So....is 6'6" the new normal for elite HW fighters?

[D 1 Wrestler]

Tyson of course spent most of his early career destroying much larger men including the likes of Tony Tucker at 6 foot 5 but its more a case I'd say of men a little either side of 6 foot being a hell of a lot more common so more likely to produce exceptional talent in periods when the sport is drawing in a lot of talent, I.E. not today.

HW in MMA used to be quite similar, 10-15 years ago it was dominated by smaller men and full of new talent rarely seeing sloppy gas fests, these days its on life support when it comes to new talent(moreso than boxing) with old men and larger men in general dominating.

Yup all the big athletes are coddled by basketball and football coaches upon sight

 

[GloryOfIran]

People dont like to admit it because they have emotional attachment to guys like Ali and Marciano, but they were simply not the physical specimens of modern athletics. You see it in every sport. More and more supermen like Joshua and Fury are entering the game and the manlets cant compete.

 

[hiphopnazi]

People dont like to admit it because they have emotional attachment to guys like Ali and Marciano, but they were simply not the physical specimens of modern athletics. You see it in every sport. More and more supermen like Joshua and Fury are entering the game and the manlets cant compete.

Physical attributes alone don't keep you at the elite level for long, especially in boxing.

 

[Bull Terrier]

People dont like to admit it because they have emotional attachment to guys like Ali and Marciano, but they were simply not the physical specimens of modern athletics. You see it in every sport. More and more supermen like Joshua and Fury are entering the game and the manlets cant compete.

Lol at Joshua being the athlete Muhammad Ali was. And he is what, 2 / 3 inches taller?

 

[DaveDave]

Lol at Joshua being the athlete Muhammad Ali was. And he is what, 2 / 3 inches taller?

People these days—since the mass death of manual labour—confuse sheer strength (especially isolated muscle group strength, the kind you train with weights) with the ability to do insane cardio.

The latter is just not "athletic" in some people's eyes.

Which is the ultimate counter to the trend of threads like these, 'cos while you might be able to prove people are getting bigger (certainly in the west), they're also getting dumber (at least those with access to keyboards).

PS: & yeah, Josh is max 2/3 inches taller than Ali, it's not a fucking lot... Just about what he had over Joe Louis, in fact.