When and why did super heavyweights improve?

Sugar Valuev was the game-changer who single-handedly evolved generations of tall, awkward big men into nimble, athletic giants.

 

The point is to win fights, not a body building competition.

 

I feel like Lance Whitaker was about as close to Carnera as we’re gonna get for awhile.

 

Right, and my point is being 250 at 25% body fat doesn't make you any more formidable than someone at 220 with 7% body fat and it's flat out not even practical if your constantly fighting skilled, conditioned men training for 15 round fights. This obsession with guys over 235 regardless of how much of it is good weight is just comical

 

Just like you should not tell anyone to "stop" when you offer a position, trying to censor them...
Unless there is good evidence otherwise, you should assume (if you are even correct) people are acting in Good Faith-not likely being disingenuous.

I did miss that part of the article. Nevertheless, it is not so much that they "challenged" the quote-they said there & from the next paragraph that some portion of heritable height genetics seems undetected/unaccounted for.
Then they say a candidate for this is epigenetics. They do not insist it is or likely is, but might be.

I know you found the article very quickly. Which since it is a single article, not many or a meta-analyses of studies or a summary of recent scholarly beliefs-does not indicate what the scientific consensus is.

I agree that this indicates that people can vary even without Darwinian evolution taking place.
But while epigenetics may well be some part of that...The overwhelming reason people have gotten bigger over time is better health, & especially more adequate nutrition.

Regardless of the background & lived experiences of say a theoretical group of people who are starved or significantly nutritionally deprived as children, they will tend to be significantly smaller than others who have a good diet & health.
And their kids raised in said environment will be much larger.

 

Some truth to what you are saying, but overstated.
Klitchko & Lewis were over 230 lbs. in top shape, & tons of guys who are around 6' 6" could be naturally.
Guys like Tua & Tyson would be well over 230-if they were so tall. There is no evidence they used PEDs.
It is not at all clear that Joshua used or uses PEDs-he might have, but you have presented no evidence-& as a long time lifter who has read much about this, many guys can get there.

In fact here is a chart that shows what is possible accounting for height & bone structure.
Now whether they are best off maximizing their genetic potential-& harder to do with tons of cardio, but many do not do that-is another question.

Also HWs are not necessarily in top shape below 10-15% body fat.
But enter a pretty low #, 10%, & just a big but not huge reading for wrist & ankle that a 78" tall HW would likely have, 8" & 10.5"...
And even without being "bulked" with mucho food in their system you will see they would have room to spare to reach muscle at 235 or even near 250 lbs. & some would only be approaching their natural genetic potential.

[url]http://www.weightrainer.net/bodypred.html[/url]

 

First off, nobody wants to be fighting at 7% bodyfat and nobody does.

Off the top of my head, Lewis, Holyfield, Fury, and Wlad all bulked through their careers and were more effective at the higher weight. That covers most of the best heavyweights since 1990. Holyfield is the only really cut one out of them and Wlad looked good too but carried more fat. Foreman, Moorer, Rahman, Ruiz, Byrd and probably some other alphabet holders also bulked and were better and/or got their biggest wins when bulked up.

Highest effective weight is what matters. Weight is an advantage in boxing. Some, like Tua, pushed it too far and become less effective, but many do not and are harder to beat with the weight on.

 

Your trying really, really hard to convince me that body fat is an advantage in boxing. I'm not buying it man. Call me old school.

 

If you punch a guy who is bigger than you, it tires you out.

If you clinch a guy who is bigger than you, it tires you out.

If you get punched by a guy who is bigger than you, it's more unpleasant than if a smaller guy does the same.

 

There haven't been many heavyweights over 6'5 and over 230 who were very good.
The Klitschko brothers, Fury and maybe Joshua.

 

They've improved because competition is worse.

 

Mid nineties I think. That's when the likes of Lennox, Bowe, Golota and co started to come on the scene. Though there were good big men from the eighties onwards.

 

It correlates with the children of the baby boom becoming adults, and then the Soviet guys started showing up in the 90s.

 

Here's Foreman's am record: [url]https://boxrec.com/en/amateurboxer/90[/url]

You can point out who you specifically are talking about or else one would assume you're pushing an emotive agenda.