Why some boxers go to cruiserweight division if the money is in the heavyweights?

Because they are not big enough for HW maybe?

 

I think a lot of it comes down to what motivates a fighter. If you are strictly in it for the money then staying at heavyweight is the wiser choice. But a lot of fighters aren't just in it for the cash, some truly want to do something significant in the sport and achieve a lifetime goal of becoming a world champion and see that their odds are better as a Cruiserweight.

 

Don't try and talk sense to baconmaker, it won't have any effect.

 

Yes, and there's also the basic matter of size. Some cruisers have the frame to bulk up quite a lot and still be mobile and effective. Lots don't. And regularly fighting guys with six inches and sixty pounds on you is a good way to ruin your health. Today's heavies are insanely large.

 

You probably earn the same amount as a belt holding cruiserweight as you do being the number nine ranked heavyweight, which is as much as some of these guys could expect if they moved up. The top 5 heavyweights are earning off of belts they hold making millions every fight. One or two contenders eat well like Chisora, but most probably aren't seeing big money.

 

Why...they do it for the glory of course! Why fight a glass jawed fraud such as Wilder for a couple million dollars and the prestigious WBC belt when there wouldn't be any challenge to it?

You have warriors in the cruiserweights who fight for honor and the warrior spirit and would rather batter each other senseless for mere peanuts and a lengthy hospital stay than go for the easy pickings at heavyweight.

Legacy, pride, honor, glory, millions cannot buy any of those words

 

Winning a cruiserweight championship BEFORE moving up to heavyweight enhances the value (and exposure) of the fighter, and you may have noticed people tend to grow over time so going the CW route first allows them to grow into their bodies and eventually become more true heavyweights.

 

Because their balls are the size of watermelons.

 

Because there's a big difference between guys who naturally weigh 200lbs and sit 6'2" to 6'3" and guys who weight naturally 250lbs and sit 6'4" to 6'7".

Not all CW are guys who drop weight to fight CW.. some are guys naturally that size, or even guys who bulk up for the weight.

Also, quite a few CW fought at LHW or below to start.. fighting at 200+ against 250lb'ers is a good way to shorten your life span.

 

Uh....because the Heavyweight Division is no longer the money division it used to be, and Cruiser has blossomed in Europe as a huge money division with lots of title opportunities.

The only reason to go to HW for the past decade was to cash out against Wlad or Vitali, though that's changing now.

 

I'm pretty sure the biggest ever purse at Cruiserweight was 1.5 million dollars and it was given to one of the fighters on the Hill vs Maske card. Biggest purse at heavyweight was 30 million for Mike Tyson vs Holyfield 2, and right below at light heavyweight Ray Leonard earned 15 million to fight Donny Lalonde.

I'd be surprised if any cruiserweights were making more than a couple of hundred thousand dollars per fight. Part of the problem is that they went five or seven years without any title unifications. Guys like Huck, Wlodarczyk, Lebedev, and Hernandez weren't interested in fighting each other. Marco Huck was probably the most popular and well known until recently and he only made 700 grand to fight Afolabi the third time. Huck made about 550 grand to fight Arslan.

More recent cruiserweight purses haven't been much to write home about either. Glowacki made 150k to fight Cunningham who made 225k. Usyk made 75k to fight Mchunu, etc.

 

Thank you for proving my point. Holyfield vs Tyson is fast approaching its 20th anniversary. Nobody is fighting Tyson in Vegas in 1997 today.

Up until recently the only money at heavyweight was earning a mandatory challenge for a Klitschko brother belt.

Marco Huck has an estimated 2.6 million Net Worth.
Cristobel Arreola has a comparable 3.0 million Net Worth.

Arreola is an above average earning heavyweight contender with a Mexican fanbase who has challenged the World Title 4 times and yet a Cruiser belt holder is estimated to have nearly matched his career earnings, that is something that in the past was unfathomable.

And now we have guys like Cleverly and Bellew selling out arenas in 48 hours.

 

Let's look at the Ring's top 10 rated heavyweights of 2015 and some of their purses.
Tyson Fury 6 million vs Klitschko
1.Klitschko 15 million vs Fury
2.Povetkin 1.5 million vs Duhaupus
3.Wilder 1.4 million vs Arreola
4.Pulev 1.5 million vs Klitschko
5.Ortiz ?
6.Stiverne 910,000 vs Wilder
7.Glazkov 524,000 vs Martin
8.Jennings ?
9.Chagaev ?
10.Joshua 2.25 million vs Molina

Now consider the top 10 rated cruiserweights from 2015
1.Drozd ?
2.Lebedev ?
3.Glowacki 150k vs Cunningham
4.Huck 700k vs Afolabi
5.Makabu 70,500 vs Mchunu
6.Arslan 200k vs Huck
7.Kalenga ?
8.Usyk 75k vs Mchunu
9.Ramirez ?
10.Afolabi 220k vs Huck

 

Charles martin made 6m against Joshua. What opponent ever made that money against either brother?

Chisora got paid 30k against Vitali. He probably earned more against Whyte when you factor in the 10k silver watch bonus given to him by Eddie Hearn.
Briggs didn't get paid at all for his fight against Vitali. Not a single dime.

Cruiser will never offer Usyk the kind of money he could make if he moved up and fought Joshua.