Not only have boxers changed, boxing fans and journalists have too

[soul_survivor]

When Leonard had cleared out 147, he was expected to fight THE MAN at 160, long before th1987 when the fight eventually happened.

When Bob Foster was THE MAN at 175, it was not unusual when he fought two of the greatest heavyweights of all time.

When Tito became the man at 147 and 154, progression to 160 only seemed necessary.

Size was an issue but it was a selling point for the fights, not an excuse to not make the fights happen. These excuses are not only given by the fighters themselves but by the modern boxing fan and sadly, the modern press. To go from calling for Leonard v Hagler to now applauding fighters for not going up divisions...it's a sad turn of events.

Where has this new culture come from? And who has cultivated it?

[Sweet Jones]

When Leonard had cleared out 147, he was expected to fight THE MAN at 160, long before th1987 when the fight eventually happened.

When Bob Foster was THE MAN at 175, it was not unusual when he fought two of the greatest heavyweights of all time.

When Tito became the man at 147 and 154, progression to 160 only seemed necessary.

Size was an issue but it was a selling point for the fights, not an excuse to not make the fights happen. These excuses are not only given by the fighters themselves but by the modern boxing fan and sadly, the modern press. To go from calling for Leonard v Hagler to now applauding fighters for not going up divisions...it's a sad turn of events.

Where has this new culture come from? And who has cultivated it?

And just like now, the criticism was selective. Because THE MAN who had cleared out 160 (Hagler) was called out a few times by the champs @175 (Spinks, Qawi), didn't move up, and received minimum 'criticism' for it.

See this interview where Hagler says he would have made Spinks come down to 160: (LINK)

Nah, ain't nothing changed.

[Ray Corso]

You move up if your body can accommodate the move.
Bob Foster was 6'3" and at 175 he was one of the hardest hitting in that division in the history of the sport!
Ray Leonard was 5'10 1/2" and an outstanding athlete with amateur credentials unmatched! He could move up because he had the talent and size.
Willie Pep was not able to move up because of size and lack of power but was one of the most outstanding boxers of all time to date!
For the most part the division champs from the past stay in their divisions the most recent little guys from 140 to 154 who move around are considered the "norm" by fans who don't know the history of boxing. They see Mayweather grow out of division because of his youthful beginnings.
Hagler at barely 5'9" and easily making weight and not being a one punch power artist stayed at middleweight because that's who he was!
There was a time in boxing when the Middleweight Champion was only second to the Heavyweight Champ. Middleweight was the second most prestigious belt in boxing.
Today the Middleweight Champ wants his opponents to weigh 155.........really! What a joke that is...........then he hits the ring at 170+.

Not everyone is a Sugar Ray Robinson who could be TBE in two divisions!!!
In fact there's only been one!!
Ray

[Godsfly]

And just like now, the criticism was selective. Because THE MAN who had cleared out 160 (Hagler) was called out a few times by the champs @175 (Spinks, Qawi), didn't move up, and received minimum 'criticism' for it.

See this interview where Hagler says he would have made Spinks come down to 160: (LINK)

Nah, ain't nothing changed.

hagler is an odd ball compared to other greats. the rest moved up.........can't use him as any example.

[Godsfly]

You move up if your body can accommodate the move.
Bob Foster was 6'3" and at 175 he was one of the hardest hitting in that division in the history of the sport!
Ray Leonard was 5'10 1/2" and an outstanding athlete with amateur credentials unmatched! He could move up because he had the talent and size.
Willie Pep was not able to move up because of size and lack of power but was one of the most outstanding boxers of all time to date!
For the most part the division champs from the past stay in their divisions the most recent little guys from 140 to 154 who move around are considered the "norm" by fans who don't know the history of boxing. They see Mayweather grow out of division because of his youthful beginnings.
Hagler at barely 5'9" and easily making weight and not being a one punch power artist stayed at middleweight because that's who he was!
There was a time in boxing when the Middleweight Champion was only second to the Heavyweight Champ. Middleweight was the second most prestigious belt in boxing.
Today the Middleweight Champ wants his opponents to weigh 155.........really! What a joke that is...........then he hits the ring at 170+.

Not everyone is a Sugar Ray Robinson who could be TBE in two divisions!!!
In fact there's only been one!!
Ray

most of the greats moved up.......

[Ray Corso]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$...!!!

Not for the challenge all for the dollar!!

[OnePunch]

most of the greats moved up.......

I guess Pryor wasnt great then....... smh......

[Caught Square]

So what current fighters do you think the boxing public should urge to move up?

[SplitSecond]

Lol. We need fights to actually happen so "The Man" can be established in each division.

Everyone is afraid of everyone. The majority of boxing has become like those obscure euro fighters who pad their awesome looking undefeated records before showing up to a real fight and quitting or being made to look like bums.

Besides that, yea, like Ray said.

[soul_survivor]

And just like now, the criticism was selective. Because THE MAN who had cleared out 160 (Hagler) was called out a few times by the champs @175 (Spinks, Qawi), didn't move up, and received minimum 'criticism' for it.

See this interview where Hagler says he would have made Spinks come down to 160: (LINK)

Nah, ain't nothing changed.

Hagler was not the rule back then and I do agree, he was a diva. A bigger diva than Leonard who gets unfairly tarnished with that brush.

You move up if your body can accommodate the move.
Bob Foster was 6'3" and at 175 he was one of the hardest hitting in that division in the history of the sport!
Ray Leonard was 5'10 1/2" and an outstanding athlete with amateur credentials unmatched! He could move up because he had the talent and size.
Willie Pep was not able to move up because of size and lack of power but was one of the most outstanding boxers of all time to date!
For the most part the division champs from the past stay in their divisions the most recent little guys from 140 to 154 who move around are considered the "norm" by fans who don't know the history of boxing. They see Mayweather grow out of division because of his youthful beginnings.
Hagler at barely 5'9" and easily making weight and not being a one punch power artist stayed at middleweight because that's who he was!
There was a time in boxing when the Middleweight Champion was only second to the Heavyweight Champ. Middleweight was the second most prestigious belt in boxing.
Today the Middleweight Champ wants his opponents to weigh 155.........really! What a joke that is...........then he hits the ring at 170+.

Not everyone is a Sugar Ray Robinson who could be TBE in two divisions!!!
In fact there's only been one!!
Ray

Duran was only 5'6'', Armstrong around the same weight. Pac around the same height and fought as high as 150+ against a guy who was 5'11''. Ezzard Charles barely stood at 6 foot and fought across 3 of the most prestigious divisions and held a HW crown. I could go on and on.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$...!!!

Not for the challenge all for the dollar!!

I'm sure most of it was about money but you can't be denied the big bucks if you're taking on that type of challenge. Plus it also adds to the legacy, dollars or not.

So what current fighters do you think the boxing public should urge to move up?

Canelo should be fighting at middleweight against GGG, not defending in a made up division. That's just one.

Lol. We need fights to actually happen so "The Man" can be established in each division.

Everyone is afraid of everyone. The majority of boxing has become like those obscure euro fighters who pad their awesome looking undefeated records before showing up to a real fight and quitting or being made to look like bums.

Besides that, yea, like Ray said.

I agree with the beginning part, it's gotten so bad now that top guys in the division won't even fight each other. Mayweather took over half decade to make fights against Cotto and Pacquiao should have happened so much earlier. Ward has taken 2 years or so to actually "officially" become a LHW although he hasn't weighed in at the 168 limit since 2013. Porter v Thurman is being billed as a big fight when it's just 2 contenders who have accomplished very little in the sport.

And so on.