Comments Thread For: Thank You, Oleksandr Usyk, for Eviscerating the Bridgerweight Concept

[Jack_sh*t]

Author has a blatant man-crush on Usyk.

Maybe it's because his country is at war.

[juggernaut666]

I'm calling Juggernaut666 the exception that proves the rule...

You won’t see 99% of guys under 225 in the heavyweight division or make an impact on it , the BW has no bearing or impact on the current division , those who like more boxing content will enjoy more competitive fights ,those who don’t will complain about it and won’t have any reasonable explanation because there actually is none .

I’ll be watching more boxing tonight because of it not posting why we don’t need the division because again no one will actually give me a reason because there is no reason not to have guys fighting against one another who aren’t ranked high at heavyweight or ranked at all , I don’t know I like watching more boxing but that’s just me ? I don’t know why boxing fans seem the only combat sports fans that get annoyed when they have more options to tune into a fight card .posters are literally angry a fight is taking place tonight . Lol

[Tag, You're Hit]

Bridgerweight is for Cruiserweights ("poor widdle 201-to-224-pounders", as Raskin wrote) who don't want to cut weight to make Cruiserweight.

[SteveM]

Raskin says "not necessary" an then quotes a dozen examples where lighter HWs prevailed over much heavier guys. That would be fine if it had happened over the last 10-15 years but he shoots his own argument in the foot by quoting examples from 1919 - 105 YEARS AGO FFS

In short much smaller HWs dominating much larger HWs is not a common occurrence. Why fight the logic. We're always told there's weight classes for a reason and weight and reach are meaningful measurements. Now you're saying that doesn't count at HW but is true of all other weight classes? Give your head a wobble Eric Raskin.

I propose something a bit more interesting. Handicapping of fighters. Happens wwith horses - why not fighters? Lets say Fury's 40lb heavier weight is deemed an advantage. Not many wouldd disagree with this judging by how many were advising him to just lean on Usyk and tire him out. So given that he has a perceived advantage then calculate how much of an avantage. Handicap him a point or points in the fight.

Ryyan Garcia came in 3 lbs overweight - ? Handicap him a point etc.

The worst thing about Bridgerweight class is the name. Keep HWs and anything above 250 is Fat Bassstard weight

[Tibburon245]

The author is WRONG on this. Fighters should not have to fight giants that weigh 40+ lbs more. Super Heavyweight should start at 230.

[SteveM]

175
185
200
215
Heavyweight

something like that - the jump from 175 to 200 is too big

[SteveM]

I'm calling Juggernaut666 the exception that proves the rule...

no mate - the only thing wrong with Bridgerweight is the name and the weight - the jump from LHW to CW - 25 ilbs is waaaay to much - you go a 7lb jump from 168 to 175 > fine! then 175 > 200 - a55 logic!

CW limit should be 190 and call it Bridger weight or some much better name hopefully - but that should be from 190-210 or similar

[SteveM]

I don’t totally agree with this article. Usyk proved that it’s still possible for a smaller heavyweight to become undisputed, but seize still matters, unquestionably, and it's foolish to think that this stops as soon as you hit 200.

exactly - Raskin has thrown logic out the window

[SteveM]

I would express a more nuanced view. Yes, Oleksandr Usyk showed the world that a little middleweight (aha) can beat a super-heavyweight. A combination of talent, hard & consistent training, dedication and ring IQ can overcome the size gap. Kudos to him and his team. Does that result bury the concept of a bridgerweight division ? I'm afraid it does not. The reason is simple : the general population, not just boxers, is getting taller. And the heavyweight division, being the only one devoid of an upper weight limit, is bound to feel the full force of that demographic change. It is therefore only common sense that we should see the proportion of heavyweight boxers increase compared to the boxers fighting in the rest of the divisions. There will more heavyweights, and these will be, on average, taller, heavier and longer-limbed. It is, therefore, only a matter of time before the need for an intermediate division, between cruiserweight and heavyweight, becomes more pressing. We can sing Usyk's praises all day long, the fact remains that he is, by modern standards, a rather small heavyweight, even though he has the same height, reach and built as George Foreman and Muhammad Ali in their days. But Foreman and Ali were quite big men in their era. The heavyweight landscape is changing, progressively but surely. Usyk's own evolution appears to disprove the notion that size does not matter. He did put on a bit more than 20 pounds since moving to heavyweight. Although he does remain within the bridgerweight limits, could he have beaten Fury while weighing 200 pounds ? If one's answer to that question is 'no', one has to admit that the cruiserweight division does makes sense today, and that the bridgerweight class will come to achieve similar significance.

good first post

[Boksingfan]

good first post

Thank you, Steve !