Greatest Era in Boxing?

[JCFLA]

What time period in boxing history do you think had the best overall talent from top to bottom?

This idea stems from a reply I made in the Aaron Pryor thread in which I opined that the era I really got into watching boxing, (late 70s-early 80s), was as good as any.

HWs: Holmes top-notch, below him a few solid fighters but overall well below 60s-early 70s(the best heavies ever IMO).

LHWs: Not all-time greats maybe, but Galindez, Saad-Muhammad, Gregory, Johnson and Braxton were very entertaining. I also remember being intrigued by James Scott fighting out of Rahway Prison.

Middles, JMWs, Welters: Hager, Hearns, Leonard and Duran. Need I say more? Well, how about Cuevas, Antofuermo, Minter, Benitez and Davey Moore, Not bad, huh?

JWWs, LWs, JLWs: Cervantes,Pryor, Arguello, Mancini, Chacon,Boza-Edwards. Again a solid group.

FWs, BWs and Flys: Lopez, Sanchez, W.Gomez, Zarante, Pintor, Pedroza, LaPorte,Chandler and Canto. Yet another fine group.

In my mind, this is as good a group as any in history, plus I've left out perhaps 2 dozen other quality fighters that the rest of you could easily add to my lists. Maybe the 20s or the late30s-early 40s would be right up there, but I'm too tired to dissect it any further. So I'll leave it to you: Am I being biased because the late 70s-early 80s is the era I remember best, or is there another time when the overall quality was better? Enquiring minds want to know.

[hamed]

I agree, that's when I first became a boxing fan - those were the days! Remember when there was a good fight almost every weekend afternoon on network TV? My dad isn't a fight fan & was a little ticked my mother bought TitleBout for my brother & me. That game turned us into fight fans!

[maxx]

The quality fights on network TV really made that era memorable. Hamed is right, almost any weekend you saw fights that today would be PPV or premium cable. Also, the networks showcased particular divisions so you really had the chance to get to know the fighters.

Remember all the lightweight showdowns? Guys like Mancini, O'Grady, Hilmer Kenty, Andy Ganigan, Rock'n Robin Blake, Terrence Alli, Johnny Verderosa, Jimmy Paul, Harry Arroyo. Then you had those great round-robin lower weight fights with Chacon, Boza-Edwards, Bazooka Limon and Rolando Navarette.

Now, we did have to sit through some terrible heavyweight snore-fests with the likes of Page, Tubbs, Broad Ass Broad, etc., but for every one of those bores you had Saad Muhammad's wild brawls or Little Red Lopez' slugfests or all those middleweight contenders facing off for a shot at Hagler.

Personally, I think one of the biggest reasons (there are, of course, many others) for the decline in boxing today has to do with the loss of those network fights. If you don't lay the foundation to bring in new fans, eventually your fan base erodes and you end up with stuff like USA Network getting out of the fight game altogether & ESPN slashing their fight schedule for 2004.

Anyway, as to your question, I don't think that era was better per se. I do think, though, that the heavyweight division was weak which allowed the lighter weight divisions to get more exposure and flourish.

[jabbo]

Not to be a wiseguy, but it's pretty much a law that people consider the boxing (music, TV, take you pick) of their formative years the greatest ever.

That being said, I think the 1980s had outstanding talent in the middleweight and usually weak light-heavyweight divisions.

The heavyweight division was poor.

Bob

[JCFLA]

Maxx;

Good points about the lack of network coverage and weakness of HVY division as contributing factors. Since most of what passes for big news in boxing anymore is negative, the networks and other popular media sources have basically relegated the sport to the level of horse racing or track and field. I like those sports, too, but nobody else seems to pay much attention and you rarely see them on network tv either. Basically, these sports have pretty much turned into "acquired tastes" or "cults", if you will. Instead, NASCAR, perhaps soccer and (sigh) rasslin' seem to suit the public's taste nowadays.

Jabbo;

No, you're not being wise as that's exactly why I asked the question. I figured my unintentional bias was creeping in and some of the rest of you might recall an earlier era in which the overall talent level was greater. Sadly, you're correct in stating that most people remember their formative years as the time when everything was bigger and better. I'm a firm believer that after the age of 25 or so, a good percentage of the population have gotten so intellectually lazy that it's too much trouble to learn anything new or even think hard enough to possibly change their narrow minds.

I am most definitely not one of these people who thinks everything was better way back when. Whenever I hear someone talk about the "good old days", I either quietly cringe or politely tell the person they must have been sleepwalking through all the fun stuff like world wars with millions of casualties; global depressions; rampant epidemics and diseases killing people by the thousands; pervasive racism and the consequent civil strife; assassinations; mucho organized crime; unfair labor practices; etc, etc. To hear some people talk, you'd think there was no such thing as homosexuality, pedophilia, political scandal, poorly educated children or lack of a work ethic way back when. Talk about rose colored glasses.

Admittedly, things aren't always perfect now, but I'm damn glad to be living now rather than 50 or 100 years ago and I hope to be alive 50 years from now when I have no doubt things will be even better than today. Well, boxing and the Beatles will probably be fodder for the trivia gurus by then, but otherwise I'll take the future.

Sorry folks, that ouburst was brought to you by the Optimistic and Open-Minded Citizens for a Brighter Tomorrow. We will now return to our regularly scheduled boxing forum. Pardon the rant and I promise to do my best and remember that this is a sports game website.

[swampdragon]

Ironically, the very things you cite were probably instrumental in creating the great period for boxing between the world wars and after World War II. Thanks to the depression, you had a huge pool of young men in the gyms learning how to box instead of holding down good jobs. Pro football and basketball were in their infancy, and the only real opportunities were in baseball and boxing. Lucky us. We get to play a game about it without worrying about the organized crime, the fixed fights, and the general shortage of cash that plagued most of the fighters of the day. Still, I think there was a higher percentage of top athletes in boxing in that period than any time before or since.

[JCFLA]

Interesting thought, Swamp. As alluded to in another thread somewhere on this board, changes in economics, the media and society in general have re-shaped boxing since the 30s and 40s.

By the way guys, (and Jabbo in particular), I apologize if my last thread got a ways off tangent. After sleeping on it, I was afraid some of you might get after me for spouting off about non-boxing issues. Hopefully I haven't ruffled any feathers and there was certainly no malice intended. Just me being opinionated as ever.

Back to boxing. Any more comments on the various eras?

[jabbo]

No need to apologize! I just wanted to put my two cents in, cynical as they may be.

Bob

[JCFLA]

Thanks Bob. Always enjoy your posts on various subjects. Hey, I'm a cynic about many things, too. But I like to think I'm an optimist as well, if it's possible to be both.

Maybe instead of thinking, (and typing), out loud and confusing myself and the rest of you, I'll turn my attention back to boxing.

[jabbo]

A good snapshot on the relative strength and weakness of divisions throughout history are the Ring's articles from the past, which are accompanied with the ratings from that period. It's fun to figure out, in retrosepct, the strongest division at that snapshot in time.

Bob

[dempsonny]

JCFLA,
I agree with you 100%. This was a great era in boxing for all but the HW's. The 60's and 70's were great HW era's.
When you mention the MW's you can't leave out Frank "The Animal" Fletcher. He was one of the most entertaining MW's ever. He was a young small Mike Tyson. It also seemed like James "Hard Rock" Green was also fightning every month. That was the era that really got me to follow boxing even though I remember listening on the radio to the Ali-Frazier fights with my father and brother. I also remember Dick Tiger and Emile Griffith on the radio.

Gus