Gorman coming in at 19 stone against Lartey

Agreed, it would surely improve their movement with less timber but what if movement isn’t a big part of their style, and they instead prefer to hold their feet more and pivot...that extra weight can bring a bit more durability and heavy handedness imo. There is a line though. I remember the reaction to the weigh in for Fury v Wilder 2, loads on here were slagging Fury off for not making an effort to train and that he’d turned up to get chinned and paid. Yet, that weight suited the style perfectly on the night. Ruiz was obese for that 1st fight with AJ yet he’d essentially been in a 16 week training camp. He was fit to do the 12, and the weight gave him durability and heavy hands. If he’d lost a couple of stone, he could have moved better but he wouldn’t have been able to man handle AJ in the clinch and would have got chinned. His style is to hold his feet and pivot anyway.

There’s a balance to be struck. I think we can be quick to write off a heavyweight because he isn’t ripped, but that’s their optimum shape (mostly). There are instances where they are overweight and out of shape (Gorman on Sat, Whyte v Wach, Ruiz v AJ 2) admittedly.