Thomas "Hitman" Hearns Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao Sam "Boston Bone crusher" Langford Floyd "Money" Mayweather Bob "Ruby Rob" Fitzsimons Roy "Superman" Jones Willie "Fatboy" Meehan Harry "Pittsburgh windmill" Greb James "Lights out" Toney Iran "The Blade" Barkley Hopefully this will stir some conversation.
I'm gonna go with best weight, as I think 'natural weight' is an extremely complicated concept and we didn't have the info to accurately guess it for these guys. Like Kev says, it also changes with age. Thomas Hearns: 154lbs Manny Pacquiao: 140lbs Sam Langford: 165lbs Floyd Mayweather Jr.: 130lbs Bob Fitzsimmons: 168lbs Roy Jones Jr.: 168lbs Willie "Fatboy" Meehan: 147lbs (?) Harry Greb: 160lbs James Toney: 160lbs Iran Barkley: 160lbs
There's no way Fitzsimmons was bigger than Greb and Langford. Fitz weighed in at 164Ibs fully dressed when he fought Ruhlin.
"I'm gonna go with best weight, as I think 'natural weight' is an extremely complicated concept and we didn't have the info to accurately guess it for these guys." I think he was best when weighing in above middle, which I don't think about Langford or Greb.
I don't know of him ever actually weighing that high. The ring side estimates seem consistently higher than when he actually weighed in. I think Greb's best weight was probably more like 164, while Fitz's was more like 160. Langford's was probably something in the region of 170-180, where he was at his best.
Yeah, this is it. There's no such thing as a "natural weight" I don't think with weights so close, metabolisms changing with age, and the weight classes so close together. Fighters don't tend to fight at weights where they lose nothing weighing in now, that just tends not to happen, though there are exceptions (ww Manny and JMM are good examples). I think people think of a "natural" weight for a fighter as one where they don't have to fight to make weight, but that kindof doesn't really exist. So if it's rare, why is it natural?
There is a point when it becomes unnatural but the line between where they do and do not belong is a blur up until a point.
