The closest to Marciano's physique?

Clear as a bell.

 

And by that logic, Ali and Holmes and Louis would have slimmed down to 175.

This sh#t is just ludicrous. It's not worth the calories burnt to even respond to it.

 

Legs are apart of a physique

 

No that’s not the same at all. Ali and Larry would have made 210-215 (like Joe Louis did under that regime) - and they were taller guys. Completely different to Rocky and Tua.

The only ludicrous stuff is the fantasy that Tuas bones got thicker and that his Samoan genetics made him some biological exception to human science.

 

I never seen anybody wear a jumper on their legs .

 

Cool. Now do you have a response that has something to do with what I said?

 

I have to say that clip you posted is very interesting .. who knows ? I think Rocky was more effective trained down for conditioning and speed .. Tua had much faster hands and the weigh may have helped him .. I met Tua in June 1997 and he look huge, absolutely one of the two most physically imposing guys I ever saw live ( the other Ray Mercer who again radiated a monster physical presence live ) he was fingering at 225 at that point so between fights he may have been 240 but looked like a rock.

 

Well that’s an opinion too. But I have met Tyson when he was really heavy in retirement and I also thought he was the biggest short men I ever saw. Big. Really solid, as wide as he was tall. So I can imagine what Tua must have appeared to be too.

...but that’s just a heavy guy thing. When guys are weighing a lot you can’t imagine them being any smaller ...but look at Mike now.

A lot of people said the same about Rocky in retirement. He was a big guy when he got fat.

Tua in the post war, traditional training era would have been no bigger than Rocky was if he had Goldman training him.

 

I suspect a bit bigger, but not much.

 

The convenient "situational" measuring sticks that your argument requires to support itself, even so precariously, speaks volumes of its veracity.

And comparing a 27 year old Marciano to a 19 year old Tua is further cause for laughter.

Bottomline is that Tua performed at his top level in the 220-225 range. He participated in one of the highest volume action fights in the history of the division while weighing 226. Not only do the measurements and photos speak to the difference in body type between he and Marciano, but his performances further proclaim them.

 

If you look at that pro debut clip of Tua it is certainly comparable, at least more than I ever previously thought .. Rocky had big legs but Tua had huge legs .. If Tua was at a good weight at 226 Rocky could surely have been 210 in a later era .. how it would have impacted his ability and performance I do not know but one cannot say for sure ..

 

They certainly do. And yet it was clearly down to the era he fought and trained in. Just like it was for Rocky. He also fought and trained for his own era. Two similar men with a starting point just nine pounds apart.

What do you make of 5’9” Orlin Norris? When he wanted to be a heavyweight Norris was in line with Tua. He turned pro at 199lb aged 20. Grew to 227lb contender (who beat Greg Page, Renaldo snipes and Tony Tucker) all within four years as an exclusive heavyweight then aged 25 Norris dropped to 189 on a whim to become a cruiserweight.

From that point Norris was a 187-190 cruiser for as long as it suited him but in 1992 aged 27 he fought David Sewell at 190 then under three months later did some Charles atlas programe and weighed 20lb more knocking out Troy Jefferson whilst weighing 211. Two months later Orlin was 190 again!

After four years of being mostly a cruiserweight Norris again leaped from 188 to 220 to campaign as a 220-246 heavyweight. After another few years of that Orlin incredibly dropped down to cruiser in his late 30s. Amazingly Norris was 196lb for his very last fight aged 40. That’s four pounds lighter than his debut 20 years earlier. Astonishing for a 5’9” guy who was as high as 246lb.

Now don’t tell me this was not all down to Norris benefiting from the era Tua puffed himself up in.

 

I read the first few sentences and totally not convincing.

Now let's get down to Loma Rigo! I wish some of you dingbats were around. Stuck in a bar trying to get the broadcast and not a one knows what the f*ck I am talking about.

 

So you have no answer for orlin Norris ability to match Tua for size as a heavyweight then dropping to cruiserweight, become a 246lb heavyweight a second time then drop to cruiser again and finish his career 4lb lighter than his debut weight aged 40?

 

If you insist. I watched both of them live, train and fight... and Norris was nowhere near as big as Tua.

Tua had a 50" chest and 30" thigh measurement at 225 pounds. Now, explain to me... is that fat? Or is that him chasing a division? We are to assume that Marciano's 39" chest measurement is just 50" waiting to be unleashed with less "ole timey" training"?

Again, and take it for what you want, I've seen some freakish athletes and I've seen Tua... he isn't built like your run of the mill gym rat, he didn't move like a guy his weight, and he didn't lay hands like anyone I had ever seen, on film or in person.