Heavyweights Average Height: Ring Top 10 1956-2010. Very interesting

90 heavyweight could be in mr olympia lol, but todays heavyweights are as massive or even bigger and taller. Just not as ripped. Older generations of HWs from 50s etc were not that massive and not that tall.

 

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Here is a graph of the data used to calculate the average heights, I think this is a much clearer way to display the data than just stating the average height.
The graph shows the height of top 10 heavyweights is increasing, and that there are many more tall boxers in recent years compared to the past, but there are however still boxers shorter than many of the boxers of the past.

 

The average height and weight is definitely increasing. Before being over the hill, people said Povetkin was "too small". In terms of height and weight, he's almost the same as Ali. Never heard anyone call Ali too small back then.

 

Yeah, that great size worked out well for Carnera who fought with the same style as Vittles, huh?

And I noticed you have no response for the article I posted.

 

True, there simply was no one like the Klitschkos etc back in the 70s.

Literally no one of their height and size was fighting at any decent level back then.

I do actually think Povetkin is too small to beat the Klits

 

You diodnt sriously just compare Carnera to the Klitschkos did you.

Carnera was a glorified circus freak, who got as far as he did simply on size and fixed matches.

He was like an earlier version of Valuev

 

he just says that size alone means **** and he's right on that issue. modern heavyweights may be a bit taller than back in the days but their skill level decreased. height alone means nothing!

 

This is exactly what I meant. But if you watch Vits and Carnera there style of fighting is eerily similar.

 

This.

 

This again.

 

Yeah, they're all a bunch of highly motivated rocket scientists in top physical shape, who consistently perform at their best... er, well, they are bigger; unless you count guys like Primo Carnera, Abe Simon, Jess Willard, and Buddy Baer.

 

I do have to note that the top 10 has probably been just as full of former cruiserweights as it has been full of superheavies in recent years. From the Ring's recent top 10 we have Haye and Adamek right after the Klitschkos and above the big guys like Tyson Fury. Then there were others like Eddie Chambers, Chris Byrd, James Toney, and Evander Holyfield who all did quite well in an era of big men.

 

That's an excellent point that I haven't seen brought up yet. :good

 

This is a more reasonable summation of the current top ten, rather than just either extremes of the debate ie they are not bigger; they are all bigger.

However, even many of those former cruiserweights are still bigger than many of the hws of the past. Haye is 6'3 and adamek about 6'2.
The average height has not changed massively, it has gone from 189cm in 1972 to 193cm in 2012. But just the average height doesn't tell the full picture. There are many more really tall heavyweights today, but the average height hasn't changed that much because there are still short heavyweights in the top ten.

I think over the next few years the height of the top ten will continue to increase, looking at the olympics super heavyweight, there were very few under 6'5.

Height is an important attribute, of course it is, but like any advantage it can be overcome, the tallest guy doesn't always win, the same as the fastest doesn't always win.

Now that a talented fairly athletic really tall heavyweight is more common, it's unlikely that a shorter talented boxer will dominate.