Certain fighters beat a "great" or good fighter? For example... Corrie Sander's made a career out of being lazy. But the first and only time he comes in with that fire he destroys the current number one heavyweight in the world in Wladimir Klitschko. He doesn't make him gas like Brewster, or Puritty. He isn't a punching bag for the entire fight. He simply blows him out of there with a combination of power and speed. Greg Page, pretty damned flabby and all, casually destroys Coetzee in Gerrie's backyard. Buster Douglas comes in slightly less chubby then normal and defeats a unbeaten Mike Tyson. Does this speak volumes about what these fighters COULD have been considering what they did to good opposition, or are they simply flukes, anomalies?
Heavyweights have a reputation of being lazy..... What can you expect when you are allowed to weigh-in at whatever feels good at the time.?.? Though my man Roberto Duran did a lot of dicking around in the gym in the 1980's.... Duran really had no business fighting at 156 or 157 pounds in 1981 and 1982 against Nino Gonzalez and Jimmy Batten.... BUT! I did think that Duran looked pretty solid at 156 for Marvin Hagler in 1983... That was a different type of training camp for Duran.... MR.BILL P.S. Michael Dokes fought his last fight in the late 1990's weighing 290 goddamn pounds.... WTF?
I don't know, Corrie Sanders was in great shape early in his career and still managed to get beat by (not in shape) Tony Tubbs. But yes, it does stand to reason that the better shape a heavyweight is in, generally the more success he'll have.