Two of the best hw ever in the last 30 years move up from cw. Would it be better for the sport and make the heavyweight division stronger and more profitable to combine the two divisions. Cw has not been a division casuals are interested in.
I like the cruisers. It's like a training ground for smaller fighters to physically mature into heavies, or to give them a place to go if they couldn't hang at heavy, or to give LHW a place to move up to. Get rid of Bridger, though.
That becomes a huge leap then, from 175 to guys weighing on average 75lbs more. You kind of need at least one stopgap division in there, if not cruiser and Bridger. (even if you rebrand the latter as heavyweight and then call unlimited "super heavyweight" like in the amateurs)
Lots of fighters start smaller and move up to be one of the best in larger divisions. A successful jump from CW to HW to become #1 has only happened twice in CW's 45 year long history anyway. It has been 40 years since a LHW moved up to HW to become #1 successfully.
No. It's a good place for natural LHW's to mature into. We have had a sum total of TWO exceptional CW's mature into top heavyweights. Two. And one of them was a natural HW to start with, who just played the dehydration/rehydration game to fight at cruiser. I even like the idea of Bridger. Mostly because it would be hilarious to see Usyk drop down a few and clean them out for fun.
I actually like CW tbh I think it has more potential than it’s showing rn. It’s just doesn’t have the glamor of heavyweight or the history of LHW to attract the best in the world.
I've always believed their are siphoning the talent away from welter / middle / light heavy resulting in some lean years as far as talent goes in those divisions and making the top fighters fighting inferior opposition. Imagine if we made a division tomorrow at 164 with 4 alphabet champions and a bunch of contenders and how that would effect 160 and 168. That's how I feel those particular divisions are effecting their neighboring weight classes today.
No. We should have: 105, 112, 118, 126, 135, 147, 160, 175, 190, 220, 220+ You could loose 105, but there are some decent boxers at that weight who would be at a massive disadvantage at 112. Little guys already have it thought as it is, lets not make it even more difficult.
I would pair this with raising LHW to 185. That was what should have been done back when CW was created.
Yes, bin the division. If they do they we will see more small heavyweights in the top 10 and more upsets, I love a good upset. Beterbiev could fight a few of these guys I'm convinced