Is boxing the only sport that .....

[Old bones Ian]

Has its top professionals turn up out of shape?

Ruiz last night was basically a disgrace, he has even blamed too much partying. In any other sport do the top guys regularly turn up out of shape?
People pay top dollar and expect to see someone perform, in tennis if Federer or Nadal turned up fat and blamed partying then they would be fined , and risk a ban.
Fat professionalfootballers are a thing of the past, rugby you'd expect even the big lads to be in shape.

Last night we had Whyte way out of shape, Molina out of shape, and Ruiz on the biggest stage saying he couldn't throw combinations because he was too fat, he should be fined and banned

[bigped]

I suppose it is really , if any other athlete had turned up 20 odd stone they wouldn’t be able to
Compete at all at the top
Level apart from maybe snooker and darts if you count them as sports ,Ruiz was a disgrace and still went the distance and made aj put on a supposed masterclass to beat him; being realistic wilder /fury and many more would have beat that version of Ruiz last night and probably more empathetically than aj did it was a disgrace from
Ruiz

[Boxerbeetle]

Not to mention Sky demanding 25 quid for the privilege of watching those fat, out of shape blobs wobble around and gas out

It is very poor really, not sure why heavyweights are so indisciplined. Not much you can do about it though.

[Old bones Ian]

Well the TV companies paying out millions could insist on fitness clauses , that if someone turns up out of shape they pay less

[Noxy]

It’s only the heavyweights innit and pretty rare, especially at the top level.

[bigped]

It’s only the heavyweights innit and pretty rare, especially at the top level.

Mainly heavyweights I’ve see cruiserweights who could do
Light heavy and light heavy who could do super middle etc , but mainly heavys

[Lenny Cravats]

Darts.

[Covfefe]

Not to mention Sky demanding 25 quid for the privilege of watching those fat, out of shape blobs wobble around and gas out

It is very poor really, not sure why heavyweights are so indisciplined. Not much you can do about it though.

I had every intention of buying it till I heard bunce and Costello on Friday night on five live. As soon as I heard them say he was coming in heavier I lost loads of interest, when it came to buying it last night I decided against it and listened to it on headphones instead.

[Covfefe]

It’s strange really as I’m sure I saw images of him earlier this year and that he’d lost weight and got in better shape. What happened?

[samwbr]

Photoshop

[Covfefe]

Photoshop

They weren’t real?

[samwbr]

Photoshop

They weren’t real?

There were some shots were he was looking almost shredded, he hasnt ever seen his abs.

[Tarquin Tarpaulin IV]

What happened? I'd suggest Andy Ruiz looked at where the money was and saw a trilogy as a better financial prospect than being dumped by Wilder or outboxed by Joshua.

I don't think he expected AJ to be able to box for 12 rounds. If he won a third fight was a given. If he lost but performed well, same again.

Even with a little success last night the bout would have been a thriller. He had none.

[rd350lc]

Not to mention Sky demanding 25 quid for the privilege of watching those fat, out of shape blobs wobble around and gas out

It is very poor really, not sure why heavyweights are so indisciplined. Not much you can do about it though.

It's got to be because there is no weight limit , would it ruin the weight division if there was a limit at the weight and create a super heavy division above ?
Probably wouldn't work because the lazy gym dogers would just go up to super heavy , but something needs to be done about it because Ruiz was a disgrace coming into this fight .

[Ruthless-RKO]

Heavyweights don’t need to make weight though. As long as they’re comfortable.

[milpool]

It’s not just the heavyweights that come in fat and over weight. Paul Smith came in looking more like a sumo in his clash with Andre Ward and didn’t Rocky Fielding come in about six pound over the limit in one of his fights...?

[Greg Houston]

Darts.

Exactly what I was going to say, and add that the one time Sky tried putting it on PPV, one of the was so out of shape it ended early when he collapsed.

[Grilling Machine]

I'd suggest Andy Ruiz looked at where the money was and saw a trilogy as a better financial prospect than being dumped by Wilder or outboxed by [s]Joshua[/s] Fury.

I doubt he was after the trilogy, but I do think the danger of Wilder in a unification was on his mind, as well as Fury being way too rangy for him (though I'm sure he's not scared of Fury).

Because he's not scared of Joshua he just turned up with low ambition, thinking he'd either get a bit lucky and win again or cruise to a decision. He didn't plan to lose as widely as he did.

And as for his weight, it's entirely possible he went through a period of discipline and then just fell off the wagon. Maybe from 19 to 18 to 20. It's always easier to be disciplined straight after and before fights, it's the languish in the middle that gets to a lot of fighters.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Has there ever been a defending heavyweight champ who was so overweight.

[Grilling Machine]

Homer Simpson was top of the Springfield Hobo Boxing Association.

[Coco]

Has there ever been a defending heavyweight champ who was so overweight.

Maybe George Foreman!
Of course Buster Douglas.
For me Ruiz was a disgrace, heavyweight champ with 6 months notice, I guess he has earned big in these 2 fights, more than most could ever dream of...

[Grilling Machine]

Buster was SlimFast next to Ruiz. And Foreman was only, what, 30lb over? Ruiz is 50 over what might be his most effective weight, and more again over a healthy weight.

[bigjack]

Has there ever been a defending heavyweight champ who was so overweight.

Maybe George Foreman!
Of course Buster Douglas.
For me Ruiz was a disgrace, heavyweight champ with 6 months notice, I guess he has earned big in these 2 fights, more than most could ever dream of...

Ruiz was 3 stone heavier than Douglas when he lost to Holyfield,Foreman at his biggest was 1 stone lighter than Ruiz last night

[Grilling Machine]

The only thing I'd say in defence of Ruiz is that I've a mate who's fought overweight and prime, and his power carried up a lot more than I thought it would when he was fat. Everything but his power and chin improved when he lost weight. Went from a 2-round fighter to a 4+.

So there's a chance that Ruiz' chin might become average for a heavy, with his power falling to cruiser levels. But I'm talking about an optimal weight for his height here, like 220.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Maybe George Foreman!
Of course Buster Douglas.
For me Ruiz was a disgrace, heavyweight champ with 6 months notice, I guess he has earned big in these 2 fights, more than most could ever dream of...

Ruiz was 3 stone heavier than Douglas when he lost to Holyfield,Foreman at his biggest was 1 stone lighter than Ruiz last night

Foreman was a naturally big man, and never as obese as ruiz was the other night.