How many HW champions meet U.S. Army weight requirements?

http://www.military.com/join-armed-forces/army-weight-rules.html



Checking out the U.S army weight requirements is proberbly the best "inch for inch" guide to what is considered a natural healthy size for all ages and height ranges. How can it not be?

It is very intresting to look at the maximum weight for each age and height range and discover that many great heavyweights would be considered too unhealthy to meet the requirements.

Interestingly until about 1980 most heavyweights fit within this chart.

I can only presume "Modern training" after this point must tell a bit of a story here.

 

Most champions before the 1980s are within the US army weight requirements.

Muhammad Ali with a height of 75" at age 17-20 according to Army requirements he would be allowed to be a maximum of 206lb. Between the ages of 21-27 he is allowed a maximum of 212, 28-39 yrs he can afford a max of 217 and over 40 a max of 220. If you look at the important fights Ali was in shape for he was within this level.

Joe Louis, Max Schmeling, Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey all listed at 6'1" or 73" are allowed maximum weights to enter the army for the same age ranges of 195lb, 200, 205, 208. They were each within this.

George Foreman at 217 was bang on the maximum weight for his height and age when he beat Joe Frazier.

Shorter champions like Marciano and Floyd Patterson were also within these maximum guidelines for a 71" height. 185-197. Joe Frazier a little over.

Then we come to Mike Tyson and David Tua...

Lennox Lewis, Rid**** Bowe and the Klit brothers should never have been over 232lb by age 40!

 

No, it's kind of an actual example of how intresting it is that heavyweights used to predominantly fall within a maximum weight range for each inch of height and now they no longer do. What do you draw from this?

 

Deontay is unusually lean for current trends. At 31 perhaps he sets an example of a fighter who may be the same kind of weight in another era?

 

Does anyone know why the majority of current Super heavyweights no longer fall within Current U.S army weight requirements?

Old timer heavyweights almost unanimously fall within even the current army weight requirements system.

 

I dont think it is that simple. Heavyweights mostly always USED to meet the current system. They dont now.

But all other weight categories do.

If it's natural for big men to be so heavy for their height why are they so far off the scale on a modern army chart?

 

The point is for 20 years I've been listening to people tell me David Tua is big boned, that people are naturally bigger for their height, that Lennox Lewis and the Klits could never weigh less than 230lb, that it's NOT Artificial weight, that it's NOT an actual tactic to develop into that size and NOT changes in training that is making fighters too heavy for their height..

When the truth is today the US army rejects anyone over and above what is naturally acceptably heavy for their height.

Super heavyweight is largely a manufactured invention. A bye product of body building and deliberate modern tactics over the opposition.