As in to weigh 200 pounds on the night he won the belt? Jones Jr maybe? Haye, Toney, Holyfield and MM have all weighed below 200 in there career. Wilder is only about 215 and he's a current title holder. I guess the last legit champ to weigh 200 is probably Spinks.
Spinks, champion around the time I was born. So in nearly 35 years Jones is the only fighter that may have won a title weighing 200lb. The same Jones who had just one fight at HW against a quite poor Ruiz who weighed 226lb. The days of great 200lb fighters dominating the HW division are long gone.
They happened as soon as the CW division upped it's limit. If Usyk moves up, guarantee he'll stopweighing200 as well.
A 200lb fighter can still fight in the HW division should he want to, why waste your time in the CW division when all the money and fame is at HW. And if Usyk moves up and weighs more than 200lb then that helps my point. He's no longer a 200lb fighter anymore so he wouldn't count.
Why risk competing against much bigger men when you can fight those your own size. Usyk will add weight, pretty much every fighter in history adds weight when they move up a division. It's a logical step
Well without risk there's no reward, fighters are taking a risk every time they step in to the ring. Why will he add weight then if it is of no benefit?
Of course they are but why risk needlessly when they can add bulk and remain effective, that doesn't make sense. When Holyfield was competing at HW he didn't stay below 190, he added a good deal of bulk and I assume he did that for a reason, unless you think you know better than he does?
Or maybe like you hinted on another thread they wrongly assumed it would be a benefit? In what way is it a benefit though? Afterall punchers are born not made and you either have a good chin or you don't. So basically it gives you a bit of extra strength? Not really a good tradeoff if it slows you down and lessens your stamina.
So we've come to the conclusion weight does matter and the days of 200lb fighters dominating the HW division are long gone.
That's still nearly a stone heavier than 200lb though and tbh I think he's crazy coming in that light as it appears to do nothing for him IMO.
I've told you this before, but I'll tell you again now, your powers of decoding implications are woeful. Don't try to assume what I'm hinting at or alluding to as you have shown yourself to be very poor at reading between the lines. I don't believe punchers are born, power can be trained. Some might be more genetically suited to be a power puncher, but that doesn't mean much imo. Prince Naz was a murderous puncher, but would I expect him to knock out David Price, no. Same with chin. Gerry Penalosa had amazing whiskers, but would he survive a fire fighter with David Price? No. If the extra size does have too much of a trade off then it isn't worth it and your skills will be so declined you probably wouldn't be so successful. That being said, you can lose a lot of speed but still be quicker than a big guy so it's all about balance. But Wilder is proving today you do not need to be a SHW to compete. Before he got the belt a lot of people on these boards thought we'd never see a belt holder below 220 again and then suddenly Wilder shows up. Usyk will show us how competitive a CW sized fighter can be as he's probably the most skilled 200 pounder we've ever had. But to answer the original question, we have weight classes to keep match ups fair. At some point the extra weight doesn't matter as much, which is why Valuev isn't the GOAT. It's why guys like Holyfield, Moorer, Spinks, Toney, Chambers, Byrd, Wilder, Haye, Povetkin, Chambers etc have been able to have success. Any ATG level fighter who can weigh above 200 can realistically be a champion at HW imo. For those who never weighed above 200 it's a leap of faith as to whether or not they could successfully add the bulk on, or an even bigger leap of faith as to whether or not they could succeed being so light. So imo the cut off is 200, after that you argue styles instead of size. Before that you argue styles but question whether or not the added weight will be an issue. I don't think Lewis beat Holyfield because he was bigger than him. I think he beat Holyfield because he was better than him. I've enjoyed trolling about this subject, but this is where I actually stand in relation to it all. Guys like Liston, Louis, Ali I can easily picture having success. Guys like Frazier, Marciano, Dempsey, it's not so easy. I have to really rack my brains there.
