How accurately can we even tell whether somebody is a "superheavyweight"?

240lbs+

 

Hahaha. I remember the shucking and jiving when Wilder came in as light as 214 when he knocked out Ortiz. Oh the shucking and jiving going on from the never see a champ again that's not a super heavyweight. But, but, but he's a super heavyweight because he's so tall!!!!! It was brill.

 

Any fighter who boxes at 91kg+ in the amateurs.
That's anyone over 200.6 pounds.

 

In the professionals, there's no division called super-heavyweight.

 

Well Tyson Fury for one obviously isn’t 6’9”. More like 6’7 - 6’7 1/2”, which he has virtually admitted to on occasion. Still very tall but not as high as claimed.

Wlad Klitschko used to wear some pretty thick runners at weigh ins, making him eye to eye with the likes of Fury but then Wlad dropped notable height when in the ring and in flat boxing shoes.

Deontay also appears to prefer advantage footwear. I will say, despite generally claiming 6’9”, Fury doesn’t appear to try and look any taller/bigger than he actually is.

Mike Tyson? No way 5’11 3/4” as listed back in the day. More like 5’ 10 1/2”’ if that and really, that just makes his achievements against much taller opposition all the more noteworthy.

Old School: Liston used to layer towels around his shoulders under his robe to look even bigger. People were surprised how much smaller Ali didn’t look when they faced up in the ring.

As Ali and Foreman compared to Frazier separately one might’ve guessed Foreman to hold a decided edge in size when he and Ali faced up in Zaire but there wasn’t a lot to choose between them. Ali was a big guy, at least for his era (1970s).

To the pseudo SHW division. Before gaging whether a boxer fits the bill or not,, you need to to set a reasonable height/weight threshold for so called SHWs, perhaps a minimum 6’5” and at least 240 lbs?

 

over 6' 5" and 225lbs plus...

 

It depends on what fits your agenda.

 

I'm not sure there is a rigid definition but I always thought 6ft 4inch 240lbs with the emphasis on weight more than height. So Eric "Butterbean" Esch is 5ft 11 but weighed in 370lbs+ definitely a Super Heavy. Wilder on the other hand has the height but not quite the weight. Also we have to take into account the sharp shift from the 90's for more bulk at HW a lot of this due to supplements and PEDS with people in recent generations being taller than before due to diet and an abundance of food compared to say a 100 years ago. This does not equate to being better as we can see that heavily muscled fighters or obese fighters with some muscle struggle with the endurance because they are carrying to much for there frame. They're very few heavys today could do a 15 round fight because of this.

 

Mine is correct answer.

 

Human beings do not come in neat range of sizes with a clear dilineation and space between one size and the next size up.
And boxing does not claim so either. It simply has weight classes. There is nothing else. Height and reach does not come into it.

Valuev was ****ing huge. We all know that. A giant by any standard. But there's no point trying to invent a weight class label, for example super-super-super-HW to describe him or anyone who comes along same size as him. He was a heavyweight.

 

6'5 245lbs giants

 

This.

People cherry pick stats whenever convenient. Threads comparing the "size" of Hearns vs Tyson were hilarious.