Is bridgerweight a legit weight class

I approve it. Even think there's something missing between light heavy and cruiser.

 

There’s pluses and minuses to it.

 

It will probably catch on, but it may be renamed someday. Light Heavyweight needs to be renamed too. With this, it's 2 weight classes under Heavyweight.

 

I'd prefer that it not exist, but now that it's out there, I'd be surprised if it didn't stick around. Belts and divisions only proliferate, rather than consolidate.

 

Yeah but it has huge problems.

1) The generally recognized heavyweight champ, Usyk, who the 6'9" Fury is terrified of, fights under the 224 pound limit.

2) Since cruiser is still at 200, there is a 25 pound jump to Cruiser from LHW and a 24 pound jump from cruiser to Bridger, which makes no sense, as the pounds because less an overall percentage difference as you move up the scale.

Maybe if they dropped cruiser back to 190 and make Bridger 210, for a 15 and then 20 pound jump, it would make sense. This is just a stupid way to prosecute the inception of a division which no one asked for in the first place.

 

Considering the below and the history of some newer (not that new already) categories - they all took some time to be established, so change/add some of the heavier current isn't a problem and will be more adequate:

• minimumweight, 105 pounds (48 kg)
• light flyweight, 108 pounds (49 kg)
• flyweight, 112 pounds (51 kg)
• super flyweight, 115 pounds (52 kg)
• bantamweight, 118 pounds (53.5 kg)
• super bantamweight, 122 pounds (55 kg)
• featherweight, 126 pounds (57 kg)
• super featherweight, 130 pounds (59 kg)
• lightweight, 135 pounds (61 kg)
• super lightweight, 140 pounds (63.5 kg)
• welterweight, 147 pounds (67 kg)
• super welterweight, 154 pounds (70 kg)
• middleweight, 160 pounds (72.5 kg)
• super middleweight, 168 pounds (76 kg)
• light heavyweight, 175 pounds (79 kg)
• cruiserweight, 200 pounds (91 kg)
  
• bridgerweight, 224 pounds (102 kg) - leaving it here, even though it's a special case at the moment
• heavyweight, unlimtied

Maybe moving the cruiser to lower upper limit, then adding the bridger with lower than the current upper limit is better chance for many fighters. The gap between light heavy and cruiser is enormous just as the lower heavy limit, because most good heavies are almost always at least 100 kg. Stupid or maybe not, but seen so due to lack of adequate understanding. IBA tried introducing super cruiserweight, similar to the WBC bridger, so if those acts of the sanctioning bodies are stupid, we can question if the established divisons aren't something stupid to an extent, them being able to make stupid decisions. Why not moving light heavy up a bit (179 lbs/81 kg), moving the cruiser to 196 lbs/89 kg, adding a bridger to like 215 lbs/97.5 kg and then go with the heavy? Up until light heavy (a man of 79 kilos is everything, but heavy, even describing him as light) the divisions moves with an average of around 5-6lbs/2.5 kg and suddenly the huge gaps start...

It's good to look at other fight sports (wrestling for sure), even at weightlifting and the powerlifting for comparison.

 

If it has to change then I prefer HW and SHW.
HW maybe from 200-235. SHW from 236-299.
And for those titans that are beyond normal human statistics… Valuev weight 300 and above.

 

Adding few more division for the heavier people might allow some of them to find one and face each other, while at their current state it's more often impossible. The naming is not of a matter, even if there's super heavyweight introduced.

 

What has this forum come to...I thought we all agreed we don't need more weight divisions, we need to reduce it

 

Reduce the lighter ones - yes. The heavier ones are bad, outdated from times when people were lighter, even a bit shorter.

 

I don't think it's legitimate yet. Only WBC recognizes it, fighters don't really compete in "ranking fights" at the limit of this division - and level of fighters competing for the ttile thus far has been low.

Big problem I have with it - is this is not necessary a division for smaller Heavyweights, but rather for those Heavyweights who don't think They can compete with the best.
One thing that WBC doesn't seem to understand (somehow), is that fighters can make weight and in general manipulate their weight, adjusting to division They compete at.
Anthony Joshua is huge - but He turned pro at around 230. He could've made 225 lbs Bridgerweight easily back then - and if that's where the money was, He could've kept his weight low at that weight for years. Obviously, since He didn't think about dropping down and making weight - He instead put on muscle as his career went on, but it was the choice, not necessity.

...so if someone as big as Joshua could've been a "Bridgerweight", then my question is - who is this new weight-class accomodating? Fighters who walk around 215-220 have long been cutting down to Cruiserweight. Now it seems to me that Bridgerweight class is just going to be a field for C level Heavyweights to have their "feel good" moment with title on the line.
I like Rozanski and Babic, very nice people - but sorry - this is not a championship level fight, even for the standard of multiple-belts era, it was extremely low. More of a British level fight.

 

The only considerations when deciding upon weight divisions should be to strike the optimum balance between:

1) Having as few weight divisions as possible, to avoid diluting the elite talent; and
2) Ensuring there are weight divisions that fighters of all sizes can realistically compete successfully at world level, provided they are good enough.

Recent CWs Usyk, and to a lesser extent Hunter and Gassiev, have proved the second consideration is satisfied without Bridgerweight and with the CW and HW divisions as they are.

So, introducing Bridgerweight and/or any additional weight divisions will only serve to further dilute the elite talent, which is bad for the sport and the fans, whilst being good for the sanctions dependant alphabet bodies.

 

its stupid

 

Just the name of the division Bridgerweight could stop its recognition. Hopefully. It sounds ridiculous for a boxing weight division.