Were Heavyweights in past generations small/lighter due to the 15 rounds?

[sentax]

From the 60s through the early 90s maybe a typical Heavyweight would be in the 210 to 220 pound range. That's now considered quite undersized especially with all the 240+ lbs guys dominating.

However was that weight range better suited to the 15 round title fights they had? Would the big boys of today have to shed pounds if they brought back the 15 rounders? Could someone like Tyson Fury at near 280 lbs have fought at that size in the 70s?

[BKM-]

Most of the giants would do fine going 15 rounds. Vitali, Fury, Lewis, Bowe etc. Cardio is for the most part not a specific problem that they face.

[DeeMoney]

I’d say viewing boxing as more of an endurance sport could be part of it. But I think there were general philosophies throughout sports that were held true back then that may be a part of it.
People used to think that weight training and gaining muscle would just lead to being bulky and immobile (heck there are a lot on here who feel that lifting weights just turns you overly muscle bound). That being written, most modern training regimens know how to implement strength training with out just being a stiff, muscle bound, power lifter trope. Along those lines, athletes in general carry more weight now, and for the most part do so while still being faster and maintaining stamina.

Of course I think the biggest reason for any increase in weight, is in general an increase in height. Usyk is a small (short) heavyweight nowadays; he’s as tall as Foreman and Ali, who were considered tall in their days. Yes, we all know about Jess Willard and Primo Carnera, but they were outliers in their day- they’d just be normal now.

For certain, there are philosophical differences in athletic development, but in addition to this, a general increase in height is the biggest cause.

[dreamroom]

I’d say viewing boxing as more of an endurance sport could be part of it. But I think there were general philosophies throughout sports that were held true back then that may be a part of it.
People used to think that weight training and gaining muscle would just lead to being bulky and immobile (heck there are a lot on here who feel that lifting weights just turns you overly muscle bound). That being written, most modern training regimens know how to implement strength training with out just being a stiff, muscle bound, power lifter trope. Along those lines, athletes in general carry more weight now, and for the most part do so while still being faster and maintaining stamina.

Of course I think the biggest reason for any increase in weight, is in general an increase in height. Usyk is a small (short) heavyweight nowadays; he’s as tall as Foreman and Ali, who were considered tall in their days. Yes, we all know about Jess Willard and Primo Carnera, but they were outliers in their day- they’d just be normal now.

For certain, there are philosophical differences in athletic development, but in addition to this, a general increase in height is the biggest cause.

Bingo. People in general are bigger. The Steelers O-line in their 70's super bowl teams averaged about 250.

[The Old LefHook]

These galoots of today will not fight a man about 6 feet tall and about 200 lbs. for a very good reason. As long as they are fighting each other they can proceed at a galoot's pace, but once they face a man with actual stamina who makes them move constantly, they will wear down in a hurry.

This is precisely why the overrated Fury is likely to be soundly whipped by Usyk. His desperation will be so great that I expect him to be disqualified for cheating. John Fury may enter the ring at some point, hit someone and be arrested. Outsized galoots are a fluke in heavyweight history. The return to normalcy will come soon.

[QueensburyRules]

From the 60s through the early 90s maybe a typical Heavyweight would be in the 210 to 220 pound range. That's now considered quite undersized especially with all the 240+ lbs guys dominating.

However was that weight range better suited to the 15 round title fights they had? Would the big boys of today have to shed pounds if they brought back the 15 rounders? Could someone like Tyson Fury at near 280 lbs have fought at that size in the 70s?

- - Ol'school Training philosophy was training down to the bare essential mass as if they had to make weight. What with the 12 round era with modern scoring rules that reward knockdowns, it pays to carry some mass to both take shots and deliver them. Also fighters of any weights were often purposely dehydrated that we know is bad for maximum performance.

In my day we were given salt tablets that we ate like candy for baseball and football and water was considered to cause cramps. When I played pickup baseball and football, we never used those things or even had a water cooler and were just fine. Once Big George could come in at a normal weight he was 230+. Today with weight training he'd be around 250.

As to football, and this has bled over to BB/BB, kids are put on the juice early, say 15-16 such that 300-380 lb linemen are considered normal. In basketball plenty of muscling up needs size inside With modern platooning and situational substitution and DH rules where the pitcher don't even bat, and with shrunken baseball fields, pays to have extra strength such that even blooper can turn into HR.

[ShoulderRoll]

Yes.

Both Fury and Wilder were huffing and puffing in their last fight. Anthony Joshua looked gassed against little Usyk. These big guys aren't built for 15-round-wars.

[Marchegiano]

Yes

Boxing, as is, is unfair to the big man because the rest periods are equal. Fact is if you way 130 you recuperate energy more quickly than a man who weighs 230. So the rest period allows smaller men to recover more than a larger man even though both have the same exact allotted time.

The converse is true for a time limit. Boxing is also unfair to the small man. A time limit forces a smaller man to make a fight earlier because they can no longer gauge the distance of the fight in terms of how tired their opponent is but now based off time. Prior to limits the little man's goal is to stay safe and tire his opponent out to the point where the smaller fella could achieve a KO mostly by exhaustion.

Solution is weight divisions. Time limits save lives, rounds save lives, the best way to have these and them be most fair to all fighters is with divisions. A system of rounds with no limit favors the small. A system with limits favors the large. A system with both that divides the fighters by weight, you know....instead of height or reach or any other logical means of matching...is pretty fair to every type of human.


I seen the above claim people are better athletes....um....that doesn't answer anything. You're comparing the pros and cons of size to time not to yesteryear. Are little guys still faster than big guys? Do they still have more energy after 12? Alright then, it's still true, being big would bulk you up, slow you down, and tire you quickly. In a world with no time limit it makes it almost impossible for a big guy to win a fight which is the reason we have none from the era called champion.


Reminder, I am endeavoring to bring all divisional history to light, these sorts of questions is why. When the last time there was a thread about who was the first champion? Exactly, well known so no one asks. I'd like to make basic weight division history the same. Why time limits exist and how they effect divisions shouldn't be a debate, it shouldn't even be a question, it should be widely known, but, we don't because none of our historians have done that work. OP asks a perfectly reasonable question in the current climate of information, we could change that forecast

[Nash out]

Yes.

Both Fury and Wilder were huffing and puffing in their last fight. Anthony Joshua looked gassed against little Usyk. These big guys aren't built for 15-round-wars.

I'd back Fury to last 20 rounds, never mind 15. Nash out.

[_Rexy_]

They're taller now.