This is my first thread on this forum but had a interesting topic in mind. Something interesting I came across was the fact he was only reported being 211 pounds for the fight vs Tyson. It's very hard for me to believe this considering the man's size and bulk. Was wondering if the reported weight was legit or if this was just a given number for the fight?
Most people are a lot fatter than they think and are a poor judge of size in general. Comes with the times, I’d believe it.
Tyson came in at 213 for that one, so a few lbs less than what he was typically thought of as weighing, could have been the scale
Good catch there @Alpha_trooper818 — Jose weighed 221 for a fight less than a month before and 221 again like six weeks later in his next fight. Stands to reason he might have dropped a few extra pounds getting in tip-top shape for Tyson but not 10. I agree with @Marvelous_Iron that maybe the scale was wonky.
Appreciate the insight @Saintpat, notice the same oddities when looking at his weight at Boxrec. Ribalta was a light guy for his great physique. I remember back when I was training at my gym a few years back, me and the other wee little lads all gathered around our coach when he asked us our weights. None of us were particularly out of shape, he still all called us fat-asses and told us to loose weight haha . Still shocked to this day how much weight big guys cut to fight in the sweet science.
I also think it's likely due to better cameras that boxers come of as more visibly bigger. I always used to think that the reason modern day boxers come of as huge is because of rehydration, but I also think that due to better cinematography and close ups even Middleweights looks bigger than life. Guys like Mike Weaver looked massive during the 80's despite being actually lighter than a majority of all predominant 70's Champions.
Good observation & great start here! Ali looked bigger during his comeback even though at first barely heavier, may have lost some leg mass along with his foot speed, gained a bit of upper body mass & fat...But the cameras seemed different. Some guys look bigger than they are overall due to a few reasons. 1) Lower body fat-like Weaver. 2) Bigger bone structure, even when not greater muscle mass. And a bog factor... 3) Having less lower body mass, butt & legs. People instinctively look at & are biased to upper body, even though it is ~ 40% of total muscle mass. SO Arnold had "no legs" compared to later dominant bodybuilders, but that was fine then. The opposite would never be countenanced!
yeah Ribalta definitely had skinny looking legs and relatively big traps, Tyson at 213 also seems a bit light, another factor is perhaps they had sweated off a few pounds working out before weighing in
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1986/09/27/no-problem-with-wait-for-ribalta/ Came in too light for Tyson and then went on a high protein diet after Tyson fight.
