Kovalev is 6"0 -- He could do very well at HW

Can't see Kovalev doing much at HW. 6ft is pretty short for a HW these days. He isn't as stocky or strong as the HW's. He isn't particularly fast and one of his main assets, his power, would probably be greatly diminished.

 

I'm a Kovalev fan. I'd like to see him fight Ward (at LHW), Stevenson, and Beterbiev. I wouldn't even mind seeing him fight Froch (at LHW). I'd like to see him move up to CW and clean house... Drozd, Glowaki, Cunningham (who has done pretty well at HW), Huck (almost beat Povetkin at HW), Guillermo Jones, Lebedev, Shumenov. If he fights at HW he should stay away from the giants like Fury, Klitschko, Wilder, Joshua, and a few others.

 

bullsh!t kovalev has plenty of challenges at 175.just another assh0le who wants the man to lose.

 

The top boxers of today are no more skilled than the top boxers of the 60's, 70's, 80's, or 90's.

Bigger? Yes, the top HWs of today are generally bigger than the Heavyweights from previous eras. I would say that there have been more talented "big men" over the last 25 years than in any previous era. Size ain't everything but size does matter when the fighter is also very talented.

Bowe, Lewis, V. Klitschko, W.Klitschko, Wilder, Fury, and some others are/were very good. Ali, Holmes, and Foreman had the right combination of size, strength, speed, skill, stamina, power, and durability to beat almost any HW though... even if they were a little shorter, had a slightly shorter reach, or weighed a little less.

Guys like Johnson, Dempsey, Tunney, Charles, Walcott, Marciano, Patterson and some others had plenty of skill but probably wouldn't be able to overcome the size difference vs. many of the guys mentioned above.

Holyfield, Tyson, Frazier, Louis, and Liston are a little different. A prime Holyfield comes in a little shorter than Ali, Holmes, or Foreman. He also has a shorter reach. He weighs around the same as them but has a naturally smaller frame than these men. Holyfield fought everybody even if he didn't always win... he was undefeated until age 30 though. Tyson fought and beat big and athletic modern Heavyweights. Frazier beat Ali once and gave him hell in their 3rd fight... Ali was not a huge puncher though. Louis beat some really big Heavyweights but they really were not top Heavyweights. Liston beat Cleveland Williams who was taller than Liston but weighed around the same and actually had a shorter reach... Williams never got past the 3rd round in any of his fights vs. Satterfield, Liston x2, or Ali.

What about guys like Tua, McCline, Briggs, Grant, Golota, Rahman, Peter, Valuev, and some others? Big and heavy modern Heavyweights. Tua was beat by Byrd who was able to make the LHW limit after fighting at HW most of his pro career. McCline also lost to Byrd. Briggs was knocked out by D. Wilson (6' and could have made CW), Grant was knocked out by D. Guinn (6'3" with a 78" reach but tiny compared to Grant) and decisioned by former LHW and CW Champ Tomasz Adamek. Golota drew with Byrd, lost to former CW Ruiz, and was knocked out by Adamek. Rahman drew with and had a NC with former MW James Toney. Toney was robbed vs. Peter in their first fight. Valuev was lucky to get wins over Ruiz and Holyfield (both former CWs), he also lost to Chagaev and Haye (former CW).

 

for somebody to say Kovalev would do well at HW, he'd have to have a style and ability to beat taller fighters. But he's a big LW who uses his size advantage in that weight class. I don't see it. Wilder would knock him the **** out.

 

So what if athletes are getting bigger?

Boxing isn't defined by size alone.

Mike had unique speed and skills.

He'd probably wreak havoc in today's division.

Bruno would undoubtedly be a top 10 guy today. Look what Mike did to him.

Skills are more important than size.

 

:deal

 

Great points.

I utterly detest the ridiculous notion that boxing progresses like other sports do, meaning that today's fighters are the best and would beat all boxers of the past.

I had an absolute clown tell me last week, that no boxer from the past could beat a boxer from today, on the grounds that Jessie Owens wouldn't be able to beat Usain Bolt in a race.

I despair.

 

He has the IBF they don't allow more than 10 lb. gain in weight on fight night, IIRC. He's also 32 years old. He won't grow anymore.

Kovalev: Official: 174.5 - Unofficial: 183.5
Mohammedi: Official: 173 - Unofficial: 180.5

He's not small, but he's also not massive.

 

He looks taller than 6'0. More like 6'2.

 

He doesn't have the frame for HW, and probably not even cruiser. Holyfield is a bad example ....he started bulking up when he was 10 years younger than K is now. Plus K has plenty of challengers at 175.....why fatten up and risk brutal ko's when you can clean up at 175?

Ask Bob Foster about moving up to HW....oh wait; he's dead.