Do you think fat can ever help HWs?

Some old time trainers insisted that a fighter built like Sultan Ibragimov could take a better body shot than a fighter built like Holyfield ( according to the late Gil Clancy )

 

I think if you are not sacrificing speed and stamina, a good
Layer of fat on your body definitely obsorb impact of punches.

 

Honestly, I don't think its as clear cut as that.

I think the extra weight may have helped Lewis absorb shots better and to throw harder ones. I don't think his actual fighting skill was impaired by the extra weight. However, it's clear that his stamina was affected by undertraining / extra weight and by the 6th he looked like he was going to die of exhaustion. Normally Lewis could go 12 easy.

 

buster douglas shape of his life v tyson

v holyfield couldnt be bothered

look at tyson fury not in shape in lots of fights and then in shape v klitchko

lewis was absolutly knackered v klitchko
sagging onto his stool in exhaustion between rounds because he was not in shape

where it does not matter is blubbery heavies who are never in shape

ruiz jnr
arreola
joe hipp
buster matthis

but unlike fit fighters they cannot adopt a plan b wheres a fit fighter if he has the abilty can

 

Force of a punch is mass x speed.

So it stands to reason for more mass which is gained, at not at any loss of speed or stamina- is in fact an asset to a HW. The more force you have in your shots the better you are going to do, all other things being equal.

HWs that cannot knock opponents out and that dont punch just dont sell. No one wants to watch them, think Hughie Fury.

Hughie is one who would gain force in his punches through gaining mass on his body. How he does that is another question? I know the Evan Fields diet helps alot with that.

For another HW like AJ, some are arguing the additional mass he has gained since turning pro has caused him to sacrifice speed which does impact negatively on the force of his punches. I think it hasnt impacted negatively on his speed, but it may have hurt his stamina, especially mid fight prior to him finding his second wind.

In cases where you sacrifice speed alot from additional mass you are also sacrificing force in your punches.

 

Yeah, if you hit Butterbean, your punch is a padded punch, it is absorbed in all that fat!

 

Overall I'd say no, in general in most cases, for most fighters it's a hindrance. Now that doesn't mean I don't think it can help it certain ways, it does, like one's ability to take a shot but the extra weight also comes with a cost in other areas.

Dereck Chisora is a good example of this. At 240lbs he's at his best, he's a swarmer and only at this kind of weight can he set the kind of pace he needs to be most effective with his style. But he's also less durable at this weight, the 2 times he was stopped by Haye and Fury he was lighter, he was buzzed by a few other fighters when this low too but once his weight went up again, he looked more durable again.

Arreola is another example of this. Early on in his career when lighter we saw him hurt by a few fighters. Molina rocked him when he came in lighter. Against Stiverne he went the distance at 247lbs but obviously gassed out during that fight and couldn't throw enough to win. But when he came in 239lbs in the rematch he set a better pace and was able to pressure Stiverne unlike the first fight, when then was KO'ed because he couldn't take the power.

In general being too overweight is a disadvantage. Too often fighters spend too much time trying to get their weight down so they can go 12 rounds at a decent pace and then neglecting their development as an overall fighter as they are sacrificing time to make weight when they could be improving technique and skills.