why were there no tall heavyweights......

[Cardinal Buck]

Access to boxing worldwide is better. That is independent of the number of people boxing.

People do not evolve to be taller over a period of 100 or so years unless a large percentage of the population dies before reproducing, selecting for tall people.

[BattlingNelson]

so I spose in another 100 years will all be spending money on bigger doors to fit through. I honestly don't believe that there were no giants, evolution is not that quick. My grandad was alive then and he was a lot taller than me. I personally believe that guys like lewis and klitchko are not naturally fighters mentally, more passive and they wouldn't of taken up boxing back then coz there was no defencive wizards that they could aspire to. i think as ray said lol they were still competive and had skills and would probably take up another sport......like basketball

When you look at beds from the 19th century and doors from buidings from that period, it's quite evident, that man has gotten taller. Whether or not that trend continues I cannot say, but it's doubtfull since the cause of the height increase can be attributed to better nutrition.

Today the nutrition is just fatter so I reckon the doors and beds in the next century doesn't have to be taller/longer. Just wider lol.

[New England]

Access to boxing worldwide is better. That is independent of the number of people boxing.

People do not evolve to be taller over a period of 100 or so years unless a large percentage of the population dies before reproducing, selecting for tall people.

your argument still holds no water. you're saying that HW are getting taller because there are more people, right? yet fewer people box. "access," is completely irrelevant, unless you think that disproportionately tall people are seeking out boxing because they can now access it. american youth don't have a greater ability to access boxing than they did 25-50 years ago, when they could join PAL gyms, local boxing clubs, etc.


and i don't discount that selective breeding among human populations (mostly women chosing taller men,) would cause the population to get taller. it's going to be a hard phenomenon to study, but anecdotally i can't see how anybody could discount the notion that women like tall men, and men like tall women, tall people seek out other tall people, and short people have a tougher time getting laid. that is going to lead to the population becoming taller.

[Panamaniac]

If you were 6'6 back then, you could earn a better living as a carnival side show act.

Or a basketball player...

[Panamaniac]

And then there's the brief (3-month) boxing career of one Ed "Too Tall" Jones (6:9), formerly of the Dallas Cowboys (15 years). He went 6-0 (5 KO's) before returning to the aforementioned NFL team.

Remember that bit of trivia while watching Jeopardy. Answer's correct format: Who's Ed "Too Tall" Jones?

[StarshipTrooper]

your argument still holds no water. you're saying that HW are getting taller because there are more people, right? yet fewer people box. "access," is completely irrelevant, unless you think that disproportionately tall people are seeking out boxing because they can now access it. american youth don't have a greater ability to access boxing than they did 25-50 years ago, when they could join PAL gyms, local boxing clubs, etc.


and i don't discount that selective breeding among human populations (mostly women chosing taller men,) would cause the population to get taller. it's going to be a hard phenomenon to study, but anecdotally i can't see how anybody could discount the notion that women like tall men, and men like tall women, tall people seek out other tall people, and short people have a tougher time getting laid. that is going to lead to the population becoming taller.

It's definitely not evolution and it's really not even selective breeding. It's mostly the environment in which people are growing up in: A combination of better nutrition and medical care ages 0-10 plus cleaner water to drink and cleaner air to breath. It allows kids to develop to their full potential instead of having their growth inhibited by malnutrition and childhood illnesses.

Here's the thing, that environment is only found in the developed world and that's where people have gotten taller. If you go to 3rd world countries where none of those advances can be found you'll find that people are still by and large the same height on average that they were 500 years ago. In the developed world we've gotten around 3" taller on average than we were 500 years ago.

Poet

[Tommo1]

More people box today than ever before it is numerical fact. The percentage of the population that do box may have fallen in the US but in total it is still greater.

[Tommo1]

In a sense it is a kind of evolution. It is selection of tall over short and perhaps better nutrition today.

The fact is people HAVE been getting taller each generation on average. That much is an indisputable fact!

[Cardinal Buck]

And then there's the brief (3-month) boxing career of one Ed "Too Tall" Jones (6:9), formerly of the Dallas Cowboys (15 years). He went 6-0 (5 KO's) before returning to the aforementioned NFL team.

Remember that bit of trivia while watching Jeopardy. Answer's correct format: Who's Ed "Too Tall" Jones?

Kendall Gill did something similar after retiring from basketball.

[Cardinal Buck]

It's definitely not evolution and it's really not even selective breeding. It's mostly the environment in which people are growing up in: A combination of better nutrition and medical care ages 0-10 plus cleaner water to drink and cleaner air to breath. It allows kids to develop to their full potential instead of having their growth inhibited by malnutrition and childhood illnesses.

Here's the thing, that environment is only found in the developed world and that's where people have gotten taller. If you go to 3rd world countries where none of those advances can be found you'll find that people are still by and large the same height on average that they were 500 years ago. In the developed world we've gotten around 3" taller on average than we were 500 years ago.

Poet

Ibeabuchi, Sam Peter, several Cubans, and plenty of huge guys from former Soviet countries have also made it to the heavyweight division despite varying degrees of healthcare, nutrition, etc.

They are a product of people worldwide having better access to professional boxing.