Will we ever see a Heavyweight Champion under 6' again?

[Blueduck]

I tweeted Lennox Lewis as one of the grandfathers of the "Superheavyweight" era the question, and he responded "Possible, but probably not".

What do you think? guys with the Frazier, Tyson, Tua, type builds, just cannot compete with the 6'5"+ Heavyweights that seem to have dominated since Tyson exited stage left?

[DARKSEID]

I don't know if you've ever gotten in the ring with a much taller fighter but it's an absolute nightmare.

I'm 6'2 and I haven't sparred or fought a lot of taller guys but I've fought against some 6'6+ and above and it's not fun.

I sparred with this 6'8 visitor at my gym once and it was almost impossible to hit him. His head always felt out of range. He would dangle his head almost in range for me to hit, and then pull back whenever I made a move. I kept hitting nothing but air. Jabs were completely innefective and even if I touched him, it felt like a tap and I wasn't hitting him with my full weight because I was reaching and out of form. Hooks and uppercuts were out of the question unless I was countering him but he was always keeping me at the end of his jab. Even his body felt out of range because his humongous tree arms were keeping me out side of hitting distance.

The only shot that felt effective was my straight left(i'm a southpaw) if I could time it right and shoot it fast enough while he wasn't moving backwards.

Fighting a much taller fighter is an overwhelming obstacle. You have to be a master of the science to get away with it.

[SN!PER]

Yes, those guys just need fast feet, reflexes, and timing.

If they can get from point A to B faster than the taller man, his height isn't going to mean much.

[Weebler I]

Doubtful OP, but not impossible.

[Deeznuts]

Probably not given the weight disparities that exist when u fight in HW, the taller the better

[Blueduck]

I don't know if you've ever gotten in the ring with a much taller fighter but it's an absolute nightmare...

Nope just a fan (Honestly I've not punched anybody since the consequences would have involved swats on my bottom in the hallway by a mean Nun). But thank you for the detailed description of the problems, that was great!

[Accountoffline]

Im only 5'10/11 and around 215lbs and Ive sparred guys around 6'0/6'6..

Its demoralising infact I had better sparring down at Cruiserweight and even there I were a inch or two shorter than my opponents.

Im a massive Tua fan not because he was around my height but because he was fearless and had that zero ****s given attitude in the ring.

I massively respect any HW under 6' because it is a massive task at hand especially nowadays with the likes of Wilder, Joshua and Fury.

Could it happen Hell yes, isit probable not very.

[elfag]

Im more optimistic than others.

How many really good champs over 6-5 have we had? Lennox and the Klits. After wlad retires, theres no guarantee that the next undisputed guy is going to be that big.

Size alone isnt enough otherwise Valuev would be champ, and to his credit, his stamina was really good for a 7 ft tall guy but he got outboxed by a more mobile former cruiserweight.

Most heavyweights these days are over 240 but the majority of them are really 220 pound guys with 20 pounds of gut they could stand to lose.

There are a lot of tall guys like Wach and Fury but they suck balls and will lose to a smaller mobile guy. Size matters to a point though, Cunningham only lost to Fury due to size, he was clearly the better fighter, with Fury going down from a cruiserweight punch.

[Rustle Wilson]

Depends on the particular skillset and physical attributes of said sub-6 ft.'er

[////]

No. 6'2" or so is possible if he's a really ferocious swarmer but I doubt we will ever see a guy Tyson, Marciano sized with a significant reign at HW ever again.