Does the Cruiserweight division really need to exist?

[LoadedWraps]

The divison has produced many good fights over the last few years.

One of my favorites.

And if there is something that should stop existing it's OP's account.

[Mukuro]

This thread makes me mad.

How many of the people dissing the division have even heard of Usyk, Kudryashov, Chakhkiev, Makabu, Kalenga and the like, let alone watched a single of their fights? None I reckon. Why else would they spout the gibberish they're spouting? Most likely they just caught Flores vs Shumenov or some American televised nonsense and came here to air their expert views.

The Cruiserweight division is quite simply the most overlooked and underrated division in boxing, bar none. There isn't another division around today that's so packed full of action fighters and brutal knockout artists that so few people know about or care about. It's infuriating. These guys beat the crap out of each other for peanuts and don't get anywhere near the coverage or praise they deserve.

What's more, unlike the pampered divas of the lower divisions, the top Cruisers are more than willing to fight each other on a regular basis and frequently put on FOTY type fights for a fraction of the money and the pre-fight phony drama. It's everything boxing should be, and to hear ignorant idiots pronounce judgement on it like they even know what they're talking about makes me despair of the future of the sport.

Cruiserweight is literally old school heavyweight, 200lbs killers with enough punching power to destroy any man on the planet and skills to match. Why the hell people would prefer to watch someone like Chris Arreola over guys like that just boggles the mind.

If you don't like the Cruiserweight division you can sod right off as far as I'm concerned.

I'll be honest, I'm a bit of a casual lately and don't know about these guys. I have an ingrained bias against the division and I will admit that (I don't get excited about heavy either, so don't make that assumption). That being said, if these guys are as good as you all say, why don't they just knock some fatasses at heavy out and make a good show of it? Maybe if not for the cruiser division, the heavy division wouldn't suck so bad either. Granted, they would be hard pressed to overcome guys like the Klits or prime Lewis, but it would probably be a lot more compelling than what we see now.

We have seen plenty of examples of what good smaller fighters can do against lame (and even good) heavyweights. We have two divisions (CW and HW), one supposedly has depth of talent with no respect or notoriety, while the other has respect and notoriety with no depth of talent. Might not be a bad idea to merge the two back into one.

Maybe I am wrong and people like me need to recognize Cruiser as a legit division, and it should get more love from TV and press. Maybe it is a slow process gaining legitimacy. I think it is a question worth asking though.

[techliam]

I'll be honest, I'm a bit of a casual lately and don't know about these guys. I have an ingrained bias against the division and I will admit that (I don't get excited about heavy either, so don't make that assumption). That being said, if these guys are as good as you all say, why don't they just knock some fatasses at heavy out and make a good show of it? Maybe if not for the cruiser division, the heavy division wouldn't suck so bad either. Granted, they would be hard pressed to overcome guys like the Klits or prime Lewis, but it would probably be a lot more compelling than what we see now.

We have seen plenty of examples of what good smaller fighters can do against lame (and even good) heavyweights. We have two divisions (CW and HW), one supposedly has depth of talent with no respect or notoriety, while the other has respect and notoriety with no depth of talent. Might not be a bad idea to merge the two back into one.

Maybe I am wrong and people like me need to recognize Cruiser as a legit division, and it should get more love from TV and press. Maybe it is a slow process gaining legitimacy. I think it is a question worth asking though.

They have more chances of winning world titles at Cruiserweight... beating Klitschko at HW seems almost impossible. That being said, Marco Huck, who many see as the no.1 Cruiserweight, gave the consensus no.2 HW a LOT of problems in their fight, with a lot of people seeing Huck win. Whether Povetkin was 100% or not in that fight, I don't know, but I think that highlights perfectly how the top Cruiserweights can be competitive, if not better, than HW's. You'd probably see far more Cruisers moving up if Klitschko wasn't a 245lb giant champion

[Mukuro]

They have more chances of winning world titles at Cruiserweight... beating Klitschko at HW seems almost impossible. That being said, Marco Huck, who many see as the no.1 Cruiserweight, gave the consensus no.2 HW a LOT of problems in their fight, with a lot of people seeing Huck win. Whether Povetkin was 100% or not in that fight, I don't know, but I think that highlights perfectly how the top Cruiserweights can be competitive, if not better, than HW's. You'd probably see far more Cruisers moving up if Klitschko wasn't a 245lb giant champion

I understand that might not seem fair, but it isn't like the more full sized heavyweights are competitive against Wlad either. Guys like the Klits and prime Lewis are freaks who had size AND athletic talent. When that is the only real barrier to Cruiserweight sized fighters, and the only loss is a plurality of belts, I don't think I am too far off in questioning this regardless of the quality of Cruiserweight fighters.

[techliam]

I understand that might not seem fair, but it isn't like the more full sized heavyweights are competitive against Wlad either. Guys like the Klits and prime Lewis are freaks who had size AND athletic talent. When that is the only real barrier to Cruiserweight sized fighters, and the only loss is a plurality of belts, I don't think I am too far off in questioning this regardless of the quality of Cruiserweight fighters.

I think you're essentially right. However, Klitschko really is the only HW fighter Cruiserweights would target (Wilder perhaps for his paper title, too). Theres no reason for them to fight other full sized heavyweights, when they are content in attempting to become world champion at cruiserweight. If the HW division was in its glory days again, then perhaps they would.

[Mukuro]

I think you're essentially right. However, Klitschko really is the only HW fighter Cruiserweights would target (Wilder perhaps for his paper title, too). Theres no reason for them to fight other full sized heavyweights, when they are content in attempting to become world champion at cruiserweight. If the HW division was in its glory days again, then perhaps they would.

I agree and don't blame them. I am wondering if after Wlad retires, it becomes more appealing for Cruisers to gun for the titles he leaves behind. The remaining guys at Heavy are not that great.

[Foreign Soil]

Top cruiserweights are better than most top heavyweights. It's mainly been used as a division for fighters to get some belts and make a name before moving up to HW, but if they're able to establish a career out of being a cruiser, then by all means, do it. The division has the talent, the matchmaking has been up and down, but finally there's some noise back in it. A good cruiserweight fight is like yesterdays heavyweights. Much more action than your modern heavyweight.

[REMOVE SHARK 55]

It absolutely does, weight classes aren't there for the fans they're there for safety. This is the age of the Super Heavyweights CW's these days haven't got a chance vs Wlad, Fury or Wilder.

[Fury4daWIN]

It absolutely does, weight classes aren't there for the fans they're there for safety. This is the age of the Super Heavyweights CW's these days haven't got a chance vs Wlad, Fury or Wilder.

Usyk would manhandle Wilder. So would a lot of other top cruiserweights.

Wilder isn't even a superheavyweight anyway. He's just a very lanky normal heavyweight.

And a Cruiserweight dropped Fury, not a particularly heavy handed one either.

Guys like Huck, Lebedev, Drodz and so on would be highly competitive with almost any heavyweight today not named Wlad. Someone like Kudryashov might actually be one of the hardest hitters if he moved up. He's more heavy handed than Haye who was considered a very hard puncher at heavy. Kalenga and Chakhkiev would certainly be two of the most explosive hitters, and we already saw what Huck could do when he nearly knocked out Povetkin.

[Shpacman]

After watching the PBC Cruiserweight card the other night, I had some deep thoughts about how ****ty the Cruiserweight division has always been. A few good fighters have gone through it from time to time, and even a half decent fight or two, but as far as I know it has never been anything but a waypoint between real divisions. It is either guys too fat and lazy to make 175 or half ass heavyweights who are too shy to hang with the big boys. It doesn't even feel like a legit division and every time I notice that it is the weight class of a fight I'm about to watch, I shrug my soldiers and tune out.

Is it just me, or is the Cruiserweight division a joke? Would anyone miss it?

There are many good boxers in cruiserweight, but they allare in Europe and ******.