The Harmful Effect of More Weight Classes

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by Fisty_Cuffs_21, Dec 2, 2021.


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  1. Fisty_Cuffs_21

    Fisty_Cuffs_21 Member Full Member

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    Fair points, really. I'd personally shy away from that purely to add more styles & bodies to the heavyweight division. Wilder, usyk, Hunter, Povetkin, are stylistically more diverse when compared with the bigger guys, IMO (Vlad, AJ, et al) and they are on the smaller end. I'd really love to see HW be capped at 230/240 lbs though. Admittedly, 175-230/240 is very wide! So, maybe having that 190 lb division makes sense, but not the 200-205 lb division, IMO.

    Now to think about it, fight night weights should be compulsory. No fighter would be penalised for being able to drain/rehydrate but it'd help in judging their legacy, just like attributing someone's height or reach to helping them win fights.
     
    Fisty_Cuffs_21, Dec 3, 2021
    Fisty_Cuffs_21, Dec 3, 2021
    #16
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  2. sasto

    sasto Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Can't believe I never thought about the style issue.

    Going beyond that, it could help stop "protecting the 0" because everyone is going to stay one fight too long at their original weight class (or not survive the jump).
     
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2021
    sasto, Dec 3, 2021
    sasto, Dec 3, 2021
    #17
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  3. Fisty_Cuffs_21

    Fisty_Cuffs_21 Member Full Member

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    Exactly. Anything that stops people protecting their 0 is a net gain for the sport.

    Another thing that's whirled about in my head on the same topic: style diversity, is that HW seems to actually have quite a bit of style diversity purely because of the breadth of weights (usyk, wilder, fury, and etc.).

    Further, when looking at diverse (and highly unique) styles at an individual level, Manny Pac, Mayweather, Loma, Canelo, etc. you start to notice that they have multiple weights... Having that ability or option to hold multiple weights/be at multiple classes seems to, observably, produce a more nuanced style, though this is just correlation at the moment. Having 'weight elasticity' seems like an attribute that helps diversify styles and one that has been masking the "too many weight classes" problem.
     
    Fisty_Cuffs_21, Dec 3, 2021
    Fisty_Cuffs_21, Dec 3, 2021
    #18
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  4. Goose

    Goose Russian oligarch Full Member

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    Unfortunately the more divisions, the more useless belts, the more "champions", the more marketing, the more money for the promoters.....and the fighters (fortunately that one)

    Let's say 168 didn't exist, they wouldn't be able to market the crap out of Canelo Plant as a "historic" fight.....which in reality it wasn't. Plant was a "champion" from beating whom? Uzcateguy? Give me a break.

    Everyone is a champion now in these in between divisions, and they move up 8 lb and become unified champion...historic stuff.
    All this is is marketing material to sell fights and make more money.

    Its a good thing for the fighters if they can make extra cash, but for the public....it's confusing as hell and dilutes sports significance.

    I just doubt this will ever change to anything different....it's evolved this way because money drives it in this direction.
     
    Goose, Dec 3, 2021
    Goose, Dec 3, 2021
    #19
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  5. sasto

    sasto Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    It can be hard to see the style diversity at HW because 90% of the division practices the "slug for 3 rounds then gas and hold on" style. An upper limit on weight might fix that, or at least require someone to demonstrate 6 rounds of cardio before sanctioning a 12 round fight.

    I wonder if another reason HWs have more diverse styles is getting more trainer attention earlier in their career because they'll bring in more money. It's hard to imagine a story like Wilder's happening if he was 5'6".

    I have mixed feelings about the weight class jumping. It's too often about getting a cheaper opponent for your A side. If we got same day weigh-ins we might see less elasticity, if we had fewer weight classes there would he less need for it.
     
    sasto, Dec 3, 2021
    sasto, Dec 3, 2021
    #20
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  6. Philly161

    Philly161 "Fundamentals are the crutch of the talentless" banned Full Member

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    i'm with you on too many weight classes being bad... but how do you mean it limits styles? the only division i see as really stylistically stifled is the heavies. bc hw's have gotten so big on average it's pretty impossible to be a swarmer or attrition brawler at the top of the division. but even at heavy you got Fury, Usyk and Wilder all with very different styles.

    feels like most divisions have all styles represented. which styles do you feel have been endangered by the extra classes?
     
    Philly161, Dec 3, 2021
    Philly161, Dec 3, 2021
    #21
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