Tbh, the lesser height (imo, a real 5’10” - 5’10 1/2” max.) just adds to the enormity of his accomplishments vs comp. that were so much taller and better reached. And it was Mike, flipping it over, who became the intimidator. I remember years ago Mike appeared on stage with Eddie Murphy, they looked virtually on par but if either of the two had any advantage, it was Murphy who appeared a smidge taller imo - but Eddie could’ve had better heel or even worn lifts.
A couple spring to mind. Gerald McLellan was meant to be 6'1" but in the stare down with Jackson (5'10", maybe?) and Benn (5'9"?) he looks a very similar height. He certainly doesn't tower over Benn in pre fight publicity either.. Second, Tommy Hearns doesn't tower over either Hagler or Benitez as much as he should have done. Not questioning the veracity of either's height but just wondered if anyone else had ever had pause for thought with their heights.
Jim Lampley said that he measured Mike Tyson himself inside the HBO studio….with a tape measurer …and Tyson is 5’11
Lamps left out the fact that it was the top of Larry Merchants coiffured head he took the tape to…..while Mike was piggy backing Merchant at the same time. Strange pair that Jim and Larry…I’m surprised Tyson went along with it…
IIRC, at best, Heans was listed as tall as 6’2”, maybe even 6’2 1/2”. Of course he wasn’t that tall but 6’1” to 6’ 1 1/2” might’ve seemed reasonable. But then, next to Holyfield I think Tommy appeared a touch shorter. When moving from one flawed reference to another it’s easy to build a Leaning Tower of Pisa. Holyfield’s height has also been variously listed - but I’ll settle on 6’1” or just barely over for Evander. So, with all that, imo, Hearns was 6’1” max. but perhaps even a smidge less. Viewed in isolation (= no one to compare against), Hearns build allowed scope for a bit of height inflation - same for a fighter like Monzon.
I read in Ring magazine that Hearns was 6ft 2 1/2 and readers letters were calling him a bully for not fighting in the middleweight division, at the very least. Haglers height varied between 5ft 8 1/2 and 5ft 10. Amir Khan was originally listed as 5ft 10 which is ludicrous and he's listed at 5ft 8, or less when lying prone.
Ray Leonard admitted that though he was listed at 5’11” at best, he was actually 5’9”. Ray was clearly taller than Hagler so maybe Marv was really 5’8 to 5’8 1/2”. Hags didn’t look much taller than Duran who was supposed to be 5’7”. Didn’t they used to list Cooney as high as 6’7” during his early career? Gerry was really about 6’5” - 6’5 1/2”, right?
How does Cooney look face to face with George Foreman? Foreman look huge in 1973 and dwarfed the muscular Ken Norton. Re Hagler, Minter's height went from 5ft 9 to just under 6ft but he was clearly taller than Hagler. Tyson Fury can be anything up to 15ft tall depending on what he's been smoking
During fights, Hearns often did tower over opponents. Looking at the staredown pic though, yeah, that doesn't look like the 3.5" in or so it is.
Professional wrestling has always exaggerated heights and weights. Ivan Koloff was listed as 6'1" 280lbs but he was probably 5'8" and not anywhere near 280.
Even some taller lighter weight guys had exaggerated heights. How tall was Alexis Arguello really? Certainly tall for his weight, but was at times listed as tall as 5'11" which is probably being very generous. Carlos Zarate was often said to be 5'10" but was definitely not 7 inches taller than Albert Davila.
I don't get why anyone would call you a bully if you're taller than your opposition. Boxing has weight divisions not height divisions. Spreading 147lbs over a 6'1" frame means less covering to cushion blows and more target area to hit. You're much more vulnerable to a body attack than your 5'8" opponent. And in likelihood, you'll have struggled to make weight more than someone for whom 147 is a more natural weight for their height, further weakening yourself. There are some advantages to being much taller than your opponent, some disadvantages. But I don't think of a guy as a bully if he is six inches taller as his opponent as long as they are the same weight. Now if he's 50lbs heavier, that's different.
Never made sense to me either. I usually had a height advantage when I was an amateur but I was probably a bit more vulnerable to body punches if anything
I'd probably say about 5Ft 10, he was very narrow though. Sean O'Grady looked huge when he fought Jim Watt.I remember thinking he looked like a welter.