Boxers in the wrong weight class!?

I think Joe Gans would've been better going to Welter, but there was less money in it.

 

Frankie Duarte would've be a perfect 115lber. Unfortunately, he was a little too early. Jiro Watanabe also should've moved up to 118, as he would've beaten nearly anyone there at the time and become a lot greater, and he was also struggling to make weight nearer the end. Jofre possibly should've moved up to 126 sooner. LaMotta could have also done with moving up earlier, or having catch-weigh bouts more often, but his troubles weren't solely due to his natural size.

 

Meldrick Taylor at welterweight, let alone junior-middle.

 

I thought Juan Manuel Marquez was crazy to move beyond lightweight - he did it for the money to fight Floyd but at that point he was not a welterweight in any way, shape or form. Then a couple of years later he was up at welterweight and looked like an ox. A remarkable late natural growth spurt!

 

I read a interview with Michael Olajide once where he said he could have made 147 or 154 but his father wanted him to be a middleweight because it was a more prestigious division. Olajide seemed to think he would have had a better career at welterweight or junior-middleweight.

 

Donald Curry at 154. And it wasn't a Honeyghan residue thing. He looked underwhelming there in the couple fights before that happened.

 

Thomas Hearns comes to mind in 1981, he looked built enough for 160 lbs, with his size.

 

I would have loved to have seen Michael in with Marvelous Marvin Hagler before he retired.

 

I wanted Wilfredo Gomez to move up to 126 well before he did.

 

two fighters that I'm aware of who capitalized on 'Fighting Down' were the Scotsman Tancy Lee and today Bernard Hopkins, who made a Career of it!

most fighters in the last 40 years do this, that is 'modern' boxing, but many eventually move up, natural weight gains with age, but No excuse for the BHops of the Sport!

 

Julio Cesar Chavez at 147

 

Marvis Frazier at cruiserweight.

 

If you are implying that BHOP was a weight cutter you are wrong. He was a very disciplined guy that very rarely was any more than 5-7 pounds over the 160 weight limit. There are tons of examples of guys that do massive weight cuts and then balloon up sometimes 20 pounds or more on fight night but he is not one of them.

 

I know that, he was a Refuse to Fight 'UP' per, he knew to keep whatever advantage he could get away with.