Boxers from lower divisions who could handle hesvyweighs?

All your answers have been given do with it what you will.

 

Disagree. What if Holyfield weighed 187 pounds when he fought Tyson, Bowe and Lewis? Does he survive the same amount of punishment? What if Michael Spinks entered the ring at 175 pounds vs Larry Holmes? The extra weight does help the chin. A 205 pound Michael Spinks could take shots that would have folded a 175 pound Michael Spinks.

 

He'd have to be real careful. If Toney could knock him out, then he's in trouble if he gets caught.

 

Billy Conn, Gene Tunney, John Henry Lewis, Ezzard Charles to name a few.

 

The process of fitting into a weight class can weaken a man someone like Toney might take a shot better at HW, 190lbs etc because of everything he did to be 160lbs-168lbs.
If Micheal Spinks was 175lbs-180lbs comfortable not harshly cutting weight he’d be as durable as ever IMO.
The only difference between a 190lbs Evander and 215-220 Evander was he could bench more and got stupider.
He forsook his advantages and was better off being 205lbs thereabouts he wouldn’t have had to test his chin as much if he stayed light I highly doubt he’d be frailer, Weaker in the clinches perhaps but not much else really.

 

A lh that did surprisingly well in recent times was Adamek. And nobody thought he had much of a chance of any kind of success as a heavy.

So it can be done.

 

It was said here many many yrs ago the Phila MW Curtis Parker could and did handle everybody MW on up in the gym on the regular

 

True,

but 'historically' Michael Nunn & Co, would have been HWs anyway - Stature wise MWs usually ranged from 5'7" - 5'10" in & around 155lbs - 170lbs...

Recent decade MWs/S-MWs, historically stature wise, would have been fighting as L-HW cum HWs.

 

Foster's encounter with Frazier but the MW actually gets killed

 

hesvyweighs can be defeated by any fighter of any category, any martial art

 

Barbados Walcott knocked down 6’5 215 Fred Russell and 6’3 pound Sandy Ferguson, who was considered for a shot at some point if I’m not mistaken. You can’t help but wonder if he could’ve flattened a modern heavy.

 

Chris Byrd springs to mind

 

I'm pretty sure Foreman said the extra size helped him take shots in his return, but yeah what would Foreman know

 

In their own time - Jack Dillon, BJW, Harry Greb, Ezzard Charless, Bob Fitzsimmons, Billy Conn, Archie Moore, Gene Tunney.

150lbs Charley dominated and stopped 70lbs heavier Jay Turner who was the HW champion of Texas. Burley was only a natural WW and I doubt he'd have been able to beat a truly elite HW in his time, though.

 

You couldn't answer it just accept it, there seems to be a thing on this forum where people love to think Heavyweights are awful and would get beat by 160 pound dudes. No one thinks Gervonta Davis would beat Artur Beterbiev but then a Michael Nunn could somehow beat someone like Andrew Golota here lol