who are your top 5 Heavyweights as of now?

[REDEEMER]

The U.S media was nasty to Lewis for ages... Everyone was going to teach Lewis a lesson... merchant with the ole "when will Lewis fight an American heavyweight" routine... As though that were some self evident milestone...

The Media are ultimately sychophants to the talking heads...Minus those who write about and truly understand the sport.

Prospects DO step up sooner, this is true. They also start a lot later and this is what hurts talent. In days gone by, when there was one belt, and when to be the heavyweight champion of the world meant exclusion... and where any champion was in rarified company, regardless of the division... guys were fighting golden gloves then professional in their late teens, by the time they were in their midtwenties they were climbing the ladder. Also, guys fought a lot more.

My solution would be to have guys fight more... learn the skills in the ring, and learn the distinction between a goal of landing clean, flush shots, and slogging through all situations to land effictive shots. Instead of focusing on a perfect hook with the right part of the glove... focusing on having a big bald Gypsy KIng trying to smother you... getting your hips under his, moving into profile position enough to avoid the uppercut and shoot with the far hand to land shots...

I base my ideas on when MMA came out to the Bay Area here and one of my students was involved with a major club that was participating. As a favor to him (MMA was never my forte) I worked with a few of the guys who were competing. What you notice is that whatever the base art used is... and there were a lot of Gracie Guys, San Da guys... Guys have to get experience and modify it for the ring. For example, instead of trying to kick a man's leg from the grapple, stomp and try to break his toes... much more effective in the ring, would not be effective in the street lol. But with bare feet, in a ring, to make a guy move his leg, it is effective... I know it sounds mean spirited... but broken toes and fingers heal ok... I damn neat dislocated every finger on both my hands through the years lol.

Amatuer fighters, different styles all have to adapt to fighting professional prize fighting rules... and experience is a great teacher.

Did you see that young 6”9 Mexican tonight who just fought on ESPN making his pro debut ? A lot of what you say is true but I get the feeling the fighters in their 30”s with less mileage on them are also stronger then the ones who were mid 30”s and nearing the end of the career because they started young. I guess it’s a give or take idk ? There’s a lot of talent out there ,I made a thread and rankings of the top 20 guys over 6”5 and there was no shortage . So,Swede prospects some were top 15 .

Not much into MMA unless it’s the guys I know which is limited not into martial arts I’ve only dabbled in a few amateur bouts I was decent but I liked my face after the few losses I knew it was about that time to call it quits . Ha

[billeau2]

Did you see that young 6”9 Mexican tonight who just fought on ESPN making his pro debut ? A lot of what you say is true but I get the feeling the fighters in their 30”s with less mileage on them are also stronger then the ones who were mid 30”s and nearing the end of the career because they started young. I guess it’s a give or take idk ? There’s a lot of talent out there ,I made a thread and rankings of the top 20 guys over 6”5 and there was no shortage . So,Swede prospects some were top 15 .

Not much into MMA unless it’s the guys I know which is limited not into martial arts I’ve only dabbled in a few amateur bouts I was decent but I liked my face after the few losses I knew it was about that time to call it quits . Ha

One thing that happens when fighters fight more, is they learn how to be defensivelly responsible, and/or how to not get hit as much. Watch someone like La motta carefully, it looks like he takes shots but he is always moving to offset the impact. Thats a big part of the craft that is often neglected.

No have not seen that, but that is very big!

I was never a fan of MMA either. A person has to know how to deal with the ring... Its a good part of training technique. Everyone loves the adrenaline lol, but some people like to fight and enjoy "winning" for its own sake.

[REDEEMER]

One thing that happens when fighters fight more, is they learn how to be defensivelly responsible, and/or how to not get hit as much. Watch someone like La motta carefully, it looks like he takes shots but he is always moving to offset the impact. Thats a big part of the craft that is often neglected.

No have not seen that, but that is very big!

I was never a fan of MMA either. A person has to know how to deal with the ring... Its a good part of training technique. Everyone loves the adrenaline lol, but some people like to fight and enjoy "winning" for its own sake.

I dont believe fighters in the division of heavyweight can really avoid less shots against one another because of higher weight which will have them staying still more . They are bigger targets in general and take to give one back more then ever . That however also comes from longer reaches , I think most fighters have over 80 inches of reach which is insane . I should include reaches in the thread I made . Wilder vs Fury had a combined 168 inches of reach .

Better defenses is generally learned earlier it’s why prospects do get hit more today but I think they learn relatively fast if they want to stick around ,sometimes they are just outclassed,DDD vs Gorman comes to mind .

[moochi]

Fury
Fury
Fury
Fury
Usyk

[billeau2]

I dont believe fighters in the division of heavyweight can really avoid less shots against one another because of higher weight which will have them staying still more . They are bigger targets in general and take to give one back more then ever . That however also comes from longer reaches , I think most fighters have over 80 inches of reach which is insane . I should include reaches in the thread I made . Wilder vs Fury had a combined 168 inches of reach .

Better defenses is generally learned earlier it’s why prospects do get hit more today but I think they learn relatively fast if they want to stick around ,sometimes they are just outclassed,DDD vs Gorman comes to mind .

Its not avoiding the shots, its moving to offset the impact. Head movement is a big part of actually avoiding shots, but the way you carry your shoulders, the angles and position of the chin, are things that have to be learned. Reach is insane these days lol... It is more standard, so many guys have it and it is a big advantage. I agree about defense being learned early... Your going to have problems if you try to learn such skills later down the line... It is possible but its a handicap.

I was reading an article about Usyk training. His trainer was having him move his head, throw a jab, move his head again... try that while doing a combination!