Could We Realistically Expect Langford To Have Success V Modern Super Heavies?

i know many fans that agree with me, but i dont need to pretend i have their support to win an argument.

 

Dude, good lightweights cannot successively go head to head against good lightheavyweights. Get the analogy? It’s not all that hard.

 

Not really when most of the modern top heavyweights have inflated heights. Guys around Fury's size, which is 6'7.5" 85 inch reach 247-260 lbs weren't unheard of in the old days. The only difference is that the heavyweight division in the past had more talent and depth, since the cruiserweight division didn't monopolize all of the smaller and faster fighters that balanced the division out.

I'll list a handful of large fighters from the past to now.

1910's to 1920's
Dan Dailey 6'6" 84 inch reach 205-220 lbs
Jess Willard 6'6" 83 inch reach 224-250 lbs
Bill Tate 6'6" 81 inch reach 235-250 lbs
Andre Anderson 6'5" 81 inch reach 210 lbs
Fred Fulton 6'4.5" 84 inch reach 210-225 lbs
Carl Morris 6'4" 81 inch reach 220-240 lbs
Pat Lester 6'3.5" 235 lbs

1920's to 1930's
Victorio Campolo 6'7" 82 inch reach 220-260 lbs
Jose Santa 6'6.5" 83 inch reach 235-260 lbs
Primo Carnera 6'5" 85 inch reach 250-270 lbs
Jack Doyle 6'5" 79 inch reach 210 lbs
Long Tom Hawkins 6'5" 215-230 lbs
Monte Munn 6'4" 210-220 lbs
George Godfrey 6'3.5" 79 inch reach 225-260lbs
Seal Harris 6'3.5" 225-240 lbs
Arthur De Kuh 6'3" 215-230 lbs

1930 to 1940's
Jack Pettinger 6'7" 82 inch reach 235 lbs
Ray Impelletiere 6'7" 84 inch reach 240-260 lbs
Buddy Baer 6'6" 84 inch reach 235-250 lbs
Jack Torrance 6'5" 240-260 lbs
Babe Hunt 6'4" 82 inch reach 195-205 lbs
Abe Simon 6'4" 82 inch reach 250 lbs
Valentin Campolo 6'3.5" 76 inch reach 220-225lbs

1950's to 1960's
Ewart Potgieter 7'2" 94 inch reach 320-350 lbs
George Parmentier 6'6" 230-250 lbs
Duke Sabedong 6'6" 215-230 lbs
Johnny Shkor 6'4.5" 210-220 lbs
Abel Cestac 6'4" 220-230 lbs
Young Jack Johnson 6'3" 225-240 lbs


1960's to 1970's
Jim Beattie 6'8" 240 lbs
Jack O'Halloran 6'6" 235-250 lbs
Al Jones 6'5" 220-245 lbs
Roy Williams 6'5" 225-240 lbs
Jimmy Summerville 6'4" 240-260 lbs
Joe Bugner 6'4" 82 inch reach 215-230 lbs
Jose Luis Garcia 6'4" 205-220 lbs
Buster Mathis 6'3" 240-260 lbs
George Foreman 6'3" 78 inch reach 220-230 lbs

1980's to 1990's
Mike White 6'9" 85 inch reach 250-280 lbs
Anders Eklund 6'6.5" 235-250 lbs
Eddie Richardson 6'6" 220-240 lbs
Mitch Green 6'5" 82 inch reach 215-225 lbs
Tony Tucker 6'4.5" 82 inch reach 220-235 lbs
Noel Quarless 6'4" 210-220 lbs
James Broad 6'4" 228-250 lbs
James Smith 6'4" 82 inch reach 227-240 lbs
John Tate 6'4" 80 inch reach 220-240 lbs
James Douglas 6'3" 83 inch reach 228-240 lbs
George Foreman 6'3" 78 inch reach 250-260 lbs

90's to 00's
Henry Akinwande 6'7" 86 inch reach 230-250 lbs
Michael Grant 6'6.5" 86 inch reach 250 lbs
Vitali Klitschko 6'6.5" 79 inch reach 240-250 lbs
Alexander Zolkin 6'5" 82 inch reach 235-245 lbs
Timo Hoffman 6'5" 80 inch reach 250-260 lbs
Wladimir Klitschko 6'4.5" 81 inch reach 230-245 lbs
Lou Savarese 6'4" 80 inch 230-240 lbs
Lennox Lewis 6'4" 84 inch reach 235-245 lbs
Corrie Sanders 6'3" 77 inch reach 225-230 lbs

Last Couple of Years
Tyson Fury 6'7.5" 85 inch reach 247-260 lbs
Mariusz Wach 6'7.5" 82 inch reach 247-260 lbs
Alexander Dimitrenko 6'7" 82 inch reach 245-260
Dominic Breazeale 6'6" 81 inch reach 255-260 lbs
Deontay Wilder 6'6" 83 inch reach 218-228 lbs
Anthony Joshua 6'5.5" 82 inch reach 240-250 lbs
Wladimir Klitschko 6'4.5" 81 inch reach 230-245 lbs
Gerald Washington 6'4.5" 82 inch reach 235-250 lbs
Joe Joyce 6'4" 80 inch reach 250-260 lbs
Joseph Parker 6'3" 76 inch reach 235-245 lbs
Izuagbe Ugonoh 6'3" 84 inch reach 224-234 lbs
Jarell Miller 6'2.5" 78 inch reach 280-300
Dillian Whyte 6'2.5" 78 inch reach 245-260 lbs

 

No way

 

Thanks for the feedback, but the very large fighters that you mentioned were anomolies and for the most part limited. The behomoths of today are numerous and highly skilled.

 

Define highly skilled?

The fighters of today aren't more experienced and often reach the top without ever mastering their skillset.

Wilder is a good puncher, quick on his feet, and has great stamina. However, Stiverne, who is 6'1" at most and fat even at 239 lbs mostly neutralized Wilder's right hand, but his lack of head movement and handspeed due to his excessive weight allowed Wilder to jab his way to an easy decision. Ortiz also showed Wilder can't effectively defend his body, which also a major weakness Joshua has.

Joshua has a lot of potential and one day may prove to be a great fighter, but he hasn't done it yet and is still green with only 22 fights. The only time he's fought an opponent with effective footwork and timing is when he fought Takam (no power), Joshua (old), and Povetkin (old). Whyte has pretty good timing, but his footwork could be better. Joshua doesn't have a good jab and leads too often with the left hook, which is why Wlad dropped him, but Wlad couldn't drop Fury, who would sneak the left hook in instead of leading with it. Joshua also ate a lot of counter rights from Povetkin, who like Stiverne is 6'1" at best. This bad habit would get him beat against Fury or Wilder.

Fury is pretty multidimensional, but his conditioning is inconsistent and he wasted several years of his prime not fighting. He did beat Wlad (a declining one), but he never defended his titles.

Parker has a good chin and fastball hands, but his footwork and punching mechanics are atrocious. I have a really hard time seeing Parker being a ranked fighter in the past.

Whyte has good timing and he proved it when he wobbled Joshua, but his conditioning let him down. If he dropped 20 lbs he'd be a threat to Joshua, Wilder, and Fury, but at 240+ he'll never be able to beat the top 3.

Dominic Breazeale has good punching power, but not much else. He's slow, predictable, and doesn't have an ounce of cleverness to him. He fell for the same check hook from Joshua for 3-4 straight rounds.

Gerald Washington besides being tall and big doesn't bring much to the table. He can't punch, isn't durable, and he can't effectively move around the ring.

Povetkin had a ton of potential about 5-6 years ago, but never got in the necessary shape to ever be a serious threat to Wlad and now he's too old to be a threat to the new crop of fighters.

Ortiz wasted too many years of his pro career with suspension. A very talented southpaw, but he has a poor gas tank and can't seem to adapt to straight right. Scott and Wilder had no problem consistently landing straight rights on Ortiz.

Jarrell Miller is too fat to be a threat to the top fighters in the division. He also doesn't move his head, which will make him easy pickings for guys he can't bully like Wilder, Fury, Whyte, Ortiz, Joshua.

 

I agree, it was good information by Jackomano. In recent times, the best prospects are even bigger and longer than they were in the 1990's to early 2000's.

All four of the medal winners at the 2016 Olympics have turned professional. If you medal in the Olympics or World Amateur Champions, you have some skills. In addition, the tallest man at heavyweight from the Olympics has recently gone pro.

6'4-6'9 with at least a 79" reach is the new normal among the best young heavyweight pro prospects

 

I think it is absurd and somewhat ahistorical to think that the best from the early 20th century could compete on even terms with the best of today. Size and weight is about the least of the factors.

 

There are a handful of (mostly relatively young) posters who seem to believe that the top 165-195lb fighters of yesteryear were from a magical race of now extinct immortals that can’t be understood by the same logic and principles we use to assess fighters today.

 

Yes I have encountered them on other forums too. Nothing makes an old fighter more magically superhuman than a lack of film footage of their fights.

 

Using Jackomano's list of histories larger heavyweights, I'll comment on the ones I've seen.


1910's to 1920's
Dan Dailey 6'6" 84 inch reach 205-220 lbs

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Andre Anderson 6'5" 81 inch reach 210 lbs
Fred Fulton 6'4.5" 84 inch reach 210-225 lbs
Carl Morris 6'4" 81 inch reach 220-240 lbs
Pat Lester 6'3.5" 235 lbs

1920's to 1930's
Victorio Campolo 6'7" 82 inch reach 220-260 lbs
Jose Santa 6'6.5" 83 inch reach 235-260 lbs

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Jack Doyle 6'5" 79 inch reach 210 lbs
Long Tom Hawkins 6'5" 215-230 lbs
Monte Munn 6'4" 210-220 lbs

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Seal Harris 6'3.5" 225-240 lbs
Arthur De Kuh 6'3" 215-230 lbs

1930 to 1940's
Jack Pettinger 6'7" 82 inch reach 235 lbs
Ray Impelletiere 6'7" 84 inch reach 240-260 lbs

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Jack Torrance 6'5" 240-260 lbs
Babe Hunt 6'4" 82 inch reach 195-205 lbs

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Valentin Campolo 6'3.5" 76 inch reach 220-225lbs

1950's to 1960's
Ewart Potgieter 7'2" 94 inch reach 320-350 lbs
George Parmentier 6'6" 230-250 lbs
Duke Sabedong 6'6" 215-230 lbs
Johnny Shkor 6'4.5" 210-220 lbs
Abel Cestac 6'4" 220-230 lbs
Young Jack Johnson 6'3" 225-240 lbs


1960's to 1970's
Jim Beattie 6'8" 240 lbs

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Al Jones 6'5" 220-245 lbs

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Jimmy Summerville 6'4" 240-260 lbs

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Jose Luis Garcia 6'4" 205-220 lbs

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1980's to 1990's

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Last Couple of Years

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