palooka wrote:
'When in Rome do as the Romans do', I remember reading that Jack Blackburn knew about loaded gloves from when he fought in Battle Royals (I think it was in 'The Corner Men' book). I understand that you feel very strongly that these heroes of yesterday could vanquish far heavier opponents, - why can't they today? The sport of boxing was very unscrupulous back in the 20's 30's and 40's and was gangster riddled after that.
I highly doubt reports of 'loaded gloves', only for the fact that it is more likely that you would break your own hand, or injure your hand superficially, if you had plaster or concrete, etc. inside the glove or on the hand wraps. Cleveland Williams, in the 1960s, demonstrated this for RING magazine when they investigated the allegation that Dempsey had loaded gloves against Willard--- the stuff crumbled instantly on impact and in mere moments turned to powder.
One popular theory, I have heard before, is that iron bars or wooden handles were sometimes stitched into the palm of the gloves, to create a harder fist--- but if you look at gloves from the 1860's to the 1940s--- you never did see this feature in gloves. Only modern gloves, of the passed twenty-thirty years have had this. Even still, this doesnt account for the many kayos in the pre-glove era between small men and big men. But if one were to believe iron/wood bars inside gloves, then you would (again) have to surmise that because the fist is now more compact than before, it also gives it no release for tension; which means, the risk of injury (fractures) increases. Both trains of thought, though tempting, are both flawed.
palooka wrote:
Which Klitschko? I'd not put either of them as technique punchers, they seem to have real strength and get plenty of body into their shots but they are massive men; if they get their shoulder into a punch it's like a full bodyweight shot.
Part of the issue in the early days is that there were many who built a reputation within their home state and had not really had any real competition when they met a good fighter. I agree with you that there were some master boxers and terrible hitters but they were as few as today.
Vladimir is the classic textbook boxer. Albeit, he is more of a modern style. Vitali is more along the lines of a late 19th century-early 20th century boxer. Vladimir's two-knuckle method of punching, in combination with a safety first style, often leads to kayos in late rounds or to go the distance. Vitali opts for the three-knuckle method, and has a more aggressive style, which leads to kayos occuring early on in fights--- or him being capable of stopping men who never were stopped, or seldom ever were stopped in their careers. Size and weight does play a crucial part, yes, but the technique in my view is what does it.
