How got Holyfield a Heavyweight?

[GEOFFHAYES]

Chemical assistance

[potatoes]

I have seen some old pics from him as a cruiserweight were he looks so small. At the douglas fight he added muscles and looked like another one.
I know that he later used a special workout designed from Doctor Fred Hatfield, PhD. But this he did as he was a heavyweight yet.

Anybody knows which workout or strategy he followed.

Joe Louis didn't need to pump iron and he knocked out every oversized heavyweight he faced. Gaining 20 pounds wouldn't have done him any good and it didn't do anything to improve Holyfield's performance either.

[fraidycat]

Joe Louis didn't need to pump iron and he knocked out every oversized heavyweight he faced. Gaining 20 pounds wouldn't have done him any good and it didn't do anything to improve Holyfield's performance either.

You really need someone to hit you in the liver before and after they've gained 20 lbs. of muscle. I think it would help you.

I can't understand how you can theorize that muscular strength is not advantageous in boxing. I just don't understand. Seriously. Enlighten me. How is a weak fighter better off than a strong fighter?

If a fighter was gaining 20 lbs. of fat, I'd understand your point; but it takes a HELL of a lot of muscle to reach a point of diminishing returns as far as oxygenation, endurance, recovery, flexibility, and general mobility. Yes, he'll have gained weight, but it's not the same as if he'd simply strapped a 20-lb. pack on his back; he'll have gained the strength necessary to carry the weight. And then some.

In a professional heavyweight fighter with a big frame, a gain of 20 lbs. of solid muscle -- assuming he was in fighting trim to start and remained there through the gaining process -- is not going to slow him down or make him weaker in any observable manner. At all.

[leff]

i wanna know too, why is it a dissadvantage to bee strong?

[Kid Achilles]

It's not. It is a disadvantage to weigh 30+ lbs over your body's ideal fighting weight, whether it's fat or muscle.

[BrooklynBomber]

Being strong boxing wise and having a lot of muclse mass is two completely different things.
Being strong(functional strength) has a lot to do with genetics and powerlifting, not bodybuilding. But rapidly gaining muscles, a la bodybuilding will deprive you from your stamina, agility and speed.
Dont forget that all these muscles have to be supplied with oxygen, thus more muscles -- more work for heart -- less stamina.

[hemichromis]

Being strong boxing wise and having a lot of muclse mass is two completely different things.
Being strong(functional strength) has a lot to do with genetics and powerlifting, not bodybuilding. But rapidly gaining muscles, a la bodybuilding will deprive you from your stamina, agility and speed.
Dont forget that all these muscles have to be supplied with oxygen, thus more muscles -- more work for heart -- less stamina.

true, a powerlifting routine is great for boxers they will gain some muscle but it will be useful muscle. the muscle bodybuilders gain is great at muscualr endurance(working for long periods of tension) but how often does that apply in boxing?

[potatoes]

It's not. It is a disadvantage to weigh 30+ lbs over your body's ideal fighting weight, whether it's fat or muscle.

There is little point in explaining anything to these keyboard warriors who are full of their own theories as well as that stuff that belongs in the barnyard. Rocky Marciano forced his weight down to 185 for a good reason: maximum fitness is coincides with maximum useable strength in an endurance related competition. Boxing has been around for over 100 years and it has been shown repeatedly that too much mass produces too little performance. Marciano could knockout any man with one punch in any round, and he could windmill knockout punches for 15 rounds. That is what real world "strength" is all about.

Now lets wait for it......the chief nerdy-boy is about to say he would go 15 rounds with Marciano anytime!!!

[fraidycat]

Actually, 'tatoes, when was the last time you went a round with anyone?

[fraidycat]

Boxing has been around for over 100 years and it has been shown repeatedly that too much mass produces too little performance.

Where, exactly? What are your sources?

Define "too much mass," while you're at it.

Lifting weights, in combination with a serious boxing training routine, will not -- CAN not -- produce the caliber of hypertrophy that would be detrimental to a boxer. If someone put down boxing completely and trained as a bodybuilder for years, then perhaps, yes. Augmenting boxing with weight training, and even gaining mass and muscular strength through weight training IN ADDITION TO BOXING, is not detrimental, and I would really, really, like you to quote one case in which it proved to be.