Floyd Mayweather was right...

[jack_the_rippuh]

When he said times have changed.
You can't compare guys from the Robinson era to now. A fighter's career went alot different.

I also think that fighters nowadays come in much better shape at the night of the fight than fighters back then.

Opinions?

[Kball15]

fighters definetly come into the ring in better shape because they have a lot of time to rest between fights, and lot more time to prepare and train

[maxorido]

i'm not sure that fighters today generally come in better shape. today you have fighters who get exhausted before the middle rounds in a 12 round fight, back then you had to go 15 rounds.

what makes you think careers went alot different? because of all of the sanctioning bodies? the ibf123 one fish two fish belts? haha maybe, but other than that i see things as being similar, other than fighters of back then usually had more fights per year.

[Smokin']

No they don't. What are you idiots talking about. Fighters of the past fought OFTEN meaning they kept in shape. And they didn't baloon up like the fighter's today. The only different thing about the pro game now that is different then is that the fighters are much bigger because they are draining all that weight. Corrales comes in at about 150-155. It is scary to think even what DUran would do to him let alone a legit 155 lb fighter like back in the day.

[Boxing Analyst]

fighters rightnow business minded people.

[BrooklynBomber]

Its understandable why fighters are so business minded, none of them want to end up like Robinson or Louis, two all time greats who ended up broke and lonely.

[Exige Jr]

What strikes me about the old fighters is that their technical abilities seemed to lack. Obviously that wasnt always the case... Ali was a technical master. But when I watch footage of like 1920s onwards up until pretty recent times I think "this is boxing of a poor standard compared to now". Like did a counterpuncher even exist back then? I dont think so... It was just a brutish war of attrition. Stylistically boxing has changed to an extremely technical game in my opinion. What set the fighters apart back then was heart and endurance that no other man on the street had. Now what sets them apart is not only the athletic ability but also the technical ability.

Who agrees?

[Kball15]

some of them are in bad shape, and guys like hatton balloon up, but eveyone outside the heavyweight division are in outstanding shape. both hatton and mayweather have some of the best stamina ever

and its true that these guys went 15 rounds, but its not like they werent extremely tired by the end. hatton fights the last round and it looks like its still the first

its a very debateable topic, but i feel that due to the extra time between fights, injuries heal and body muscle expands, allowing fighters of today to be more prepared for the fight

[Kball15]

Ali was a technical master.
Who agrees?

not me. ali did tons of things techinacally wrong. he backed away from punches. he was only able to do that because he was faster then fast.

[Smokin']

What strikes me about the old fighters is that their technical abilities seemed to lack. Obviously that wasnt always the case... Ali was a technical master. But when I watch footage of like 1920s onwards up until pretty recent times I think "this is boxing of a poor standard compared to now". Like did a counterpuncher even exist back then? I dont think so... It was just a brutish war of attrition. Stylistically boxing has changed to an extremely technical game in my opinion. What set the fighters apart back then was heart and endurance that no other man on the street had. Now what sets them apart is not only the athletic ability but also the technical ability.

Who agrees?

That is one of the most misinformed positions on this topic I've seen in a while. Especially the bolded part. Ali wasn't a technical master...he was a great athlete. A fighter who only throw's 1,2's and clinchs as much as Wlad is not a skilled fighter. Ali was also an arm puncher but that's a different story.

Back then you had more guys like Hatton who swarm and try to outlast his opponent. But on the whole the guys were much more skilled. The guys today have bad stamina and all they do is headhunt.