Boxers and weight divisions

By boxing1 - 12/29/2014 - Comments

By John Kelvin: In a recent tweet, Paulie Malignaggi questioned Manny Pacquiao’s rise in weight over the last few years referring to how it didn’t seem natural and therefore suspicious.

Let’s look at the history of Pacquiao and others.

Manny Pacquaio turned professional when he was 16 years old and fought as a light flyweight which has a weight limit of 108 pounds. In 1993, Floyd Mayweather won the National Golden Gloves Light fly weight title 2 years before Pacquiao turned Professional. At this time Mayweather was 16 years old so if he was allowed to enter the paid ranks he would most likely start off at light fly or fly weight. Now both men fight in the welterweight division which means that they are campaigning roughly 40 pounds above light fly weight when they were 16. If both fighters have put on nearly the same amount of weight and campaign in the same division why does Malignaggi not also question Mayweather’s rise through the divisions? It is true that Pacquiao has not scored many stoppages as of late. This could be due to a few factors. He is 36 years old which has contributed to his reduced his speed and explosiveness which were key to him obtaining knockouts. How many boxers are as explosive in their mid to late 30s as they were in their 20s or early 30s? Pacquiao’s more controlled style is due to his declined athleticism and the fact that he is fighting naturally bigger fighters who can absorb punishment more effectively.

Here are a few more examples of weight jumping.

Roy Jones had his first professional fight in the light middle weight division which has a limit of 154lbs. In 2003, he fought John Ruiz for a heavyweight title and weighed 193lbs. This is also a weight difference of around 40 pounds.

In Roberto Duran’s early professional contests he fought just below the super featherweight limit but ultimately moved up around 30 pounds to win the middleweight title from Iran Barkley later in his career.

Oscar De La Hoya turned pro at super featherweight (126lbs) but weighed 160lbs in his middleweight fight with Felix Sturm which is a jump of 34lbs.

Hopefully people start to use some more common sense and research information before they make question whether things are natural or suspicious.



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