boxing today vs boxing 30 years ago

this is something i have been thinking on a lot today. i have been watching old fights and clips of guys from when i was coming up and # man.....seems like boxing was stacked in the late 70's up to the late 80's..
compared to now what do you think?
does not matter the division.

i can think of recent guys that were killing it
de la hoya
klitchko
mayweather
pacquaio
jone jr
hopkins

those guys come to mind....

then i think about guys from the era i mentioned.....
i just watched the hagler vs hearns fight....holy hell man that was one of the best fights ever....

imo and i admit i was a huge fan back then cause my dad and i used to watch it when he was still alive. it just about ended for me when my dad died and tyson fell off....for the most part i mean...
what i am getting at is i did not watch the guys listed like i did the early 80's guys. just caught pieces....

it seems to me though that the guys from the late 70's and early 80's and possibly a trickle into the very early part of the 90's had something special...
am i off in my thinking?

when i think of great boxers the guys that come to mind are for the most part not the guys i listed...
more like
hagler
spinks
hearns
duran
tyson
holmes
liston
norton

what do you think?

maybe it is nostalgia for me cause i grew up on those guys with my dad and #....

what do you think?

a reply to: TinySickTears

Boxing started dieing with the rise of MMA.

a reply to: TinySickTears

what do you think?

I think this should be in World Sports and not U.S. Sports.

Boxing didn't start in The U.S.

a reply to: alldaylong

yeah but thats not really important so what do you think about the boxers?

and idreamofme, thats part of the reason i fell off with boxing. my dad died and then mma popped up in 93 at leat on my radar with ufc 1 and i got sucked in.
ive kind of looked at boxing as a half of a fight ever since.

i have enjoyed watching these old fights today though

a reply to: TinySickTears

There are still great fighters and great bouts today , the recent Joshua vs Klitschko fight was the best I've seen in years , a true heavyweight battle as good as any of the classics.

a reply to: gortex

agreed.
i watched that fight because of the thread you started.
that is an example. so yes there are great boxers and great fights today. in general though what do you think about the boxers of today vs the era i mentioned?
just as good today? better? same?

Raman "chocolatito" Gonzalez

Pound for pound #1

Gonzalez vs. Cuadras

Gonzalez vs. Sorung Visai(Wisaksil Wangek)

a reply to: TinySickTears


Firstly Tyson should never ever be mentioned. To bite chunks out of a opponents ear is beyond despicable.
He was no boxer, just a thug.

Now going back to your question. Boxing today is deplorable. Boxer's give little respect if any to their opponents. They should be in street fights not a Boxing Ring.

I remember the days of the " Gentleman " boxers who had respect for all. Such as the great Henry Cooper.

a reply to: TinySickTears

I remember the era you mentioned and yeah they were great fights and fighters , it was probably a better time for boxing.

a reply to: alldaylong

Firstly Tyson should never ever be mentioned. To bite chunks out of a opponents ear is beyond despicable. He was no boxer, just a thug.

That was toward the end of his career , you can't discount the legend he was because of that one incident.
Tyson was a great fighter and champion.

The best is Vasyl Lomachenko. Watching this guy work puts even some of the older fighters to shame. He might be the greatest boxer of all time, which is a shame, as boxing is falling out of favor at least in the US.

a reply to: alldaylong

thats bull#.

tyson was an amazing fighter man...he was tuning dudes up with the quickness and he was very young too. he was a force.
after the whole going to jail thing he was different and especially after Cus died...he was not the same after that. Cus was like his father man.....

tyson was a great fighter...as good as any other heavyweight that has ever laced up and better than most

a reply to: gortex

I hate tyson fights.

Spend 50 bucks for a 30 second fight.

RIP OFF!

I would pay for the mayweather-mcgregor fight tho just out of morbid curiosity

a reply to: TinySickTears

thats bull#.

Are you stating that Tyson didn't bite chunks out of Evander Holyfields ear ? If you are then here is the very ear.

[gore removed]

Tyson was an out and out thug.

a reply to: alldaylong

if i was stating that then i would have said it. i watched the fight.
what i am stating is its bull# that he should not be mentioned as one of the greats.
he was an amazing fighter...yes he did bite the ear and yes he is off his rocker but as i said, after he went to jail and Cus died he was not the same....

you can never know how youre going to react to # like that...the ear bite happened in his 48th pro fight.....so youre basing your opinion of him and his career on something he did after 48 fights where he was slaying dudes...

feel how you want about it. youre entitled to your opinion but i think overall most people would disagree with you in saying he does not deserve to be mentioned with the greatest fighters.
50 wins. 6 losses. 44 knockouts.
that does not go away because he bit a holyfields ear.

originally posted by: alldaylong
a reply to: TinySickTears

thats bull#.

Are you stating that Tyson didn't bite chunks out of Evander Holyfields ear ? If you are then here is the very ear.

[gore removed]

Tyson was an out and out thug.

Your silly

First off Tyson was an orphan, a very large one, and was taken advantage of by his management.

He was an incredible boxer and anyone who actually has boxed or has been part of boxing knows this.

Second you gave Ali as an example as a guy with class? Are you referring him to calling fighters uncle tom's and being notorious for trash talk?

Boxing and mma suffer the fact they are entertainment. They are not always bracket sports where the best opponents face each other. This is where a lot of the ceiling comes from in boxing and mma. They remain seedy because gambling is the most important aspect of the sport. And hype. It's been that way for a long time.

People think technical boxers are boring, they want to see blood and knockouts. So someone like Andre Ward who is literally one of the best boxers in history are very unpopular.

I do like Russian boxers but if I am looking at technique then it's guys like ward and Mayweather who are athletes who want to avoid brain damage for a few years of glory.

Of coarse triple G and Canello are also two of the best and finally we get to see two top guys go at it, and they both like to throw.

Boxing has failed because of the shady aspect it has never let go which is prize fighting in general. Now like in mma nobody will take any risks because they can destroy your career.

a reply to: TinySickTears

There are a lot of great fighters today and a lot of great fights. Lomanchenko was already mentioned. He's the most technically perfect fighter I've ever seen, never off balance, impeccable foot work, pinpoint accuracy on his punches. And he does not fight a defensive, boring style. Triple G, Genady Golovkin, is a remarkable fighter with great technique and awesome power. I could go on and on: Gonzalez, Crawford, Rigondeaux, etc, etc..

I also have to say that Paulie Malignaggi is one of the best color men boxing has every seen. He does most of the major fights on HBO now and is brilliant.

a reply to: TobyFlenderson

I agree with most of your comments. Though I would say those defensive boring styles have stifled fighters for years. I would argue they are the most technical boxers. They win with technique, conditioning, and speed. Footwork, head movement, feints, and getting in and out without being hit is the most technical way to box. It's not as exciting but if they can't be touched they can't be touched. That's the fault of their dancing partners technical ability. If they were better technically defensive boxers couldn't win. They need to learn to cut angles better if they can't hit someone like Mayweather or ward.

a reply to: luthier

Second you gave Ali as an example as a guy with class? Are you referring him to calling fighters uncle tom's and being notorious for trash talk?

No i didn't. If you take time to actually read the post i was referring to Henry Cooper.

As for Tyson, you have your opinion, i and many others have mine.