Heavyweights get the shaft on P4P lists.

Ali is the greatest heavyweight of all time and he could barely throw an uppercut and never threw body punches.

This is why heavyweights are rarely on top of P4P lists.

 

I see your points. For me, P4P rankings usually favor the fighter with more dynamics. Phenoms, guys like a young Hector Camacho, Roy Jones, Cassius Clay, Mike Tyson, Shane Mosley - fighters showing a tremendous amount of skill and results to boot. It helps to dominate in extreme fashion as well.

 

I thought Wlad got jobbed a little by The Ring ranking Roman Gonzalez ahead of him on their p4p ranking.

 

1) Weights - Never unified.
2) Length - Wlad was winning and defending titles since 2000 (has 25 title fight wins). Roman won his first strap in 2008 (has 14 title fight wins).
3) Povetkin/Haye are better than Estrada/Sosa.

 

well put McG, I'm really hyped for the Viloria fight, I'm optimistic of Brian's chances, maybe wrongfully so, but it will be guaranteed fireworks!

I think in today's division, the lack of athleticism and at times embarrassing pace set in fights mean modern heavies in P4P terms don't bode too well and rightfully so for my liking

 

Heavyweight is always the marquee division of the sport, even in a relatively weak HW era where the 'superstars' (Floyd, Pac, GGG, Kov, Cotto, Gonzales, Rigo etc) all fight at lower weights.

Admittedly, this has something to do with the casual fans, but they make up the overwhelming majority of boxing fans.

In theory and usually in practice, the HW champ is THE MAN in boxing and can beat any other boxer out there.




( The idea of weight classes was to level the playing field somewhat, and give the little fellas a chance to compete in a sport that would otherwise be out of reach for them.

At first, just two weights: over 12 stone, under 12 stone.

Then around a hundred years ago, eight classes. Then the seventeen we have now.)



Additionally, the HW division spans a much greater range with no upper limit.

In practical terms, it spans about 60 lbs and for most of its existence, that 'practical' range has been around 85 lbs.

Compare this to ranges of 3 lbs at flyweight, and even 7 lbs at SMW.

Marciano defeated opponents from 175 to 230 , a range of 55 lbs.

Pac has defeated opponents from 112 to 150 , a range of 38 lbs.

The heaviest guy Rocky faced was 32 % heavier than the lightest.
The heaviest guy Pac faced was 34 % heavier than the lightest.
So, quite similar.

If we consider both boxers, one ruled only one division, while the other is at or near the top examples of weight class-jumping in boxing history.

Heavyweights just don't usually have weight class jumping possibilities.

Ali claimed to be the best boxer alive, saying he "...could whup anyone, black, white, Chinese or Mexican" and he was probably correct in the 'whupping' part at least, even though his career overlapped SRR's.

Can you imagine a sprinter (with very short legs, perhaps) being rated as the best sprinter on the planet, but allowing that he would lose head to head against a number of longer-legged men ?

While the an-alogy has its problems, size is one of a boxer's physical attributes (with height, reach etc), and leg length is one of a sprinter's physical attributes. We don't, as far as I know, have 'divisions' in the 100 m.

The 'pound-for-pound' concept, like the weight classes, was invented to try to better assess the relative merits of say, a Robinson compared to a Liston. It has a greater element of subjectivity than say, a comparison between a Liston and a Patterson, or a Roninson and a Graziano.

I'm not saying the p4p idea is all bad, ( though as imagined by shrinking the bigger guys down to some baseline, it has serious problems; what would a 126 lb Wlad even look like ? Or a 112 lb Sugar Nick ?), but it gets up my nose a bit when dudes like Senya bang on about the lack of talent of the big guys, and denigrate the grace and skills of guys like Ali and Louis, who are handicapped to some degree in the 'grace' department by their greater mass.

I do believe that, all things considered, the bigger lads get underrated somewhat on account of the foregoing.


Even in his waning days in the late sixties, Sonny could (probably) have beaten the prime Harada.

That might not have made him a better boxer, but it's worth a t least a consideration.















BTW, BE, this post was written partially in disgusted reaction to the criminal underrating of Sugar Nicholas Valuev in just about every so-called pound-for pound list I've ever seen. :fire

 

People take P4P too literally. It's just a term, nothing more.

 

Just imagine if a fighter could only fight in one weight class his entire career. How would it effect his pound for pound status?

A lot is the answer, which is why most heavyweights get the shaft on pound for pound rankings.

 

double post.

 

So the others just play fight?

 

Might be worth making the point that Wlad dominated a broader weight span, say 200 to 280 pounds?

 

Among others.