Quote Originally Posted by SlimTrae View Post
I don't think that question will ever be answered.

If we go by end result: No man has ever been injured the way Jess Willard was against Dempsey: broken orbital bone, fractures, teeth(several) knocked out...

Not saying Dempsey hits harder than Shavers or Tua or Tyson, or Wlad.. hell sounds like loaded gloves, but we dont know that either...so how else can a question be answered without it being subjective as opposed to objective?
Yeah and theres a lot more things to consider too, like more rounds and a lot less fucking around (less technique) the further back you go in history, thinner the gloves get too.Some modern guys wouldnt hold up, some of the leaders now would dominate.
With less training and evasive techniques back then you'd need a solid chin or a decent reserve to last.The championship rounds as once were, have been taken away over the years from no end of rounds, to 20 rounds ,down to 15, all for fighters safety no other reason. For that alone we need to stretch our thoughts out a bit more than just straight comparisons between then and now.
Dudes are getting bigger now too, even the Asians since eating more meat are shooting out some giants of their own.
Some modern fighters who are not top skill level can still do it the old way, look at Hatton probably not what you would call a natural, he used to train for 20 rounders that won him what it did got him as a far as it could.
Then you got some lazy fighters who rely on heavy hands and a good beard, same thing in all eras.
The lines all cross in many ways it isnt clean cut.