Why do people overrate boxers from the past eras?

[TheIronMike]

Anyone who has spent any amount of time in the ring can tell that fighters from the past prior to the mid 90s are superior than what we have today.

Workrate
Fundamentals

These two are the most obvious. When I see Yoko Gushiken and Fighting Harada pumping a jab like a madman in round 13, then I know this is true.

When I see Hagler explode against Mustafa Hamsho in round 11 like its the first 30 seconds of the fight, you know this is true.

Go do some research clowns.

[BangEM]

Yea your post is a bunch of garbage man. Lewis would beat Joshua 100% and I couldn’t stand Lewis.

You're entitled to your opinion.

AJ would flatten the chinny 29-yr old Lennox and his clumsy stance/footwork into the future. Even prime Lennox took a lot of punishment from short and stocky guys.

[tophat1]

lennox is a bad example .

i tend to agree people overrate fighters from the past, mainly pre war fighters. it seems fashionable to do it especially when theres hardly and footage of these fighters.

[BangEM]

Anyone who has spent any amount of time in the ring can tell that fighters from the past prior to the mid 90s are superior than what we have today.

Workrate
Fundamentals

These two are the most obvious. When I see Yoko Gushiken and Fighting Harada pumping a jab like a madman in round 13, then I know this is true.

When I see Hagler explode against Mustafa Hamsho in round 11 like its the first 30 seconds of the fight, you know this is true.

Go do some research clowns.

That has more to do with PED than workrate.

Boxers are still juicing today but imagine if they're allowed to juice extensively the way boxers in the past juiced and you'd see the same explosion in the later rds.

Just imagine every boxer is allowed to take what Big Baby got caught taking. There'll be a lot of bloodbaths and boxers with granite chins out there with all action packed bouts.

[Sledgeweather17]

Well it’s true in a sense that older fighters get a pass for things current fighters wouldn’t by boxing fans.

Hagler is considered an ATG, yet he lost to some average guys on the way up and his biggest wins were against guys that come up from lower weight classes. Imagine if he was around today? The people on this forum would be saying he was exposed and an overrated bum when he lost on the way up or calling him a hype-job, a weight bully etc..

That’s just the way it is.

On another note, boxers probably are better today. In all other sports where there is a definitive measurement such as time or distance, records are always being broken because athletes get better, so it’d be ****** to think boxers are not much better athletes today too, it’s just there’s no official measurement like in some other sports, so it’s based on opinion but the fact is they’re much better athletes today for the most part.

But we shouldn’t even compare eras. Different times, too many factors to make fair direct comparisons. You can only try to be the best of your time. Lewis was better in his era than AJ in his.

I think athletics is like the only sport where nostalgia has no place. No one can tell you that Maurice green or any of those cats from two decades ago were better than Usain Bolt, no one can tell you that Wade van Niekerk isn't better than Michael Johnson. The times don't lie.

[Idunnoshet]

This thread had some promise ... Until I realized it was a " AJ's better than Lennox thread " ... I'm out .

[GhostofDempsey]

You got it backwards. Today’s fighters are highly overrated compared the the fighters who fought more often and actually fought the best of their respective divisions. Unlike most of today’s cherry picking champions who duck and doge the best at their best.

[boliodogs]

Lewis had weaknesses and was KOed twice in his prime by two guys who were not that good. I still remember him as a very good all around fighter who was better than AJ and had better stamina and threw a lot more punches a round. Tyson and Holyfield were old when Lewis fought them but he was older than Tyson.

[TonyGe]

Nostalgia gives a feeling that makes people from the past greater than they're. And just like time heals all wounds and cover-up all blemishes - it also make us unsee what we saw in the past. Then we also have those who never saw what happened in realtime but rely on legends to help them judge greatness - thus making them greater than they actually are.

A classic example is Lennox Lewis. His footwork wasn't that great and before he linked up with Manny Steward - he was very clumsy albeit he got better after linking up with Manny Steward. And I'd wager that AJ has a better footwork than Lennox ever had. Lennox was also terrible on the backfoot. However, nostalgia has turned Lennox Lewis into some legendary slick boxer who had no holes in his game. Hilarious.

Also, looking at Lennox's resume - we can argue that he beat 8 very good contenders (max) and two ATGs that were on the decline (both Holyfield and Tyson were 36 when he fought them). AJ has beaten 3 very good contenders and one ATG in Wlad (41-yr Wlad gave a better account of himself than 36-yr old Tyson did). And if AJ can beat Ruiz in the rematch and beat the likes of Usyk, Pulev, Hunter, Wilder and Fury in their prime in the next 2 years - he'll move ahead of Lennox of every list.

Stop the madness and enjoy the greatness happening in realtime.

AJ just lost to a fighter that by all odds makers he should have beat. If you count the losses Lennox had against him this has to be counted against AJ. Speaking about past boxes and ratings you get to choose from only the best of the best out of 100 years of boxing history to compare against. Current boxers haven't finished their careers they could drop off a cliff for the rest of it. There is no guarantee they can sustain their performances. I look at how they performed against their peers and how good their peers were. I don't buy this modern heavyweight are greater because they are bigger and have better access to nutrition and modern training. They are performing on a level playing field same as the past fighters against their peers. Maybe modern fighters can beat the guys from the past but to me that's not relevant.

[DreamFighter]

Nostalgia gives a feeling that makes people from the past greater than they're. And just like time heals all wounds and cover-up all blemishes - it also make us unsee what we saw in the past. Then we also have those who never saw what happened in realtime but rely on legends to help them judge greatness - thus making them greater than they actually are.

A classic example is Lennox Lewis. His footwork wasn't that great and before he linked up with Manny Steward - he was very clumsy albeit he got better after linking up with Manny Steward. And I'd wager that AJ has a better footwork than Lennox ever had. Lennox was also terrible on the backfoot. However, nostalgia has turned Lennox Lewis into some legendary slick boxer who had no holes in his game. Hilarious.

Also, looking at Lennox's resume - we can argue that he beat 8 very good contenders (max) and two ATGs that were on the decline (both Holyfield and Tyson were 36 when he fought them). AJ has beaten 3 very good contenders and one ATG in Wlad (41-yr Wlad gave a better account of himself than 36-yr old Tyson did). And if AJ can beat Ruiz in the rematch and beat the likes of Usyk, Pulev, Hunter, Wilder and Fury in their prime in the next 2 years - he'll move ahead of Lennox of every list.

Stop the madness and enjoy the greatness happening in realtime.

AJs best win is arguably a man in his forties, it says it all.

find me a champion for whom that is true in the past.