That was their identity, their way of life.

Now boxing is merely a profession. There's no honor, no life-and-death kind of attitude in the boxers like there was long ago.

For this reason, and this reason only, can we say that Marciano, Gene Tunney etc could compete today.
SRR, Ali and the like were freaks of nature. On talent alone they could compete.

When we speak of bad times and such, we talk about level of competition among the best. Today there isn't much of it.
Everyone is protected and kept from the possibility of losing, so everyone can make money of them.

No integrity and no heart.

A disgrace.


Argue all you like. I've used my own eyes and my own brain in this comparison. I'm sure of what I feel is the truth.
Larry Holmes would beat Joe Louis.

Lennox Lewis too.

Anyone typing that Jake LaMotta would beat Roy Jones, go die.