This picture is a prime example of why the Heavyweight division is a joke

[SlySlickSmooth]

I bet Ken Norton could become champ right now if not work his way to #2 behind the champ if he was brought back in his prime.

[jas]

great thread

[yoz]

Hmmm, Kirk Johnson...

[Godsfly]

Not a good look. Soft for sure.

to an idiot yea.............

[Godsfly]

heres the difference..............i can literally name more then half of the heavyweight division of today as being overweight guys. while the pics that are being posted in the past are guys that were far few in between (rare) and didn't compete on any kind of world level.

guys like fury, perez, arreola, Stiverne, Tony Thompson, Chisora, are top tier heavyweights and all have struggled with their weight..........(top tier heavyweights? meaning the best of the best that the division has to offer?)

this is ridiculous.

[billeau2]

Out of their primes yes, old no. Ali was the same age in as Wladimir is right now.

Why did you remove one of the photos? They don't look very good in the pic you posted either considering how small they were. They should have been shredded at that weight by modern standards.

In the older pictures where they looked leaner they were barely heavyweights. Covered that. Comparing the physique of early 180-199 pound Ali to modern heavyweights makes no sense. They are not in the same division.

The talent pool was extremely tiny and non-global back then. It's no surprise that the "heavyweights" were really just aging LHWs with a few layers of pudge.

Your argument is fallicious. As said, when fighting in their prime Ali and Frazier were not out of shape, nor where they chubby. These guys being roasted in this thread are relatively young men....and you use one fighter to try to make your case. Ironickly Vlad looks great but has not stamina to speak of, another conditioning problem not the subject of this thread.

You will always have guys like Tex Cobb, guys who could go fifteen rounds and didn't look like it, but they were the exception back when Ali and Frazier were fighting. On average heavyweights today weigh more and punch less. The proof is in the pudding, guys gas, they look like Chris Arreola, they fight 12 rounds (not fifteen)...its a real problem in the division.

I do appreciate that at least you tried to prove your assertions with photos but no enchilada....Frazier did not fight the bulk of his career chubby, only when he was past it and....Ali much like Holmes was not reallt a mezomorph, but as said the scales don't lie and his weight to height was not out of proportion....Quite a few heavyweights today are clinically obese.

[Szef]

Ah dude shut up. You don't know what you're talking about.
Anyway every era had some fat guys ... but the guys at the top are pretty much always in tip top shape.

This

[Foreign Soil]

to an idiot yea.............

A little insecure? They are soft and neither Frazier nor Ali were physical specimens, even in their primes, but obviously there's more to fighting than looking good/ripped. A little outer fat means nothing but it is funny seeing how defensive some people get over the old days, even when it comes down to something as insignificant as body fat.

[Godsfly]

A little insecure? They are soft and neither Frazier nor Ali were physical specimens, even in their primes, but obviously there's more to fighting than looking good/ripped. A little outer fat means nothing but it is funny seeing how defensive some people get over the old days, even when it comes down to something as insignificant as body fat.

thats their 3rd meeting (when both men were almost at the end of their abilities) and even then they weren't "soft" body fat % is normal. they were in good shape. definitely not like the one YOUNG prospect in this thread (now thats soft)

[richardt]

Unrelated - If Salvador Sanchez, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones, and Ali were all alive and in their prime today, they could clean out everything from Bantamweight through Heavyweight single handedly. Damn, I miss those guys.