Height, the modern Heavyweight Boxer and Jack the Ripper

Boxers came out of the poorer classes. Nutrition is much better today.
Also, mothers don't have as many children and get much better prenatal care. The good nutrition for the mothers has a tremendous impact on their children.

 

This argument works fine with the general public but when we are speaking of the likes of Jack Johnson or any other great, we are speaking of anamolies not general trend signifiers.

Otherwise, there are very interesting general trends going on with the US v Europe. This study is pretty interesting.

Also, if height was such a determining factor in the greatest fighters, where are the Dutch in the sport?

 

I would like to see the breaddown without immigration. America has huge immigration from Mexico which tends to be short, and also East Asia which also tends to be short.

The overweight part is interesting, though.

 

None of them could box worth a lick anyway.

 

Jack Johnson was 6'1, closer to 6'2. By todays standards he'd be an average sized heavyweight height wise. They still had huge men back then too such as Jess Willard who was 6'6, and Primo Carnera who was 6'5, and Buddy Baer who was 6'6 1/2. They were in better shape too. Overall heavyweight size has increased and you see more guys in the top ranks that are taller, but I also think this has to do with the lack of great fighters chopping them down. There used to be guys like Dempsey, Max Baer, and Louis that would chop those big guys down, but those types of fighters are gone now, so the big heavyweights can have their way.

 

"Big men" in the HW division are more often than not statistical anomalies.

I'd like to see a survery of a large (>1000) sample of heavyweight boxers and compare that to one taken a long time ago, but it is near impossible.

I think the "era of big men" is more of a coincidence than actual fact that smaller guys can't compete, especially in the height department.

 

Most of the Rippers stoppage victims were by tko ,he was a slashing ,rather than ko puncher.

 

I wonder how Willard would go under this the theory. Not all that skillful, but a massive punch, awesome endurance, stamina, heart and chin. And he would be about 71/2 to 8 foot tall. I dont see how a modern heavy could beat him because none of them are tested against heavys that big!