What it takes to be great: Does size really matter?

By Michael Vena - 05/21/2014 - Comments

By Yannis Mihanos: They say that it’s not only winning that makes you become great but it’s who you beat and how you beat. Boxing records also not always tell the whole story, because there are many different parameters that need to be considered. Here I will first examine the weight size.

Many times, title holders from different categories take the big step up in order to face better and greater opposition. In recent times Manny Pacquiao has done it 8 times with success and Floyd Mayweather Jr. 5 times.

Changing weight and size is a risk that a fighter must take in order to cement his place in boxing history.

But this transition is not always successful. A recent example is Adrien Broner, who went up several divisions and got badly beaten by Marcos Maidana. Sometimes this change of weight needs time of adjustment that not all fighters have the luxury and ability to do.

To this day the Welterweight Division is the most profitable of all categories due to the presence of the two most marketable stars in the history of boxing: Floyd Mayweather jr and Manny Pacquiao.

Many fighters at the peak of their form decide to move to a different weight category and especially the welterweight in order to hit the lotto, preferring mostly Mayweather (bigger paycheck) and then Pacquiao. But the great loss of weight or adding of weight can work against them, as they might appear slow, lethargic, and unnatural and eventually become easy targets for their opponents.

A great fighter must change weight size only when he feels that he needs to challenge, only when he feels that there is nobody left capable and strong enough to fight.

Then he has a real reason because a champion must always fight another champion, and that’s what is here for to do.

A great fighter knows well how to transit through weight and stay strong. Recently in an interview of Bernard Hopkins, I heard him referring to a very special fighter of the past Henry Armstrong.

Henry Armstrong achieved something that no other has done ever since: to maintain three world titles in three weight categories at the same time, something impossible for today’s standards. He could move up and down in weight categories and be successful. He was indeed a very unique fighter one of the greats in boxing history.

In today’s world with so many supplements made to assist people’s nutrition and sports performance, it is no secret that boxers use a lot of this stuff to get leaner or bulkier, things like that didn’t exist in the time of Armstrong.

Has this made it easier for the boxers of today? It certainly has to some extent, but has this made some boxers become great? They certainly can look great in front of the mirror or in the photos, but become great? No, I don’t think so. A great boxer like Armstrong is unfazed by weight and size.

Let’s not forget that real power always comes from within and that kind of power not many in boxing today have.



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