Of all the dominant, undisputed champions of their respective eras from the 1920s onwards: Jack Dempsey 6'1" / 190lb Joe Louis 6'2" / 205lb Rocky Marciano 5' 11" / 185lb Floyd Patterson 6'0" / 190lb Muhammad Ali 6'3" / 210-220lb Larry Holmes 6'3" / 220lb Mike Tyson 5'10" / 220lb Evander Holyfield 6'2" / 215lb Lennox Lewis 6'5" / 245lb Vitali / Wladimir Klitschko 6'7"-6'6" / 240-245lb Which do think is the optimal height / weight for a 'heavyweight' fighter? Or, do you think it's all relative in respect to human-body-progression / lifestyles / training? Do you think heavyweight boxing suffers from excessive weight?
Optimal Height weight, IMO is 6'3", 230lbs...big strong and still fast....but obviously it's all relative as Lennox Lewis at 6'5" 240lbs was a force to be reckoned with. Heavyweight division, like all of boxing, is cyclical. It goes through peaks an valleys. I remember (because I'm old) how the division was SHIT in the 80s (people look back now and act like the '80s was golden for all divisions, but it wasn't for the heavyweights at the time). It was filled with out of shape boring fighters (including Holmes to be honest). Larry Holmes was the only dominant titlist...but the rest were a round robin of mediocrity (Tubbs, Page, Thomas, Berbick, Witherspoon, Dokes). That's why Tyson was TYSON. He cleaned that shit up. Between Dempsey and Louis was the same thing (Sharkey, Schmeling, Baer, braddock, carnera). My point is.....The dominant champion is now old (Wlad) and boring....but a new guy is on the horizon and will clean shit up again. Just wait. You'll see.
Toss-up between him and Sonny Liston for that post Marciano / pre-Clay period. Can pick either, really... It seems to me, Lennox Lewis was the first of the heavyweights to use 'weight' as an advantage? I don't know if this is to do with him or Courtney Shand's (or even Manny's) idea...because he was coming in at 220-230 before McCall KO'd him. After that, he rarely dipped below 245... Since then, they're all 240+
He wasn't using weight as an advantage...he weighed that because addicted to Apple Pie! Fucking dreadlocked bumbarass was gluttonous.
I have some belief in Joshua. He seems to have good potential and I haven't said that about any heavyweight since I could ever remember. I think he'd knock Wilder silly. Wilder is today's Michael Grant, only worse possibly. Grant had heart if not much else. I question if Wilder has even that.
Grant would have beaten Wilder. Grant's comp coming up the ranks was better than the no-hopers Wilder has feasted on.
Could well be Joshua, very exciting talent. As for Wilder, he sucks but I think it's a shame he took up boxing so late in life. With the right foundations he could have been really good IMO, he has all the attributes.
Its a shame manny steward hasn't been around the last few years, he might've been able to drill the abc's into him
Deontay Wilder's contribution to heavyweight boxing: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9iu7YBoe_Pg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
He was fat for the Vitali fight, in fact they wheeled him into the arena in a fucking cement mixer. Didn't you KNOW this :dunno:
I wish David Haye would have stuck around long enough for Joshua to have knocked him the fuck out. But Haye wouldn't have taken that fight.
Haye did everything possible to avoid anyone of note in the heavyweight division in order to get one big payday vs Klitschko..in which he did everything but box. He was never a heavyweight and really should have stayed at 190
