USYK size vs Previous Heavyweight Greats. Exactly the same size as the 70s and 80s elite.

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by bluebird, Oct 16, 2019.



  1. Tramell

    Tramell Hypocrites Love to Pray & Be Seen. Mathew 6:5 Full Member

    4,474
    3,843
    Sep 21, 2012
    True, but I'd wager that Usyk would stop Moorer as well.
     
    KeedCubano and Somali Sanil like this.
  2. It's Ovah

    It's Ovah I'm your huckleberry, that's just mah game Full Member

    13,566
    17,005
    Sep 5, 2016
    Usyk is a natural 215. He just boiled himself down to make the CW limit, same as a lot of CWs.

    Haye, Huck, Adamek and Briedis all came into their first HW fights around 210-215 without looking noticeably different from their CW iterations. It's clear this is the weight they actually fight at; HW simply cuts out the damaging weight draining process, allowing them to enter the ring healthier.
     
    KeedCubano and Somali Sanil like this.
  3. notjustacasual

    notjustacasual Well-Known Member banned Full Member

    1,619
    1,911
    Jun 3, 2019
    I agree

    Everyone at cruiserweight is massive and so amazing.

    They only dont go up to heavyweight because its too easy up there and they want a real challenge
     
    MorvidusStyle likes this.
  4. john roberts

    john roberts Member Full Member

    334
    205
    Sep 5, 2017
    Obviously haye built himself up with roids to get to around 215 you can see that in his body and now he’s retired he’s shrunk big time. The point I’m making is usyk is a well known gym rat and with him being in his early thirties , when you put weight on naturally he is fighting at 215 not having to drain himself like for cw now the three heavyweight s mentioned especially foreman and Ali without any weight training and mainly cardio to lose weight not gain weight we’re training down from 230-240 to get to there fighting weight at the similar age so there fore he is naturally a smaller guy that’s obvious isn’t it?
     
  5. It's Ovah

    It's Ovah I'm your huckleberry, that's just mah game Full Member

    13,566
    17,005
    Sep 5, 2016
    Haye was likely on steroids for his CW career as well. Doesn't really affect the point I'm making, which is that most modern CWs don't fight at anywhere near 200lbs, but like every other weight class barring HW boil down from a higher weight. If he was bulking himself up to 215 it was happening long before he made the move up to HW.

    Apologies but I don't quite get your what you're saying about Usyk. Can you break it down again?
     
  6. MorvidusStyle

    MorvidusStyle Well-Known Member Full Member

    2,761
    4,546
    Jul 11, 2017
    Yes, the problem with the narrative that you just need to be modern cruiser (old HW) size to be a top HW these days and that cruisers are so much better than heavies ... is that the HW division is by far the most lucrative and certainly more so than cruiser, so everyone would just fight at HW. There must be a reason they are so scared of doing so, and it's probably because they've all sparred huge HW's and don't like their chances compared to CW. The other explanation is that it's just the intimidation of the HW division, that the cruisers are just psyched out by the idea of these bigger fighters, even though it's not really an issue, but that's pretty flimsy. There are always exceptions like Ruiz who are small and get somewhere, but even he would lose to Fury and Wilder most likely.

    Btw, all the old cruiser sized HWs would be smashed to pieces by the Klitschkos, though every now and then one might chin Wlad.
     
  7. Safin

    Safin Boxing Addict banned Full Member

    5,815
    7,768
    Aug 3, 2019
    Muhammad Ali was 6'2.5".

    Where are you getting the weights from? All of their weights fluctuated considerably.
     
  8. john roberts

    john roberts Member Full Member

    334
    205
    Sep 5, 2017
    It’s quite simple usyk has had no reason to boil down for heavyweight like he did cw so his weight at the moment is 215, and he does strength training with weights I’ve seen the videos putting on muscle which weighs heavy. Now the fighters like Ali, foreman trained down from 230-240 to get to 220 -225 in their late twenties early thirties in other words a kind of boiling down via cardio training to make the weight they wanted to be at heavyweight, so if there starting point is 15-20lbs heavier then logic dictates they are naturally larger guys from the offset. especially has they never used weights for bulk, it was all cardio. Now if usyk trained exactly like Ali or foreman ie constant running , skipping , heavy bag, sparring, chopping trees, no weights no bulk up powders at the end of his camp he would be nearer his CW poundage than his heavyweight debut weight. Plus the other reasons I put in my earlier post to why I don’t think usyk is a barometer has to how those guys would do in this era.
     
  9. notjustacasual

    notjustacasual Well-Known Member banned Full Member

    1,619
    1,911
    Jun 3, 2019
    Exactly

    If these cruisers were so much better than the heavyweights they would be heavyweights lol.

    More money, more exposure, more fame
     
  10. It's Ovah

    It's Ovah I'm your huckleberry, that's just mah game Full Member

    13,566
    17,005
    Sep 5, 2016
    I kind of get the point you're making, but remember that Ali and co didn't boil down to 215-220 to make a contracted limit, they did so to be in peak fighting shape. Usyk had to boil down to 200 to fight at Cruiser because that's what his contract stipulated he had to weigh. It certainly wasn't the weight he actually fought at, which was likely around 210-215, in other words not far off what those 70s HWs weighed.

    The fact that he's such a cardio machine and still weighs 215 hints that he'd actually be considerably bigger if he stopped training, as he's not especially muscled, certainly to nowhere near the extent Holyfield and Haye were, and seems to have quite a big frame.
     
  11. john roberts

    john roberts Member Full Member

    334
    205
    Sep 5, 2017
    That really is my point, you are making it for me , I know they didn’t boil down but they did pick a weight that was optimum to fight certain opponents , that’s why in 1971 aged 29 yrs Ali fought three times in the space of 6-8 months weighing 220lbs then 227lbs then back down to 220lbs in other words he could move up and down between 220lbs and 230lbs with ease because he was a naturally bigger guy than a usyk, Haye or Holyfield. The later 2 fighters certainty took roids and still never touched anywhere near 227-230 and there is no way usyk could come in at 228 and back down to 220 in a number of months,at the moment, Holyfield and Hayes frames are nothing like Ali, he had wider shoulders bigger legs, usyk from the three is nearest but still obviously he’s not as big. let’s turn it on it’s head if Ali trained in the gym as much as those boys, and took roids , bearing in mind he fought at 227-228 when he wanted. what weight do you think he could make at 29-32 years old, I can bet your bottom dollar it would be a lot more and certainly more than the fighters you have mentioned because he weighed more than them anyway there is no denying facts I’m afraid. That’s why I don’t think along with the other things mentioned it’s a very good yard stick.
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2019
  12. KeedCubano

    KeedCubano Read my posts in a Jamaican accent Full Member

    961
    1,106
    Jul 21, 2019
    The first thing that boxers are told is too cut weight so you can enjoy a size advantage. It's common sense.
    What your failing to remember is that most of these guys turned pro when the Klitschko's were ruling.
    So there's not much fame, money or exposure around in a HW division with no interest.
     
  13. bluebird

    bluebird Boxing Addict Full Member

    5,609
    2,234
    Apr 17, 2009
    Usyk is probably only 6'2 1/2 himself. Weights are from their prime years roughly rounded.
     
  14. bluebird

    bluebird Boxing Addict Full Member

    5,609
    2,234
    Apr 17, 2009
    Ali won Gold in the Olympics at 178 lbs.

    Usyk won Gold in the Olympics at 200 lbs.

    Ali always carried a layer of fat and never looked in extreme shape. He was never any bigger than Usyk. Fat is not bigger.
     
    Somali Sanil likes this.
  15. Somali Sanil

    Somali Sanil Wild Buffalo Man banned Full Member

    6,555
    7,544
    Sep 1, 2019
    That is by no means a given, hes capable of beating both !