Average weight of top 10 HW fighters throughout history

Great post luf, thank you for the breakdown.

 

Thanks! Very interesting. Not very much happened for 60 years and the change that did occur seems to be easy to attribute to better health care and living conditions, which also can be seen in an increase in average height. But from 1987 onwards you see a marked difference. What happened from the mid 80's were: 1. The 15-round limit was changed to 12 rounds. 2. Training methods that including intervals and weight training had a breakthrough with the successes of Michael Spinks and Holyfield. 3. Fighters started testing positive for steroids.

 

Yes this sounds correct. This is a really good thread!

There is no doubt about it that a different type of heavyweight emerges after the 1970s. Up until 1967 the difference in heavyweight average sizes is negligible.

I think in fantasy fights you can put anybody together up until 1967 and call it the same weight division. You don't need to handicap anyone.

Fantasy match ups after this point however, proves that there are a lot of unequal factors to consider.

 

Very interesting that there was a big spurt over two decades. But that in the last decade it really tapered off.

 

My hypothesis is that the change from 1967 to 1977 is to a large part down to that these two generations are separated by the "boom decade" after WWII. But pure chance probably played it's part as well.

 

Let's hope it's topped out.

When back when the character Ivan Drago came into the Rocky films I just thought it was ridiculous but even then it must have been based on something. Perhaps the bob hazzleton story?

Even eating my popcorn as I watched the movie I thought it ironic that a steroid abusing actor like Stallone has his character training old school methods in the mountains liftIng carts dressed up in and old sack (of all things) but I excused it as a movie because back then we all thought steroids was just cosmetic. We didn't think back then it did anything to boxers apart from make you look like a bodybuilder. But eventually its benefits were discovered and made their way into big time boxing.

 

That also translates to "he's not as good but he's probably doing something illegal to make the grade"

 

Fair point.

 

Yeah...
A lot of these guys got bigger throughout their careers.
Not the case for AJ, Klitschkos, Fury, Carnera, etc
But you do see it with Wilder, Holmes, Foreman, and some others.

Ali jumped 30-40 pounds throughout his career.
Jack Johnson fought at 165 to 230+ (according to soft research on boxrec).