Forget about comparing individuals of different eras in boxing. Concentrate on the quality of the matches. In no sport can you compare individuals from different eras, or teams for that matter. Can you compare today's Miami Heat against Bill Russell's Celtics of years past? No. Lebron James is twice as big and fast as any of those players from the Celtics. Likewise with American football. Linemen who now weigh a mere 275 pounds are considered too small to play in the NFL. It used to be they were huge at that weight.

Compare the quality of the matches. How many Ali-Fraziers have we had in recent years? How many Holmes-Nortons? How many Lewis-Vitalis? Tyson-Douglases? Zero. We have been deprived of exciting, quality, competitive HW matches for years..... seems like decades. This is what is actually killing interest in the division.

Of course fighters nowadays are bigger. Evolution. Bill Russell was 6'-9" when he played. He towered above everyone else and was a premier shot blocker. Nowadays, he'd be the size of a power forward, with little of the strength, speed, or agility needed at the position.