Do we need more weightclasses between lightheavyweight and heavyweight?

[sucracristo]

these divison names would be really confusing for most people to adjust to

Heavyweight - 100kg+ (220lbs+)
Cruiserweight - 90kg (198)
Light Heavyweight - 82kg (180)
Middleweight - 75kg (165)
Light Middleweight - 68.5kg (151) *151 is the current welter limit in the amateurs
Welterweight - 62.5kg (137) *closer to current light
Lightweight - 57.5kg (126) *126lbs is the current feather limit
Featherweight - 54.5kg (120) *closer to curent bantam
Bantamweight - 52kg(114) *closer to current super fly
Flyweight - 50kg (110)

North American Champion (US & Canada - I know that technically Mexico is in North America but I'm thinking demographics)
Central American & Caribbean Champion (Mexico down to Panama)
South American Champion...
Obviously none of this could work in real life though D

this is what the olympics and world amateur championships are for. pros go where the money is.

[Kootenay47]

I would vote for less weight classes , get rid of Jr./ Super weight classes so keep only Minimum-weight , Flyweight, Bantamweight , Featherweight , Lightweight , Welterweight , Middleweight , Light-heavyweight , Cruiserweight , Heavyweight .

This would help keep boxers from draining themselves too much and encourage them to fight at their natural weight .

No need for a Super-Heavyweight class , Heavyweight has always been the one division that is often thin on talented boxers so they need all the help they can get .

[ikorolev]

I would vote for less weight classes , get rid of Jr./ Super weight classes so keep only Minimum-weight , Flyweight, Bantamweight , Featherweight , Lightweight , Welterweight , Middleweight , Light-heavyweight , Cruiserweight , Heavyweight .

This would help keep boxers from draining themselves too much and encourage them to fight at their natural weight .

No need for a Super-Heavyweight class , Heavyweight has always been the one division that is often thin on talented boxers so they need all the help they can get .

How would it "keep boxers from draining themselves too much" ? For example, you think big middleweights like Rubio and Murray would move up to 175 instead of keeping draining themselves ? They are fine at 168, but could they face LHWs ???

Boxers would stop draining themselves too much only if there was a weight class for every pound, but it is absurd, so some middle ground is necessary.

[AngryGoon38]

I agree that there should be less of a gap between light heavy and crusier I can make 190 but no way I can make 175 and there isn't enough money at crusier so it is easier to way about 220 and fight heavy I fought when crusier was at 190 then they moved it to 200 I feel they should do 190 crusierweight and 200 super cruiserweight and just drop one of the lower weight classes were it is 7 pounds in between each weight class but it probably will never happen and all commissions are different also just Saturday I was at fights and a guy weighed 180 and the other guy was 200 and they didn't let them fight,but reality is there in the same weight class commission said they had to be with in 10 pounds but again that is the commission not knowing the weight classes

When i hear 1 guy weighed 180 and the other 200 i immedietely think of a hypothetical boxing match between Archie Moore and Joe Louis.

[Ilya Muromets]

I've been going on about this for years. We need more heavy weight classes and less light weight classes, and the whole antiquated and bizarre weight classification system should be revamped on logical principles with percentage increments. I made some posts on this on the "Is Fury 6'9"" thread, like this one:

In the Olympics up until 1908 heavyweight was over 158 pounds. Up until 1980 is was everything over 178 pounds. Now it's called super-heavyweight and is anything over 201. It should be changed again. Super heavy should be 225 lbs. (102 kgs.) and above.

What I'd really like is to abolish the whole antiquated and bizarre weight class systems they have now, with an overabundance of light weight classes, many separated by just 3, 4, or 5 pounds, and not enough on the other end, and institute a system based on logic, which is to say a percentage increments from one class to the next. For instance, light heavyweight is now all of 7 pounds, 168 to 175 pounds. Then you jump to cruiserweight which encompasses 25 pounds. That makes no sense. And then comes heavyweight where it can be 50 pounds, 100 pounds, skies the limit, with athletic-muscular fighters weighing around 250 becoming much more common in the top ranks, and in fact dominating it now.

[jujigatame]

What you have to recognize about HW is that once you get over 240 or so, there's little evidence to suggest more weight is an advantage. Damn near every top HW in both boxing and MMA are in the 230-250 range. Superheavies with coordination and athleticism are like unicorns.

So I think there is some logic behind making cruiser 190 and supercruiser at 210. The only problem is, given the general culture of boxing, the supercruiser division will probably be utterly barren. So it's probably more pragmatic to just shift the cruiserweight division down 5 pounds to 195 and let that be that. Hell, even that may be impractical because guys who cut a good amount of weight to get down to 200 right now would suddenly be forced to go to HW.

[Impractical Poster]

Eight weight classes. No more. No less.

[Taansend]

Eight weight classes. No more. No less.

Why?

[jujigatame]

Eight weight classes. No more. No less.

I'd be happy with 10 or 11. But what we have today (particularly at the lower weights but also all the way up through MW) is guys cutting weight across upwards of 3-4 classes, which kind of makes a mockery of the whole thing.

[ElJefe]

I agree with what people are saying about removing some of the lower weight classes. We've got a 108, 112, 115 and 118 division - 4 divisions within 10 pounds of each other is too much.

[Rexob]

I agree with what people are saying about removing some of the lower weight classes. We've got a 108, 112, 115 and 118 division - 4 divisions within 10 pounds of each other is too much.

Unless you are a great 108 boxer who has to keep fighting a great 118 fighter for titles, it's pretty shi.te then.

[sucracristo]

Damn near every top HW in both boxing and MMA are in the 230-250 range.

they are much bigger than primo carnera, who was considered a giant in his time when people
thought guys like him were too big to ever have any athleticism. they are bigger than the top guys
from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. top guys that size who can box are more the rule than the exception
nowadays. that makes it scary to think in another 10-20 years what that division will look like.
look at the NBA today compared to the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's. i'm not saying prime wilt
chamberlain, bill russel, kareem, etc, couldn't step into the league today and be effective, but
their skills wouldn't be nearly as dominant today, if they could even earn a starting position,
and no way would tommy heinson and most all-stars back then be all-stars today with the
same skills. they were just bigger than everybody, and today he would be tiny for a center
and smaller than average for a power forward, without the skills players have today. look at
the size and combine stats for your average NFL lineman, tight end, linebacker today compared
to the 70's and 80's. maybe this is it and the trend won't continue any further, but i doubt it.

[sucracristo]

I agree with what people are saying about removing some of the lower weight classes. We've got a 108, 112, 115 and 118 division - 4 divisions within 10 pounds of each other is too much.

Unless you are a great 108 boxer who has to keep fighting a great 118 fighter for titles, it's pretty shi.te then.

i feel really bad for the great 79lb fighters who have to fight the great 108lbers. how many pro 108lbers
are there exactly and how old are they?

[gilgamesh]

No. If anything we need less weight classes altogether. Not more

[Rexob]

I agree with what people are saying about removing some of the lower weight classes. We've got a 108, 112, 115 and 118 division - 4 divisions within 10 pounds of each other is too much.

Unless you are a great 108 boxer who has to keep fighting a great 118 fighter for titles, it's pretty shi.te then.

i feel really bad for the great 79lb fighters who have to fight the great 108lbers. how many pro 108lbers
are there exactly and how old are they?

Minimum weight 105lbs, 270 boxers are rated worldwide . The number one rated is 30 years old.

[Tony1244]

I agree with what people are saying about removing some of the lower weight classes. We've got a 108, 112, 115 and 118 division - 4 divisions within 10 pounds of each other is too much.

Unless you are a great 108 boxer who has to keep fighting a great 118 fighter for titles, it's pretty shi.te then.

i feel really bad for the great 79lb fighters who have to fight the great 108lbers. how many pro 108lbers
are there exactly and how old are they?

Isn't it unfair for a 79 LB fighter to have to fight a big 81 LB fighter?

It's disgraceful that Super Lightweight is 140 and the next division is a whole 7 LBS off. We need a Super Duper Lightweight Division and of course a regular champion, a Super champion, and a Super Duper Champion every 1/8 of a LB.

[Impractical Poster]

Eight weight classes. No more. No less.

Why?

It's OG. And it's the model the UFC uses, and works extremely well. More quality match-ups. It would also help if there was only one governing body as well... but baby steps.

[jujigatame]

I definitely think 105 and 108 could be combined into a single 107 pound division, but it doesn't really make sense to do that unless you're overhauling the whole thing and doing away with a lot of the super/junior classes.

[jezzamundo]

Boxing has too much history to play around with the weight classes too much. It will never happen, but I would like to see the weight classes trimmed back to:

Flyweight 112lb
Bantamweight 118lb
Featherweight 126lb
Lightweight 135lb
Welterweight 147lb
Middleweight 160lb
Light Heavyweight 175lb
Cruiserweight 190lb
Heavyweight 190lb +

There is definitely no place in the sport for a super heavyweight division.

[funso banjo baby]

i wouldnt mind some kind of junior heavy or super cruiser

take a look at the huge difference in size between Klitschko v Arreola...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w58O7PqEQ7U


and then look at the difference between Arreola v Brian Minto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4ACBc0jnCI

its ridiculous.

[Taansend]

It's OG. And it's the model the UFC uses, and works extremely well. More quality match-ups. It would also help if there was only one governing body as well... but baby steps.

Great answer

Personally I think the one governing body is much much more important than too many weight divisions.

I also think that the 8 division thing is a myth. One of the all time great fighters, Barney Ross, held the light welter title back in the 30's - and defended it against top notch opposition.

Also, the difference between a Light Heavyweight & a Heavyweight up until around 1970 was around 10-30 pounds. Now the difference between a 'small' heavyweight & a large one is up to 50 pounds.

Boxing doesn't need to look back - it needs to look forward. One governing body & 10/12 weight divisions.

But it won't happen although it would be bloody marvellous if Loretta Lynch took as much interest in this as she has into football. Boxing is just as crooked.

[jezzamundo]

It's OG. And it's the model the UFC uses, and works extremely well. More quality match-ups. It would also help if there was only one governing body as well... but baby steps.

Great answer

Personally I think the one governing body is much much more important than too many weight divisions.

I also think that the 8 division thing is a myth. One of the all time great fighters, Barney Ross, held the light welter title back in the 30's - and defended it against top notch opposition.

Also, the difference between a Light Heavyweight & a Heavyweight up until around 1970 was around 10-30 pounds. Now the difference between a 'small' heavyweight & a large one is up to 50 pounds.

Boxing doesn't need to look back - it needs to look forward. One governing body & 10/12 weight divisions.

But it won't happen although it would be bloody marvellous if Loretta Lynch took as much interest in this as she has into football. Boxing is just as crooked.

Good post.

i wouldnt mind some kind of junior heavy or super cruiser

take a look at the huge difference in size between Klitschko v Arreola...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w58O7PqEQ7U


and then look at the difference between Arreola v Brian Minto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4ACBc0jnCI

its ridiculous.

Now look at these size mismatches in the heavyweight division:

Chambers vs Dimitrenko
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/new ... o/88821963

Baer vs Carnera
https://www.awesomestories.com/asset/vi ... mo-Carnera

Chagaev vs Valuev
http://www.wbanews.com/boxing-news/chag ... ii-presser

There are plenty of cases in the heavyweight division where the smaller, sometimes MUCH smaller, but more skilled guy wins. This is part of the appeal of boxing's heaviest division. Splitting the division in two would ruin it and produce the two worst divisions in the sport. Being the heavyweight champion of the world means something, the last thing the sport needs is to dilute that.

[jezzamundo]

Damn near every top HW in both boxing and MMA are in the 230-250 range.

they are much bigger than primo carnera, who was considered a giant in his time when people
thought guys like him were too big to ever have any athleticism. they are bigger than the top guys
from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. top guys that size who can box are more the rule than the exception
nowadays. that makes it scary to think in another 10-20 years what that division will look like.
look at the NBA today compared to the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's. i'm not saying prime wilt
chamberlain, bill russel, kareem, etc, couldn't step into the league today and be effective, but
their skills wouldn't be nearly as dominant today, if they could even earn a starting position,
and no way would tommy heinson and most all-stars back then be all-stars today with the
same skills. they were just bigger than everybody, and today he would be tiny for a center
and smaller than average for a power forward, without the skills players have today. look at
the size and combine stats for your average NFL lineman, tight end, linebacker today compared
to the 70's and 80's. maybe this is it and the trend won't continue any further, but i doubt it.

Who are much bigger than Primo Carnera? Tyson Fury is perhaps 2 inches taller (we know he's not 6'9") with 1 inch longer reach and is definitely a naturally lighter man than Primo, who looked rock solid weighing 265lb, whereas Fury still has love handles when he's below 250lb.

While he wouldn't be considered a freak like he was in his day, Primo Carnera would still be considered a very big heavyweight today. Size-wise, he's about equivalent with Jameel McCline and definitely bigger than the likes of Lewis, Bowe, Wlad.

[jezzamundo]

What you have to recognize about HW is that once you get over 240 or so, there's little evidence to suggest more weight is an advantage. Damn near every top HW in both boxing and MMA are in the 230-250 range. Superheavies with coordination and athleticism are like unicorns.

So I think there is some logic behind making cruiser 190 and supercruiser at 210. The only problem is, given the general culture of boxing, the supercruiser division will probably be utterly barren. So it's probably more pragmatic to just shift the cruiserweight division down 5 pounds to 195 and let that be that. Hell, even that may be impractical because guys who cut a good amount of weight to get down to 200 right now would suddenly be forced to go to HW.

Good post.

[jezzamundo]

Before Cruiserweight was increased to what it is today, Australian National Boxing Federation introduced Super Cruiser 209.4lbs limit, leaving Cruiser at 190.
It proved to be a miserable failure & was eventually ditched

I'm not surprised and the same would happen if it were introduced worldwide, it's just not necessary and the talent pool at heavyweight is weak enough at the moment without splitting it up.