How big would heavyweights be today if fights were still 15 rounds?

Big problems is what I'd envision.

Or how about today's or recent heavies fighting outdoors in the sun in Vegas or Manila? No way I see that kind of conditioning.

 

There's absolutely no reason for heavies not to be as big as possible. Just because most of these giant guys are fat oafs doesn't mean they HAVE to be. Vitali was 6'7 and he was very well conditioned. 15 rounds might just suit these skyscrapers just fine.

 

Just as big i'd wager. The highest outputs in the division's recorded history: Ibeabuchi, Thompson, VK, Arreola and Kownacki are all solidly 230+. We have the likes of Miller and Chisora throwing Frazier-esque numbers despite their rotund frames. AND they all did it in a 12 round era. Tapering down the volume to last 9 more minutes really shouldn't be that big of a problem.

 

A lot of them would need to be 15-20 lbs lighter. No way could a 270 lb Fury maintain any semblance of a great workrate in round 14 or 15.

Some guys like Wlad, VK, Ibeabuchi are genetic anamolies.

But Fury, Parker, Bakole, Zhang and many others would need to be significantly lighter.

 

I think they would be a little leaner. You saw what happened to Fury’s fat ass when fighting an actual conditioned athlete! He wore out and was absolutely frustrated with the pace. Same for AJ who was conditioned but he was conditioned to fight fat oafs like Fury. He wasn’t conditioned to fight an old school in shape guy like Usyk. I think heavies may have peaked w weight due to steroids. There will always be monsters but the best will be in better shape usually.

 

Aside from maybe Usyk, I don't see any heavyweight today who could go 15 fast paced rounds.

 

Personally I don't believe Usyk could do it, he only averages
about fifty punches around, with most of the punches from
probing type jabs.
Most of his heavyweight fights he slows quite a bit by the 7-8 rds.
and his opponents even worse.

 

About the same size they were before the rounds got shortened and CW got invented.

 

Punch volume/numbers doesn't really mean much by itself, having Frazier hanging off of you on the inside or having Marciano stalking you down for 15 is a different thing altogether

 

I don't think the rise of the 12 rounder and the superheavy are related here at all.

 

That's the thing, isn't it? If you are fighting another guy that is content to fight in spurts and is looking to conserve energy, then no difference. If you are fighting a guy that is pushing the pace and is in condition to do so, it gets a lot harder.
Being a good 'pressure' fighter isn't just about throwing punches. Usyk is very much a pressure fighter because he is always there and you always have to react to what he is doing. You don't see many good 'pressure' fighters any more but you see guys that throw a lot of punches because the guys teaching them don't know the difference.
See, if you know how to fight, a guy throwing a ton of punches is just giving you more opportunity to counter, more to work with. If you don't know how to fight, that will tire you out, always reacting and thinking about what to do. Most fighters spend a lot of time everyday throwing a lot of punches and they do those goofy mitt routines where they just stand there and punch, that type of fight should be just fine.
What tires out a guy that knows how to fight is the constant tax on his mental energy. Always being there, just an inch out of range and always feinting so that you never know what he is trying to do but you have to react. That makes you tense and tension kills.

 

Yep the great ones control the pace and make you fight there fight. Usyk is great at using angles always making people think and move their feet and try to adjust to his range. Other pressure fighters like Frazier or Marciano would constantly be crowding or pushing you on your back foot off balance. It gets exhausting trying to adjust yourself. Usyk is always moving at strange angles. Love it

 

Well, the stinky, ashy, elephant in the room is that several of the names you've mentioned have been linked to PED scandals or we know for a fact they were on them.

I think it depends on the individual's one lifestyle/fighting style and if he decides to heed the advice of his coach and nutritionist. A guy with a rather large frame and big appetite like Bowe would never come in weighing 210 like boxers of the past, he'd always be on the bigger side (I'd imagine no lower than 220-225) no matter what era.

But generally speaking I think on average some guys would probably be a little lighter due to the quicker pace and longer fights in older eras. There were a handful of pudgy guys and muscle heads even in olden times, but you didn't see a huge increase in them until the absence of the 15 rounds, the increase in PED development to allow fighters to train and recover harder, the embracing of weights, and the leniency of refs for all the leaning and clinching.

 

I actually agree, "scientific advances" are so rampant it's pretty much impossible to tell what the fighters are capable of naturally. Still, who besides Miller were busted on EPO specifically. Also, did Ibeabuchi(and Tua for that matter), Arreola and Kownacki ever **** red at all? VK's wasn't during his pro carrer.