Heavyweight champions who were tall or massive for their time

This is awkward lol.

 

Mathis was fat, Terrell was lithe Lyle was smaller and Foreman was about the same size, I actually think Ali looks like the bigger man @Seamus has expressed similar but Ali is bigger then his measurements and the proof is in to me man handling his supposedly stronger opponent.

 

Mike the giant White

 

As already mentioned, Jeffries was quite a stand out in his time.

Natural heavy muscle with huge legs. He’d easily fit in as a well built modern fighter.

His height was sometimes exaggerated - I’d give him 6’1” max., he did appear taller than Johnson but sometimes shorter than Corbett - the latter in fact, in his later years, also looking taller than both Dempsey and Tunney. I think Corbett might’ve actually been a bit taller than just 6’1”.

As to steroids, while they might’ve been around in the 1960s, they weren’t necessarily specifically associated with boxers until some years later, right? The training ethic of the times rejected the building of muscle absolute, notwithstanding how it might be achieved.

Imo, Liston and Williams were two of the most impressive “nattys” engaging in the same ring together.

HWs don’t look like that anymore.

 

I would add

Jim Jeffries
Nikolai Valuev
Tyson Fury

 

Some dudes walk into a room and are just bigger than others despite whatever measurables say. Ali was one of those dudes.

 

Jack Johnson was believe it or not, even though he was under 200lbs, there was no one near his size in his prime other than Jeffries.

 

Johnson was 6 foot nothing, 200 pounds with a T-Rex 74" reach. There were plenty around during his prime who were his size. Tony Ross, Jim Johnson, Willard, Sandy Ferguson, Black Bill, Marvin Hart, Sam McVea all jump to mind.

 

Willard came on the scene when Johnson was past it, Jack Johnson was bigger than most of the guys he fought and was indeed considered big, which is why he was nicknamed ‘The Galveston Giant’.

 

Johnson was never considered tall. Even during his time his height was about average for a heavyweight. Guys like Fred Russell, Jim McCormick, Sandy Ferguson, Ed Martin, Big Jim Jeffords, Bob Armstrong and plenty of other heavyweights at the time had several inches on both Johnson and Jeffries.

 

Willard came on the scene when Jack was champ. He beat Pelkey and McCarty the same year Johnson beat Flynn. Willard was only three years younger than Johnson.

He simply wasn't that big. A guy who would go unnoticed today, or even 50 years ago. Again, I listed half a dozen of his opponents off the top of my head who were the same size or bigger.

 

He was a joke.

 

True, besides “Giant” Johnson was also often referred to as big and massive etc.

Firstly, that would be compared to the average Joes of the time but also as compared to quite a few of his opponents - though interestingly, there were quite a few around of Johnson’s size and some bigger.

Al Kaufman, a Johnson opponent and sparring partner, was 6’2” and weighed in and around 200 lbs.

Victor McLaglen, the later movie actor, was 6’3” and a rock solid 220 lbs or so. In their pre fight photo,

Victor actually made Johnson appear somewhat smaller and skinny by comparison.

Prime Johnson (not the underfed version) rocked in at about 208 to 212 lbs.

The physical transformation he underwent as he approached winning the title and even more so after beating Burns was notable.

If they were around at the time, you might’ve even suspected Johnson of using steroids - such was the muscle he laid on.

Willard was an outlier for the times - Fred Fulton was probably 1” - 2”’shy of Willard’s height and weighed somewhat less I think.

 

Golota is good but Adamek is best Polish fighter.