Do we overrate current fighters?

[Earl-Hickey]

I was wondering this the other day, it happens a lot of times that people get "exposed" but truly we probably just got carried away with how good we thought they were.

Statements like "only prime Jones could beat ward" are pretty common, but you know I think that's disrespectful to a lot of the old timers (I'm talking about other African American fighters here, so no racist)

It just seems like every current unbeaten fighter gets rated real highly, even if when we look at resume there's no real stand out names

[Weebler I]

Fighters are "managed" a lot more today, they have fights cherry-picked, travel less and records are protected. So yes, most current fighters are overrated, they are pampered.

However, there are exceptions like Lucas Matthysse who are on the road fighting thousands of miles from home and beating everyone they would put in front of him.

[_original_]

If anything, we might underrated them. All I ever hear is about how much better the old school fighters were and how'd they wipe the floor with the new generation.

[Ryn0]

Ward I think deserves his praise, though I think Jones, Calzaghe beat him in their primes but Wards a bad example since Super Middleweight isn't that old and he hasn't gone up to LHW.

But you are correct, I think people fall in love with power too easily. Lacy was a victim of the hype machine. I have a feeling Golovkin is too, Daniel Geale has achieved much more than Golovkin at this point in their careers but receives less than half the praise because he lacks that bone crushing power.

Valero was on the same hype track before his death and we don't know where he would have gone, Pavlik was expected to steamroll through Hopkins because Pavlik was "avoided by Calzaghe" and Hopkins had fought a less than stellar fight against Joe. Power isn't the only thing it's the tangible visible things that people use to overrate fighters like blinding hand speed as well.

If you look a pattern of under achievers chances are the majority have either big KO power or very fast hands.

[Capaedia]

Some overrate current fighters, others do the opposite.

No way is Fitzsimmons beating Wlad.

No way are Pacquiao/Mayweather beating Hearns.

[jri9d0]

To be honest we can thank the media and today's boxing generation for this.

There is more emphasis on remaining undefeated and getting the biggest payday through the least path of resistance than the best fighting the best. Thus, the overrating machine is born...

[daggum]

Ward I think deserves his praise, though I think Jones, Calzaghe beat him in their primes but Wards a bad example since Super Middleweight isn't that old and he hasn't gone up to LHW.

But you are correct, I think people fall in love with power too easily. Lacy was a victim of the hype machine. I have a feeling Golovkin is too, Daniel Geale has achieved much more than Golovkin at this point in their careers but receives less than half the praise because he lacks that bone crushing power.

Valero was on the same hype track before his death and we don't know where he would have gone, Pavlik was expected to steamroll through Hopkins because Pavlik was "avoided by Calzaghe" and Hopkins had fought a less than stellar fight against Joe. Power isn't the only thing it's the tangible visible things that people use to overrate fighters like blinding hand speed as well.

If you look a pattern of under achievers chances are the majority have either big KO power or very fast hands.

do your quotation marks imply calzaghe didn't duck him? he fought shot jones jr instead.

[Ryn0]

do your quotation marks imply calzaghe didn't duck him? he fought shot jones jr instead.

Pavlik had just been schooled by Hopkins, there was little to be gained from a Pavlik fight after that. I think had Pavlik beaten Hopkins more impressively then Joe then a match up would have happened. I know there was nothing legacy wise to be gained from beating a shot Jones but I think we all knew money motivated the Jones fight.

I do think Calzaghe avoided Dawson though, who possessed qualities than would've troubled Calzaghe far more than Pavlik especially at Calzaghes age. In all honesty I've never thought highly of Pavlik even at the peak of his popularity after Taylor I, easy to say in retrospect but still.

[daggum]

Pavlik had just been schooled by Hopkins, there was little to be gained from a Pavlik fight after that. I think had Pavlik beaten Hopkins more impressively then Joe then a match up would have happened. I know there was nothing legacy wise to be gained from beating a shot Jones but I think we all knew money motivated the Jones fight.

I do think Calzaghe avoided Dawson though, who possessed qualities than would've troubled Calzaghe far more than Pavlik especially at Calzaghes age. In all honesty I've never thought highly of Pavlik even at the peak of his popularity after Taylor I, easy to say in retrospect but still.

pavlik only fought hopkins because calzaghe signed to fight jones jr instead of him. after calzaghe "beat" hopkins that was the big fight to make and calzaghe didn't want any from a middleweight and instead fought roy jones jr which made zero sense. he even gave him a 50-50 split which made less than zero sense. and yes calzaghe ducked many fighters not just pavlik. i'm just happy he cured his fear of flying to fight a couple old dudes. guess he just forgot to fight the prime guys. it happens!

[Weebler I]

instead fought roy jones jr which made zero sense.

I would say it's pretty obvious which made the more money for JC. It's like Geale fighting a shot Mundine again instead of fighting Golovkin. JC should have fought him after he beat RJJ imo, not before.

Maybe Calzaghe would have fought Pavlik had he been willing to travel to the UK but a shot Pavlik wouldn't even travel to Europe to fight Froch or Kessler years later.