Pretty accurate. Weaver was a late starter to boxing, having taken it up in the military. Very chiseled, muscular physique, which is how he got the nickname "Hercules". Wasn't a great boxer, easy to hit, and didn't have a very good chin. But he had incredible one punch power. He was getting totally outboxed by John Tate, and with 40 seconds left in the 15th round he knocked him cold. Was getting beat by Carl Williams in much the same way and knocked him out too.Did the same to Gerrie Coatzee in the 13th round in South Africa Also had Holmes and Ruddock hurt badly in losing efforts.Was a very dangerous man because of his opportunistic power, and his ability to change a fight with one punch regardless of whether he was winning or losing the fight.Wasn't an all time great, but Weaver always trained hard and gave it his best shot everytime out, and was always known as a friendly and classy man.
did anyone see his fight with bert cooper? i know he beat bert but was it that lopsided of a pts win?
Weaver definitely is a top 50 heavyweight, but I always wondered at times if he was on borrowed time, with guys like Cooney, Page, Witherspoon, and even Snipes lurking around the corner.Underrated boxing skills with very good power. It's unfaired that he got robbed of his title due to politics(though I think Dokes would have beaten him fairly under the right scenarios).
A very good guy. Many many years ago he and I trained at the same gym; the neighborhood was so bad that security guards walked him to his car. In 1998 or 1999 I sat next to him at an amateur show and we talked for a half dozen bouts before I realized who he was. Let's just say that at that point he had put on a few pounds. Pretty good fighter and a late bloomer. I don't think that I would put him on any all-time lists.
Take my wife, please. Weaver was what I call a world-class club fighter. Nothing exceptional about him ability-wise, but had the will, the heart and the dedication to training to exceed his abilities and beat fighters far more gifted than he was. I rate him in the upper end of the 1980s guys behind Holmes, obviously, but above a lot of underachievers simply because he came far closer to maxing out his potential. BTW, I always thought the Tate knockout was as much a result of the body punch before the KO blow than the hook to the head that people credit. Weaver kind of pushed a very weary Tate into the ropes and when he bounced back, Hercules punched his lungs out with a shot that made Tate deflate. He kind of sagged for a second before the final shot, but I think he might have slumped to the canvas from the body shot alone if there was no follow-up shot.
nice and honest summary of a man who was definately a fighter, a Top fighter and to think once upon a time the sport was full of them, a credit to boxing. Nice one and hats off to Weaver a deservingly great fighter.