How did 200 lbs become the standard minimum weight for HW?

4 main reasons.

One reason is fighters of all height carry more weight now while back then lighter builds were favored. Some guys who had the height and reach of a "superheavyweight" opted to carry 250 pounds but many were like 210-220. Small guys carrying more favors the big guys on average because the small guys are giving up their advantage. Small guys carrying less are more likely to outpoint big HWs even if thats not in the individual fighters best interest.

Another big reason is CW. CW has artifically kept all but the best 175-200 pounders from going to HW by putting another weight class in between on the ladder. Back then you didn't have to be the LHW champ to get a fight with a top HW. And smaller guys getting results against bigger fighter perpetuates itself and makes everyone look better at HW H2H and then they get oppurtunitys and so forth. With no smaller guys at HW none of this happens. If Beterbiev(example) can succeed at HW, hows he going to get a chance? How will we ever know?

Back in the day fighters could campaign at 175 and HW at the same time. There is no CW combo fighter fighting HW then jumping back to CW. Most of the LHWs with HW feats did not solely campaign at HW they jumped back and forth.

Boxers care more about their records now and do not want to take high risk fights. While smaller guys can succeed at HW that doesn't mean they can maintain their pristine looking records they keep as lesser weights. Back then a loss to a respected opponent hurt your career a lot less. You could be an elite fighter with 5-10 losses or more. Thats done now if you aren't named Derek Chisora.

 

Try 154.

 

anabolic steroids made the average heavyweight bigger + 190lbs cruiserweight was made after a couple 6'3 220ish types dominated for a long while, which made everyone 195-176 fight at that instead of HW. This is in combination with the fact that people tend to freak out whenever a bigger fighter beats a smaller fighter. There were calls for a "dreadnought" class after Primo killed Schaaf. Its very reactionary and based on blind instincts that are typically misguided

 

Joe Louis made those dreadnoughts look like false alarms

 

Ahh Joe Louis, how could anyone make me not love you..

 

It can be 195 lbs of course. But the 195 lb guy must carry a lot of force. I think the guys who weigh 205 lbs and up carry more power than the ones who weigh between 185-195 lbs on average. But there are many exceptions of course.

I think it was selected in a somewhat arbitrary manner. We haven't seen a sub 200 lb guy have high level success since the 80's when heavyweights started to get bigger. Whereas Holyfield, Moorer etc. have had success while weighing between 200-215 lbs. So i guess it became the limit.

 

You hit the nail on the head. I even think a guy like Beterbiev (in his prime, not now) could have had some success at heavyweight but he likely would have lost to some of the bigger men. So he never took the chance to move up.

 

They moved the cruiserweight limit up to 200 in the 2000's.