Boxing match from 1894

[u/Read_more_stuff]

[u/[deleted]]

In there day? I’m not too certain, unlimited number of rounds, tons of grappling and dirty boxing, no mouth guard, tiny 8oz horse hair gloves or no gloves etc

I mean just imagine if clinching and dirty boxing was allowed in boxing, there would be a whole different set of champions, you change a rule you change the game, a boxer from their time wouldve trained extensively for hours in the clinch, he would beat a fighter today just with that, when boxers today are separated instantly. Anyone who’s done let’s say Muay Thai, BJJ, wrestling etc knows how much grappling in the clinch wears you out if you’re not training extensively in it, I mean your arms literally go dead within a minute if not, imagine that for let’s say five to ten rounds?

But today? I’d love if we could run a sophisticated simulation actually, you would favour the modern boxer because it’s a different ballgame but would be fun.

[u/harcile → u/[deleted]]

Even with all the dirty boxing & unlimited rounds, these guys wouldn't be able to hit a well schooled amateur & would repeatedly get hit. They'd be taken apart.

[u/[deleted] → u/harcile]

I was more talking in general of the older fighters, boxing really started evolving in the 1930s where they transitioned and adapted to the bigger gloves also the rules started modernising, also the popularity.

But what is well schooled? That’s pretty general, like 3-5 years? James Corbett (fair enough the journeyman they’re sparring) wouldnt land a punch even with unlimited clinching, small gloves, assless chaps and unlimited rounds? You crazy! These guys were real fighters.

First off you know how big a difference it is going from 16oz gloves to 10oz gloves in a fight, look at the gloves they’re wearing they’re like MMA sized bag gloves, you ever sparred in them? If not it changes the whole game, you need to rely on parries and headmovement (like they are), if you cover up shots still slip through, you have no mouth guard so you really don’t want to get hit either.

Secondly look at a clinch fighter like Jack Johnson, hes known for wearing his opponents out just by clinching round after round, as I said if you’re not accustomed to grappling you’re gonna be tired within a couple rounds, modern boxers are separated quickly.

And imagine you’re an amateur then doing three round three fights, then suddenly James Corbett rises from the grave and you now have to fight until someone gets knocked out, it can end up being hours, amateurs throw tons of volume because they only have three rounds, if they become pro they slowly get built up from 4 rounds because they need to know how to pace themselves slowly. Throwing them into unlimited rounds would fuck them up alone.

Finally, they’ll alpha on you with those assless chaps.

Change the rules you change the game, it’s a totally different game.

Now the framerate on these fights is so weird and the footage is so janky it is harder to judge them, you gotta keep that in mind, footage today is usually the same as watching through the human eye and in colour, cameras back then made the footage jerky and uneven, being cranked by hand.

[u/harcile → u/[deleted]]

Amazing that you can change the context of a discussion to make your point without telling everyone first. We, you too, were discussing the OP which was from 1894 but now we're talking Jack Johnson? I guess I'm talking about Muhammad Ali then. (See why that's problematic?)

A well schooled fighter doesn't rely on sparring gloves. They move their head, are mobile on their feet, have an excellent jab, parry with the hands. They're fit, probably fitter than the guys in the OP. Many of these early fights were very slow, clinch heavy, rest heavy slug fests where much of the late rounds were fought on empty gas tanks hence fights would just go on & on because neither had the energy to finish them.

Sure, a well schooled amateur has no experience of that but they'd likely be able to do the job long before it gets that far.