The "old timers vs. current fighters" debate will continue to rage on forever, which in itself is a great thing about boxing discussions. I have to admit I am guilty of favoring fighters from a certain era forward. I, like everyone else, have no scientific facts on which to base my opinions. Like someone else already said, short of having a time machine and yanking these fighters together in their primes, all the rest is assumption.

That "certain era" for me is the 1980's. We were spoiled in those days, with ATG's such as SRL, Duran, Hearns, Hagler, Benitez, Gomez, Arguello, Pryor, etc. I watch those fights and I see everything I see today. Speed, boxing prowess, beautiful defensive moves, power, etc. I watch fights from the 50's, and I see robotic movement, plodding, but plenty of power. I'm not putting everybody in those baskets. SRR undoubtedly was ahead of his time, and exhibited the movement, skills and speed to dominate as he did in his era. And he was so damn busy, it's difficult not to consider him among the ATG's. Rocky Marciano was tough as nails. Had he been 20 pounds heavier, I would make a case for him against any HW in history. But again, HW's were smaller back then. Now we have 6'-5", 240-lb behemoths like the Klitschkos, and it's almost unfair to try and compare these fighters.

But by and large you watch fights from the 50's and before... and you see the same thing. Human beings have evolved. I would draw a parallel with another sport I'm very familiar with, American football. Players are bigger, faster, and more athletic now than they were back in the 40's and 50's. It's just a fact. The games themselves back then were great, don't get me wrong. Because it was an even playing field. Everybody was smaller and slower. So the degree of competitiveness was the same. So as evolution is true for sports like football, same thing I think holds true for boxing.

This is not meant to diminish in any way the greatness of the old fighters in their own eras. But once you start to compare fighters from different eras, it becomes a guessing game.