CLASSIC FIGHT NIGHT THREAD:Wilder-Fury II

And Evander was a fighter of exceptional toughness, conditioning, heart and skill. And like you said, his record against 6'5", 230+ monsters was poor. If we leave things the way they are, the freakish giants will continue to dominate with the rare exception of a Povetkin-Type fighter occasionally grabbing a fragment title here and there. The size disparity between some heavys and their smaller counterparts will encourage more holding, pushing, and over utilization of reach.. We will continue to hear the gripes and excuses about how dull the heavyweight division is and how the only reason these monsters are ruling is because there aren't any talented 6'3", 215 lb guys anymore...

 

Holyfield's success is shrouded with PED's. I do think Povetkin right now is the best in the division. He's close to 230 pounds and seems to have shed some body fat in exchange for muscle.

 

Wilder won a version of the title weighing 219lbs indicating there is no need for a superheavyweight division.

The 90's Ring Ratings
1990
no1 Holyfield
no2Tyson
1991
no1Holyfield
no2Tyson
1992
no1Bowe
no2 Lewis
1993
no 1 Holyfield
no2Bowe
1994
no1 Holyfield
no2McCall
1995
no1 Bowe
no2 Lewis
1996
no1 Holyfield
no 2Lewis
1997
no1Holyfield
no 2Lewis
1998
no 1 Holyfield
no 2 Lewis
1999
no1Lewis
no2 Holyfield.


You do talk sh*t.

 

Welcome back McVey. I do hope you enjoyed your short Sabbatical... Wilder is also 6'7" and has since filled out to 235 lbs. He's hardly what I would describe as a traditional heavyweight.

 

It's unfair that a world class fighter with a natural fighting weight within 210- 220 has no where to go. This is Muhammad Ali!

Give the man back his weight class otherwise, what are his options? Cheat the scales and make a name for himself in the unfashionable stop gap that is "cruiserweight" or build up to face off with big guys in big gloves over a distance that entirely suits the giant?

If 180 to 220 (or whatever) was called "heavyweight" then this class of fighter would develop not against bodybuilders and giants or guys fighting the scales but against other naturally proportioned athletes. A pace and style of fighting that is evident in all other weight classes would start to exist in a size of fighter bigger than what is really what a natural cruiserweight should be.

Look at all the different variety of boxing styles within all other divisions rather than what is on offer at Superheavyweight.

A natural 180 guy building up to 220 is not so far a gap as 180 to 250. and a guy with a natural best fighting weight of 220 stands a better chance against a 250 guy if he builds up after honing all of his developnent within a pace and skill set of other 220 sized men.

There is no room for such development between what is now the "200lb and up" class that has been entirely hijacked by giants. So much so it has been in effect the superheavyweight division since about 1994.

 

No it's just a name change or a reshuffle of the boundries. No extra weight class at all.

I would make light heavy up to 180. Skrap the cruiser name and give "heavyweight" name back to real heavyweights and put everything over 230 as Superheavyweight.

 

Heavyweight is the OPEN weight class.
Men who are the size of Muhammad Ali have every right to contest the open weight class .. OR drop down to weigh in at cruiser, which is already populated by men who weigh the same as Ali in the ring.

I don't think other sports have this kind of discussion. Rugby, football, basketball, athletics ... the men got bigger, no one wants to bring in weight classes for those sports.
In Olympic weight lifting even, they CUT the number of weight classes.

The problem with professional boxing is that people have grown used so many weight classes. So many weight classes hasn't made the sport better at all. It's already made it worse.

 

quote=mr. magoo;17615062]Welcome back McVey. I do hope you enjoyed your short Sabbatical... Wilder is also 6'7" and has since filled out to 235 lbs. He's hardly what I would describe as a traditional heavyweight.[/quote]

Wilder beat a 239lbs man for his crown,and has never scaled over 229lbs for a fight.

 

Wilder beat a 239lbs man for his crown,and has never scaled over 229lbs for a fight.[/QUOTE]

you're right.. My bad.. So he's 6'7", 229..

 

This is silly. "Real" heavyweight is the OPEN division.
The division you want to see would be better described as "super cruiser", "Sub-heavyweight" or something.

Heavyweight is the division where the champion can beat any champion, not a division where the champion is protected from the potentially awkward task of fighting a giant. :good

 

The underlined is errant nonsense.
Watch this and tell me Wlad does not foul, he should have had a point deducted for this. The referee was a disgrace. Good riddance to the "Clutcher."

http://www.boxingforum24.com/showthread.php?t=553848

 

..

Absolutely. If a super heavy weight division is created then THAT will THEN be the "open" class and if Muhammad Ali lookalikes wish to move into it then they are free to do so.

Yes a division that was created to give men like Jerry Quarry a place to compete in the modern world.. Why shouldn't he be permitted to fight in the "open" class?

Agreed witch is why you don't have men of certain size perameters competing at the pro level in those sports anymore.

Why? I don't think its compromised the talent level.

 

Well if it's already happening why worry about the name change of cruiser to heavyweight?

It's not a new class. It's a name change.

There is a new established species among the open weight class that NEVER existed in these numbers before. It's a super heavyweight. I think the classification is required now.

 

I think boxing shouldn't have weight classes at all.. Just make it one big "open" division with men of all shapes and sizes fighting in the same ring.. They should also cut off the gloves, dip fist in broken glass and resin.... Have weapons for blugeoning each other... Maybe even tag teams and multiple participants in the same ring.. Hell lets get rid of referees while we're at it....

 

It's added to the problem of a multitude of titles.
Boxing is a confused mess of titles, devalued to the point of meaninglessness. Even hardcore fans cannot keep track of all the 'champions'.