Look at the physical shape the heavyweights were in during the 70's

[DeepSleep]

The athletes that used to go into boxing are playing football and basketball. Boxing gets the elite athletes in the smaller weight classes because those people are too small to play any other sport. The athletic 6'3" 200lb kids are playing football not going to the boxing gym, the smaller weight classes still get elite talent so we still get great fighters down at those weight classes.

[bklynboy]

The athletes that used to go into boxing are playing football and basketball. Boxing gets the elite athletes in the smaller weight classes because those people are too small to play any other sport. The athletic 6'3" 200lb kids are playing football not going to the boxing gym, the smaller weight classes still get elite talent so we still get great fighters down at those weight classes.

ESPN has an article where this Florida businessman is trying get ex-college football players who didn't get into the NFL to turn to boxing. It seems a little late to start boxing but I wish him well.

http://insider.espn.go.com/sports/bo...ory?id=4744548

[Davros?]

The athletes that used to go into boxing are playing football and basketball. Boxing gets the elite athletes in the smaller weight classes because those people are too small to play any other sport. The athletic 6'3" 200lb kids are playing football not going to the boxing gym, the smaller weight classes still get elite talent so we still get great fighters down at those weight classes.

True in America, If you want to watch old school heavyweight fights you have to watch the cruiserweight division. Mormeck vs Bell 1 and 2, Mormeck vs Braithwaite, Haye vs Mormeck, Adamek vs Cunningham, Toney vs Jirov.

[sonnyboyx2]

Absolutely. Extra weight has an advantage for linemen but has few benefits for boxers. A perfectly timed punch for a 210 pound guy who "put on" 20 pounds of fat -- and is now 230 -- should do more damage. But the extra 20 pounds of fat will cut down on endurance, his ability to avoid punches and to close the gap. I don't know why people think you need to put on weight to match the Ks and other big heavyweights. Sonny Liston and George Foreman weighed 20-40 pounds less and easily had the power to KO either Vitaly or Wladimir.

Not to mention South African golf pros.

i have said for a long time on this forum that "Weight is a handicap".. take as an example Lennox Lewis, when Lewis fought at 225lbs he was a far better fighter than when he fought at 245+lbs

[GJC]

There does seem to be school of thought that height and weight equals power of punch. Punching power is timing in my opinion, think you can learn to make the most of what you have but to a point you are born with punching power. Likewise balance and a good chin.
Think what we have at the moment in the heavyweight ranks is a paraphrase of the old truism a good big un beats a good little un, in that a bad big un will beat a bad little un.

[bklynboy]

There does seem to be school of thought that height and weight equals power of punch. Punching power is timing in my opinion, think you can learn to make the most of what you have but to a point you are born with punching power. Likewise balance and a good chin.
Think what we have at the moment in the heavyweight ranks is a paraphrase of the old truism a good big un beats a good little un, in that a bad big un will beat a bad little un.

Absolutely. People think weight automatically equalls power.

All sports have examples of smaller guys having as much power, if not more, than big guys. Adding muscle will not make a pitcher throw harder. There were a lot of skinny pitchers who barely tipped the scales at 160-170 who threw harder than guys weighing 50 pounds more.

There was this skinny guy in golf -- also weighing about 160 -- who hit balls further than anyone. Tiger Woods has put on weight as he got older but he isn't hitting the ball any further.

[geribeetus]

there's no excuse for showing up looking like arreola, but there's always been heavyweights in imperfect shape. i remember wepner looked blubbery as hell against ali. joe frazier never came close to a six pack. you could tell when joe bobbed under a punch he had a little meat on him. tim witherspoon and tony tubbs never looked great from what i remember. same with ray mercer. tommy morrison always had moobs. lennox lewis got pretty soft in his late 20s, early 30s. larry holmes had a good bit of fat on him in his early 30s. the klitschkos will never get credit because of a few fat guys in their division and it's pretty ridiculous.

[nomadman]

A lot of the Eastern European fighters might not be ripped to the bone, but they're not in that bad a condition, really. Guys like Chagaev, Ibragimov, Boytsov and Povetkin seem no worse, conditioning-wise, to many top heavyweights of the past. It's the Americans who seem to be letting the side down mostly (plus guys like Solis and Peter). The state some of those guys come into the ring with is sickening. I'm looking at you Arreola.

[nomadman]

The athletes that used to go into boxing are playing football and basketball. Boxing gets the elite athletes in the smaller weight classes because those people are too small to play any other sport. The athletic 6'3" 200lb kids are playing football not going to the boxing gym, the smaller weight classes still get elite talent so we still get great fighters down at those weight classes.

Sorry, I've always thought that theory is a load of hooey. Being a good athlete doesn't equal being a good fighter. A fighter is determined by upbringing and culture. America just doesn't have as many run-down, dirt-poor neighbourhoods as the former-Soviet states, hence your lack of decent HW fighters.

[JAB5239]

A lot of the Eastern European fighters might not be ripped to the bone, but they're not in that bad a condition, really. Guys like Chagaev, Ibragimov, Boytsov and Povetkin seem no worse, conditioning-wise, to many top heavyweights of the past. It's the Americans who seem to be letting the side down mostly (plus guys like Solis and Peter). The state some of those guys come into the ring with is sickening. I'm looking at you Arreola.

I disagree completely. These guys throw hardly any punches compared to the top fighters of the past and they fight fighters who throw hardly any punches. To top that off they're pretty much spent after 7 or 8 rounds. Can you imagine them having to fight a fight where they were forced to throw twice as many punches as they normally did? Can you imagine them defending against a guy like Frazier or Marciano who throws non stop for 15 rounds? I can, and its not a pretty thought.