Nikolai Valuev vs. Larry Holmes you know because size is more important than skill

Look, perhaps it is a product of boxing's long history that huge fighters are seen as little more then sitting ducks. Making them clear marks for a super skilled though smaller guys like Tyson, Marciano or in this case Holmes. But in kick boxing the biggest fighters are often considered the best. Like this guy here,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semmy_Schilt

6'11" 290lbs. I'm not going to say that because a guy is 6'4" 220lbs he's better then a giant heavyweight, it's all in the skills, will and conditioning of the fighter. If you are 6'11" and you can continuiously walk a guy into a 1-2 all night then more power to you, if a shorter guy is dumb enough to fall for it, it's on him. Your job as a fighter is to use your physical advantages to craft a style then you can use to beat anyone else. For a guy as big as Valuev he came weirdly close for a guy who lacked so much skill, speed, defense and stamina. He used what he had, which was reach, power and durability. I can't and won't fault him for that.

But Holmes at 6'4" had to learn an entirely different skill set. He had to use speed, craft, versatility and well through a series of unfortunate mistakes we learned he got one hell of a chin on him as well. Holmes beats Valuev because he is a better fighter and far more versatile. With long, tall guys there is a sweet spot where a shorter opponent can get in range of their power punches while smothering the opponent. With a guy as big a Valuev that is about 18 inches from him. So long as you stay about 18 inches away you will be inside of his power punches while being fully capable of landing your own. Holmes would live in this sweet spot for as long as it took.

 

Great post by Escudo ^

 

Not in a million years.

Yes.

 

And nothing. The point is Valuev single handedly disproved the boards obsession with size that night.

 

That size is an advantage?

It still is.

Valuev was just too limited in other areas.

 

Unless your reading comprehension is that of a dement person, I've always said the same about size.

It's an advantage.

When 2 fighters are elite and both have skills plenty.
A size advantage for one fighter can make the bout from extremely competitive to an one sided destruction.
Like Foster-Frazier/Ali.

Look at Ali's performances against fighters above 200 pound and below.
Besides Doug Jones and a once in a century punch from Cooper and Spinks (but Ali was way past it), Ali was much more dominant against smaller fighters than against bigger fighters.

 

Everyone knows size is an advantage otherwise they wouldn't have weight classes

 

beating a big static slow and easy target like valuev is one thing and beating a combination of huge size, power ,speed,strength and athleticism with decent skill is a much harder meta.

 

I was talking about the sub 200 pounders Ali fought.

What was Frazier for Ali?

Learn to read, please.