By Ken Hissner: At six foot nine, WBC heavyweight champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” will be negotiating to unify against WBA, WBO, and IBF heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk at six foot three.
When you look at past height mismatches, there are a good share of them. Let’s take a look.
Heavyweight champion Jack “The Galveston Giant,” at six foot and a half, defeated Canadian Tommy Burns at five foot seven and Sam Langford at five foot seven and a half. Also, Middleweight champion Stanley “The Michigan Assassin” at five foot nine. He lost to Jess Willard, six foot six and a half inches.
Willard lost to Jack “Manassa Mauler” Dempsey at six foot one inch, getting destroyed.
Heavyweight champion Italy’s Primo “The Ambling Alp” Carnera, at six foot five and a half, defeated Light Heavyweight champion Tommy “Phantom of Philly” Loughran at five foot eleven and a half.
https://youtu.be/WcaDA2xAk8o?t=201
Heavyweight champion “Big” George Foreman, at six foot three, stopped Dwight Muhammad Qawi at five foot five.
Heavyweight James J. Beattie, at six foot nine and a half, stopped Ed Hurley at six foot.
In his only bout, “Big” John Rankin, at seven foot four, defeated Willie Lee at six foot one.
Heavyweight champion Nikolai “The Russian Giant” Valuev, at seven foot, won by DQ over Gerald Nobles, five foot eleven and a half.
Ed “Too Tall” Jones, at six foot nine, defeated Abraham Meneses at six foot three.
Buddy Baer, at six foot six, stopped “Two Ton” Tony Galento, at five foot nine.
Tye “Big Sky” Fields, at six foot eight, defeated Sherman Williams at five foot eleven.
China’s Taishan Dong, at seven feet, stopped Tommy Washington, Jr., at six feet.
Super Welterweight Sebastian “Towering Inferno” Fundora, at six foot five and a half, stopped Luis Juarez at five foot four.
Romania’s Gogea Mitu, at seven foot four, stopped Dumitru Pavelscu at five foot eleven and a half.
I’m sure the readers will add to some very tall boxers in the past against much smaller opponents.