The majority of heavyweights today are overweight

And this is why Usyk is a throwback to the older Heavyweights.

The Heavyweights today cannot live with Usyk's constant feints and educated pressure forcing them out of their comfort zone and then they are knackered in the 2nd half of the fight.

Is it a coincidence that Usyk has taken over in the 2nd half of the fight in all of his big notable Heavyweight fights ?

Heavyweights today haven't got the fitness levels to beat a great smaller Heavyweight like Usyk.

We haven't had a great smaller Heavyweight probably since Evander Holyfield. And this is why I believe more notable past great Heavyweights between 210-220 would have more success against these bigger Heavyweights than alot of people believe.

 

Who cares

They add weight for power and strength the real issue is stamina and foot speed. Most heavies suck in the stamina and foot speed department. Both Parker and Wardley blew after 3 rounds.

Both Fury and Usyk have supreme skill with foot speed work positioning and stamina. Usyk bulked slowly to heavy and Fury has always been naturally big 260 plus.

 

Agree to a large degree, Fury has wrecked his stamina being overweight. fury for first three years after turning pro could crack on and on and was more lean.

 

I agree 100%

 

Guys like Fury, Parker, Zhang, Bakole, all massive men who are still fighting 20-30 lbs+ heavier than they should as pro athletes. Just because you fight at a class with no weight cap doesn't mean you shouldn't still get yourself into the best fighting shape.

Protruding guts and love handles spilling over shorts, is not a requitement to be a heavyweight.

 

100%

most are 3rd rate, 2cd rate at best...

but of course they are the best ever!

now atg's don't you know?

 

Harsher drug testing is probably why.

 

Some of them can only fight at those massive weights due to the drugs in my view.

 

and it is funny when certain people on here actually make fun of a heavy, joshua, who kept himself in shape. calling him "the bodybuilder" while praising fat and out of shape fighters!

 

They were using it to mean he's not a very good fighter; they weren't insulting him for being a gym rat who stays in shape.

You have to think guys like AJ and Dubois look at some of these overweight fighters and think "what are you guys doing?"

 

I,d like to think theres a good reason most of them go heavier. Its not a coincidence.

Its an asset for most of them. At that level you probably will get hit. Doesnt matter how fit and how much stamina you have its starts depleting quickly when a bigger guy or guys at that weight start landing.

The options are go in faster etc but if you do start getting hit it takes a lot more out of you. Or go in heavier and slower get hit more but have more durability to them punches. The safer bet is probably the second option.

Fury would have been too slow to avoid all the punches like he once did when he was younger.

Usyks just a highly skilled one off with a tremendous training regime from early enough.

 

Eh. I think it's just a lack of discipline because they don't necessarily need to have the discipline about their weight. Abs aren't what KO's an opponent. I don't know that AJ would be any worse coming in at 260 than 245. But AJ has discipline so isn't going to go off chugging beers and eating large plates of fried stuff with cheese like Fury.

The guys below HW have no choice. I remember a little thing I observed in watching some promotional vid for Bam. In it, he had taken his wife to the local coffee place. Ordered a drink for her. He takes one tiny sip and hands it to her. Ordered nothing for himself. But then he talked about how much he loves coffee and coffee drinks, plans on owning a coffee shop someday. Why only the one tiny sip? Because he's got to make weight. He's probably never not hungry. Just how it goes for the smaller guys.