As people keep getting bigger, we just need to keep adding more divisions, but each division with only one champion (my preference always)! Maybe determine the increments based on some type of formula employing a standard percentage increase in body weight over the previous heaviest weight division, at least as a starting point. The exact percentages should be based on the recommendations of health, strength, and body-conditioning experts and the like, not promoters, politicians or sanctioning-body hacks.
Fury was F'ing around with his left hand by his thigh, thinking he had Steve clowned and got what he deserved... a right hand on the button. That said, he went about opposing his size and wearing Steve down.
Nonsense. Most of the chinless targets in the last 30 years would be taken to schools by the walcotts Satterfields, elliss, and Quarrys ; but I forgot that the 200 puonders are as bad as the wilders of this world,
Strongly disagree with Holmes. I think a weight difference is long overdue however. They should never have called it "cruiserweight" since it has a terrible ring to it, just call 200-220/225+ "heavyweight" since that was the traditional size of most heavies for nearly a century. "Superheavyweight" can be all the 230+ muscle bound behemoths and fatsos who can't stop eating or who are just naturally huge. You would inevitably filter out all the enormous huge guys 6'5+ because they usually can't maintain a 220 ish frame nowadays without severe discipline. A superheavyweight class would severely decrease the number of guys the size of Vitali facing off against poor Herbie Hide or even worse, someone like Tua who literally has to look up with his chin in the air to see Vitali.
I strongly disagree with anyone advocating additional weight divisions or increasing the maximum weight limit of the CW division, because: 1) More weight divisions further dilutes the quality in each, meaning even less instances of the best boxers in the world fighting each other; 2) It simply isnt necessary. 2 of the best 4 HWs over the past c.2 years have natural fighting weights of c.210-215lbs. Wilder was 215lbs for his best win and Usyk, a career CW, was 221lbs for his. There'll be CW's who weigh more than that in the ring. My point is, if a fighter is too big to make 200lbs in an era where fighters rehydrate 20lbs after a weigh in, then they are big enough to succeed at HW, if they are good enough. As proven by career CW Usyk.
Boxing has too many divisions mostly in the lower weights with the supers and juniors. That's true, but create a new division for the big boys is a need. Talk to the trainers or the fighters sometime. Or follow the money away for heavyweights the richest division they are. Guys 190-210 pounds cannot compete anymore. Usyk? He is a unicorn and a big man at 6'3" 220 listed with a reasonably good 78" reach. And he's a southpaw.
Not anymore, there is probably 60 active fighters over 240 pounds. I don't know how many they are. The few in the amateurs who were majors medal winners of events, they went pro. Almost all of them are big guys. I believe amateur high level success is very likely to produce the future of the division. They went pro. I say again, its getting tough to find any good 215-230pound heavyweights. There's Usyk and um, er, what is his named raked 30th in the division. Someone can list them and their age. The list will be short. Here is box rec top 25. Not that I swear by their list. [url]https://boxrec.com/en/ratings?r%5Brole%5D=box-pro&r%5Bsex%5D=M&r%5Bstatus%5D=a&r%5Bdivision%5D=Heavyweight&r%5Bcountry%5D=&r_go=[/url] I find only one man under 240! See my point?
we have traditional heavyweights in the cruiserweight class and super heavyweights in the “traditional” heavyweight class. If the weight classes were in line with Amateur boxing everything would be okay. look at what they did! when “advances” in training happened, boxing finally became more accessible for giants who previously had been disadvantaged at top level. So Amateur boxing naturally did the right thing. They kept “heavyweight” as it was and invented a new weight class for the giants. Pro boxing made a complete baboons ass of this situation. When the first generation of SHW amateurs (who competed in the amateur SHW class) turned pro, all Professional boxing had to do was invent a superheavyweight division for these kids to turn pro into. instead, they “invented” the disaster that is the cruiserweight division for the actual heavyweights to compete in, and allowed the Superheavyweight amatures to take over the professional “heavyweight” class. And that’s why we have traditional heavyweights in the cruiserweight class and super heavyweights in the “traditional” heavyweight class. we did not need Cruiserweight. And we certainly did not need to start calling heavyweights, Cruiserweights! We have SHW boxers turning pro and moving into the pro HW class.that’s wrong. SHW boxers should be in the SHW class. HW boxers should be in the HW class. We did not need Cruiserweight. The Amateurs got that right.
That doesn't change what I said at all. At no point was I suggesting men over 240 lbs were rare. I was simply saying that there should have been some sort of superheavyweight class instead of making the stupid cruiserweight division. All of the good classic sized heavies are crammed into cruiserweight now. Most of those guys are walking around at least 215-220 and are cutting weight.
Glad you have finally come round to my way of thinking! glad we are finally in agreement on something.
There should be a super-heavyweight division in the professional ranks. But there would be some heavyweights that could go up and beat them.
Yeah. Drop the Cruiserweight name. Go back to Calling everything over 176 genuine heavyweight. Then let the SHW have their own division. As they do in the Olympics. But Say 227 and over. They’re different sized guys anyway. Then there is nothing to stop a Heavyweight champions challenging SHW champions.
