Anyone know about Polish heavy Artur Szpilka?

[turbina]

The issue is , that with the weight, comes size. Mainly reach and height. Guys with Klitschko like parameters, have a huge advantage over the rest of the division, aside from guys like Wach, Dimitrenko, Helenius, Fury, Wilder, Valuev etc. etc... except those guys are in a completely different class. Valuevs entire success was practically all based on his freakish size.

I think guys the size of Povetkin, Adamek, Chambers, etc. are at a big disadvantage fighting guys with the parameters of the above mentioned fighters, and need to REALLY excel and do some things VERY well to stand a chance at winning. While a big guy wouldn't need as much skill. You don't have these types of handicaps to this extent at the lower weight classes. Which to an extent there is a certain appeal there, given the correct set of fighters, but unfortunately there are no such fighters out there right now.

It wasn't much of an issue in the recent past, where you had a lot of big, talented guys, in a pretty competitive division, but that is just not the case any longer, which just highlights this logic and makes it that much more apparent.

[jacklondon]

Originally Posted by Vysotsky

The increasing gap in poundage the higher up the weight class if you understand the law of diminishing returns. A 130lb fighter has a much more significant advantage with a 10lb difference against a 120lb fighter than a 140lb fighter has with a 10lb difference over a 130 lb fighter.

Anyone who talks of the need for a SHW division loses nearly all credibility with me and anyone who talks of the need for a SHW division and tries to support their case by saying "they have it in the amateurs" should kill themselves for the benefit of the human species.

Answer your question?

The only question you answered was that you sound like a fool, particularly in your next to last sentence.

Logical weight divisions would be based on percentage increments, say hypothetically 10% increase going on up the scale, thus starting with say 120 pound class the next would be 132, 145, 160, 176, 194, 213, 234, etc.

Here are the present weight divisions in boxing:

[ame]********en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_weight_classes[/ame]

The present weight divisions are separated by the following parameters in pounds:

3 - 4- 3 - 3 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 5 - 5 - 7 - 7 - 6 - 8 - 7 - and then a sudden jump to 25 for cruiserweight - and then a jump to sky's the limit for men weighing 201 pounds or more. So a super-middleweight can only be between a genteel 168 and 175 pounds, but a man weighing 201 is supposed to be in the same weight div as a man weighing 251, or even 300 pounds or more. No sense or logic or rhyme or reason to it.

[jacklondon]

Originally Posted by turbina

The issue is , that with the weight, comes size. Mainly reach and height....

In point of fact there is no place in boxing today for a man weighing alittle over 175, or even worse a little over 200, unless he is willing to face a huge size handicap, something that the lighter weight classes are ever so carefully protected from.

[jacklondon]

The problem with putting a lower limit, Nosbor, is that the light weights are very popular in many countries where people tend to be smaller, but there are too many weight classes in the lighter weights and there are not enough weight classes for the big guys, and the weight classes there are are illogical and unfair.

Here is my proposal. I made it up for another boxing forum - using 12% increments, starting with welterweight at 147:

147 welterweight
165 middleweight
185 light heavyweight
207 cruiserweight
232 heavyweight
260 superheavyweight
291 king kong class
291+ godzilla class

1,000lb+ ... OK, now I'm getting silly.

[chitownfightfan]

Szpilka stepped up and beat McCline.......even though McCline is faded, he's still a strong, experienced HW. McCline hit and hurt Szpilka and the young Pole not only held his own, but he worked straight through it.

Szpilkas jaw is NOT glass.

I'm still pissed he ducked Bryant Jennings, but I guess that worked out for the best as Jennings got a far more impressive win over a much better, former world Champion, Sergei Liakovich, comparatively speaking.

So that's water under the bridge. Also, Szpilka did what he was supposed to do vs Gomer and KHTFO.

I still really dislike the kid....rubs me wrong. But a yr ago I hated Tyson Fury, and now he's turning me into a fan.

I hope Szpilka makes a quick recovery and can get back into the ring soon.

Someday maybe Helenius or Jennings or Mitchell can prove me worng in saying he dont have a glass jaw and I can start being critical of him again.

As for the Poles.....Adamek would beat McCline 10-0. Wach woulda KOd him inside 5. So as far as contender status.....maybe in a yr or so he'll be there. And being only 23, now that he has proven heart and a "decent" jaw, maybe, just maybe, I'll become a fan. Otherwise I could always just pull for his opponent like I do against Roid Mayflower.

[11player]

Spilka just entered contender status with his last 2 wins, really impressive for a prospect with few fights. The injury was really unfortunate.

A better evolution of the weight classes would be:
105
108
112
116
120
125
130
136
142
149
156
164
172
182
205
205+
I really don't see the argument of the superheavyweight class as valid. The track record shows the lighter HWs winning the majority of fights. Too much weight and too much size tends to work against you in a boxing match.
People see the Klitschkos and they confuse the situations too much, they believe their size is the only thing winning them fights.

[jacklondon]

"I really don't see the argument of the superheavyweight class as valid."

If superheavyweight isn't valid than just do away with the whole weight classification system and let lightweights fight heavyweights. Why should a guy weighing 201 or 205 or something have to step in the ring with someone a head taller and 50 or 100 pounds more but the little guys not have to go against anyone even a few pounds more? It's unfair and it makes no sense and it's illogical, and this is not just about the amazing Klitschko brothers. All you need to do is look at what's dominating the heavyweight division nowadays, and listen to how they talk about guys weight around 220 as being too small to become champ.

[chitownfightfan]

Originally Posted by jacklondon

"I really don't see the argument of the superheavyweight class as valid."

If superheavyweight isn't valid than just do away with the whole weight classification system and let lightweights fight heavyweights. Why should a guy weighing 201 or 205 or something have to step in the ring with someone a head taller and 50 or 100 pounds more but the little guys not have to go against anyone even a few pounds more? It's unfair and it makes no sense and it's illogical, and this is not just about the amazing Klitschko brothers. All you need to do is look at what's dominating the heavyweight division nowadays, and listen to how they talk about guys weight around 220 as being too small to become champ.

Jack, aside from derailing a thread, your'e misinforming.

There is no minimum for a fighter to challenge the HW champion, or any HW for that matter. If Floyd had the balls, he could do as RJJ did and challenge Potvetkin or either K2 or Kimbo for that matter.
HW is a maximum weight with no maximum or minimum.

[Angol]

back to szpilka. im getting worried about all these questionable photos on his facebook page...

[Malden]

Originally Posted by Angol

back to szpilka. im getting worried about all these questionable photos on his facebook page...

?

[MattMattMatt]

Originally Posted by jacklondon

"I really don't see the argument of the superheavyweight class as valid."

If superheavyweight isn't valid than just do away with the whole weight classification system and let lightweights fight heavyweights. Why should a guy weighing 201 or 205 or something have to step in the ring with someone a head taller and 50 or 100 pounds more but the little guys not have to go against anyone even a few pounds more? It's unfair and it makes no sense and it's illogical, and this is not just about the amazing Klitschko brothers. All you need to do is look at what's dominating the heavyweight division nowadays, and listen to how they talk about guys weight around 220 as being too small to become champ.

I believe that in boxing there are diminishing returns to height and weight increases. It seems that the human body has natural limits to size in terms of the advantages that size gives you when you also factor in the reduction in speed, reactions, mobility and stamina.

That, combined with the statistics of it means that the talent pool for athletic 6'6"+ fighters (for example) is minute compared to the talent pool for fighters below that. For this reason, there will generally be a greater number of 'good' smaller HWs than 'good' big HWs (with the current weight limits) for the foreseeable future until the natural statistical distribution of human size/weight increases sufficiently (if it does).

I don't think it is a good idea to add a super HW weight classes to satisfy the statistical anomolies (e.g. Klitschko's). All that will serve to do is further thin an already poor talent pool. If it weren't such a logistical nightmare to adjust weight classes uniformly across the board (different organisiations and countries etc) then it may make more sense theoretically to scale the weight classes relative to some form of statistical distribution of all active boxers, but that isn't really possible.

I do however think that the current jumps between lower weight classes are illogical, and it would make more sense to fix that.

[jacklondon]

Originally Posted by chitownfightfan

Jack, aside from derailing a thread, your'e misinforming.

There is no minimum for a fighter to challenge the HW champion, or any HW for that matter. If Floyd had the balls, he could do as RJJ did and challenge Potvetkin or either K2 or Kimbo for that matter.
HW is a maximum weight with no maximum or minimum.

I plead guilty to derailing a thread...but threads do sometimes go off on tangents, and if I could take the weight class posts and move them to a new thread I would as I certainly have nothing against Mr Szpilka. But I am adament in the correctness of my position on this. Here are the top heavies according to BoxRec:

[url]********boxrec.com/ratings.php?***=m&division=Heavyweight[/url]

Check out their weights and tell me where that leaves fighters who are say 205 or 210. Then you might also check out the cruiserweight div and look at the weights of the top guys and tell me where that leaves fighters weighing say 175 - 185.

[jacklondon]

"That, combined with the statistics of it means that the talent pool for athletic 6'6"+ fighters (for example) is minute..."


See above, and check out the heights and weights of the top heavies.

[turbina]

Originally Posted by Angol

back to szpilka. im getting worried about all these questionable photos on his facebook page...

What are these?

[Angol]

Originally Posted by turbina

What are these?

im all for getting on with your gf etc, but some of these loved up photos are just too much...