Which division is greater? Middleweight or Heavyweight?

I believe I did a poll on this years ago and it was indeed next to last.

 

Wow shocked at the voting. Heavyweight title has always been the crown jewel. There are bigger weight and height discrepancies. More talent competing for the best prize in all of sports. This voting shouldn’t be close.

 

I should clarify…it WAS the greatest achievement in sports not that long ago. Certainly not 100 years ago. It also pays better than any other combat sport currently. It also pays a lot more than middle weight title fights. The best always try to move up not down historically. The general public can name you ten HWs of the past. I guarantee they can’t name you ten Middleweights. How would you define greatness? Heavyweight boxers have changed history. There was a picture of Jack Dempsey in most people’s homes. He was more well known then Babe Ruth st the time I’ve read. Muhammad Ali retired was helping in international conflicts. Joe Louis ignited a firestorm in the country beating Schmeling. Mike Tyson electrified the nation with his fights as they were must watch TV. The HW title holds more prestige and greatness then the Mw title ever could. It’s not even close

 

I think the prestige and greatness of the division attracts the best talent. Or it did up until about 30 years ago.

 

The middleweight division has produced far more great fighters.

 

I will put it another way.

Being a top five all time heavyweight, is a bit like being a top twelve all time middleweight, or a top twenty all time lightweight.

 

Looking at your other posts it seems to me you just struggle to accept differing opinions come with differing levels of importance placed on factors. That might seem a tad insulting but fact is I would need some convincing to believe you are in fact so stupid you can not understand. It's not that you do not see, it's that you do not care.

Similarly, I could not give a **** less about rating tbh, yours, mine, some jamook from some publication, idc, my posting history will show that.

It's cool bro, you don't have to care. Let me know if you really actually want to compare three thousand years worth of history to one hundred and forty years worth on a scale of historical importance. I will do it, I just don't think you really need or want that and are more interested in letting me know you dgaf.

 

Its almost a different sport when you compare middleweight to heavyweight.

Middleweight’s talent pool is obviously a lot deeper due to attracting a far bigger audience (plenty of average-sized man, not much men that are naturally above 200 lbs) You can be moderately skilled and still be ranked if you are big and athletic enough, whereas in middleweight you have to be geniunely talented at the sport to be a top name.

On the other hand, heavyweight is a lot riskier. Middleweights are average-sized man, they are perfectly capable of hurting each other but its rare to see a middleweight that can flatline someone else with just one punch. At heavyweight practically anyone can win the fight off of one punch. You can be the world champion, toy with an unranked contender for round after round, then catch a good left hook out of nowhere and that’d be enough to say goodbye to your title.

A good middleweight is of higher quality than a heavyweight as far as skills and resume go, but for me, nothing is more impressive than a dominant heavyweight that holds the title for years. Constantly stepping into the ring with 200+ lbs professionals and avoiding getting slept for so long is about as impressive as it gets for me.

 

I still feel heavyweights despite probably taking up most the discussions still get underrated in these comparisons compared to quite a few of the other divisions.

 

The Paul question is a bit ridiculous. I made no such claim that a just well known fighter is more on a pedestal then a skilled lesser weight. My idea of greatness is a combination of things. Skill, impact, legacy and heart.
Skill you can make a case is about even or goes to MWs entirely. I’ll give them that. The rest? Think it has to go HW. The most memorable moments the heart of boxing has been the HW division. Legacy as I stated everyone knows Ali and Tyson and Marciano. Impact? If not for Dempsey there prob wouldn’t be modern boxing, Ali was a cultural revolution, Tyson electrified the world. No Mws have had the impact on the sport they did going against the best competitors. That’s my case.