Floyd Mayweather was right...

[Smokin']

And exige a big difference between fighters of the past is that they actually had to fight, and to fight often to get some money and recognition in the sport. You can make a bundle off of one fight now. That is why so many "top prospects" fall off after that one fight. They lose that hunger.

[ELPacman]

I'd definitely say fighters nowadays are in worse shape than back then. I mean hell, going 15 rounds is nuts. Just look at how many fighters of now that get exhausted after 6, **** some, 5th. I guess a lot of them nowadays train moreso once they know who their fighting rather than keeping in shape or training nonstop. Then again, this mostly applies to the big leagues rather than fighters making their way up. Them guys train nonstop. Once they hit stardom, they slow down as distractions come into play, and then they usually begin training once they know who their fighting. Plus yes, a lot is buisness nowadays and that takes a lot away from the physical aspect of the game at times.

[ferocity]

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?

I think Julio Cesar Chavez said it best "every fighter has had his time, his era, every boxer has wrote his history in boxing...."

So i can understand when Floyd says you can't compare era's. But still fun to do so every era has had great fighters.

As for fighters now coming in better shape, i dont know. I know a lot of today boxers come in great shape but i don't know if its fair to say the fighters of teh past didn't. Of course the training techniques have change a lot.

[Exige Jr]

LOL at people saying Ali wasnt a technical master. Ali was all about the boxing. Out-boxing his opponents, and using defensive prowess to win his fights. Thats defensively technical.

And as far as the question at the end of my post. "Who agrees?". That was rhetorical. So dont answer back. I am the keeper of all answers.

[aljon]

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?

Yea he was right about that but he was wrong about being greatest of all time, he has a place in history of boxing but not as the greatest of all time...

[vB Martin]

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.

That's because fighters back then had to weigh in the day of the fight so they couldn't dehydrate themselves to near-death, then spend a day rehydrating and come in weighing 3 weight classes above the contracted weight.
Fighting closer to your natural weight relives your body of a lot of stress, and is also better for your health, which is why you also don't have many fighters in the modern era come close to 100 fights.

[dino]

As I Said Before..when Ray Robinson Fought He Had Speed That Nobody Else Had...reflexes That Nobody Else Had..now Most Fighters Have It

[Abe Attell]

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

What is your exact definition of "shape"?
You are right about them coming in healthier, meaning fewer injuries, but if you think these fighters are of higher caliber, I would have to disagree. I would love to say that our athletes today in boxing are superior (just to annoy the older generation), but I seriously do not think so. Many of the older generation fighters did not "***** up" when it came to training. They did their work, and they did it to their fullest limit because they knew that if they didn't train hard, they wouldn't win, and if they didn't win, they wouldn't eat, and a chance of getting another shot to keep moving up might be slim because their were to many dam fighters back then.
Many of these fighters from way back worked long hours in steel-mills, on farms, or some other type of intense labor work. How many college students do you see today fighting in boxing, compared to yesterday?
Boxing was not an extra curricular activity that they took up for the hell of it; they had to fight to survive. Jobs were limited, especially if you were some "Mick", "Wap", "Kyke", "******"...nobody gave to ****s about you, and that is ****ing terrible...they brought that anger into the ring and that is why you saw guys keep fighting even if they were knocked down 3,4,5,6,7, times or more, with their eye hanging out, jaw broken, etc.


Mentally, fighters back then probably had the edge to say the least.

[Abe Attell]

As I Said Before..when Ray Robinson Fought He Had Speed That Nobody Else Had...reflexes That Nobody Else Had..now Most Fighters Have It

I disagree...how many fighters have Ray Robinson's power or reflexes? seriously, because I see a lot of "Top" guys that look like amatuers. This isn't like comparing the football players of yesterday to today's athletes because todays football players are better, but boxing for some reason hasn't changed a whole lot. Athletes do have the advantage in todays wolrd to have better training, but their are many that are using "performance enhancing supplements" to get their speed and power.

How about "Chin"? certain things you are born with through your genetics; steroids can help with your speed, some power, but not sure if they help with your chin, unless HGH does, but not sure.

That's kind of like saying that the Heavyweights today can compare with Ali's speed
If "evolution" of boxing were true, how come we haven't discovered another "Tyson"? a 220lb fighter with incredible speed, power, chin, and could throw combinations like a middle-weight?

I seriously wonder what the Athletes of today would really be like without steroids. Guys like Bo Jackson, Herschel Walker, and Jim Brown used to be the "Freaks of Nature", the one of a generation so to speak, but now it seems there are a number of high-school athletes coming out of college at 220lbs that are running backs

[Steak]

That's because fighters back then had to weigh in the day of the fight so they couldn't dehydrate themselves to near-death, then spend a day rehydrating and come in weighing 3 weight classes above the contracted weight.
Fighting closer to your natural weight relives your body of a lot of stress, and is also better for your health, which is why you also don't have many fighters in the modern era come close to 100 fights.

that makes a lot of sense, and for the heavies that gas out so quick its usually the big guys...and almost ALL of the top heavies right now are 230+. guys like Marciano and Dempsey were below 190 for the most part, and they could keep up the fight all night long and never seem to tire.

Boxing has evolved a lot, and the health conditions are way better today. What the fighters of the past had was commitment and dedication...they needed it more than people today

so basically i see that it evens out. the legends of the past may have been great, but the fighters today dont get enough credit it seems like either. I think the past guys and todays fighters are just as good as each other when it gets down to it.
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