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Originally Posted by dempsonny
Kidd's reply was a great article by Monte Cox. I also agree with MrChallenge. Fighters of yesterday were much more experienced than todays fighters. You can see why Glen Johnson doesn't have great punching power. He is an arm puncher who never steps into his punches. His body weight is not behind his punches. Thomas Hearns used to throw perfect punches. He used to have his weight behind his jabs that's why he used to drop people with a jab. Active fighters for the most part should be adjusted downward in many categories not just HP. This is especially true of the HW's.
Gus
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About the experience thing. Does the modern fighters' amateur career count for anything? Vitali Klitschko compiled an amateur record of 119-15, with 80 KOs before ever stepping into the ring as a professional. In contrast, Rocky Marciano is believed to have had only a dozen or so amateur contests before beginning his illustrious career. Is this typical, or is Rocky an isolated case?
While I realize that amateur bouts are 3 rounds and fought with headgear, they do provide a fighter with international experience against a variety of styles and should not be completely disregarded when talking about experience. It's not a coincidence that future heavyweight champions George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, and Lennox Lewis all had extensive amateur backgrounds and won gold medals at the Olympics. While not a guarantee of continued professional success (Wladimir Klitschko), I believe it plays an important role in a fighter's development and future as a pro. Had Jameel McCline and Michael Grant had some time at the amateur level to develop their skills, they may have been heavyweight champion. Without it, they were merely "also rans."
And to say that modern heavyweights should be penalized by lowering their ratings is completely unfair. What the old-timers supposedly had in knowledge and technique is offset by the modern fighters' strength and athleticism. While I'm not convinced that Vitali Klitschko would have defeated all of his predecessors, I think his size and strength would have presented problems for any of the old-time heavyweight champions.