Quote Originally Posted by Mr140 View Post
Ok Bilbo but lets face it weight classes change ever few pounds in lower weight lets see how much has pac moved up like 30 pounds right. While that is good both Jones and Holyfeild have moved up way more. Jones fought at LM comes all the way up to heavyweight and fights Ruiz who was weighing in 30 more pounds then him and 80 pounds more then were he started at that to me is impressive regardless of the talent he had. As for Holyfeild he started at 175 and fought men that were 255 yet again a 80 pound differents and when they came in ring they were 20 to 30 pounds more then he would and he still pull off wins that to me more impressive. Pac has never been out weighed in a fight like Jones or Holyfeild have and by such huge amounts as well i would say.

Well if you believe all that all I can say is that you don't understand either boxing very well or basic human body mechanics.

There is a certain critical mass in boxing beyond which weight alone doesn't contribute as much because it comes at the expense of something else, usually speed and mobility.

A 147 lb, even a 168 lb man can be frighteningly fast and athletic. When you get to heavyweight however pure weight alone isn't an advantage, and in fact can even be a disadvantage.

If it were a wrestling contest where an opponent could make good use of that extra weight it would matter but above say 215 lbs, in a boxing sense, weight and size comes at the expense of size and speed.

Look at the animal kingdom, Lions and tigers (and in the past dinosaurs) can routinely take down and prey upon creatures much larger than themselves because their increased weight and size doesn't help them. It just makes them slow and ponderous. A lions superior mobility, it's powerful claws and body movements can see it easily bring down a wildebeast.

Leopards and cheetas also can bring down gazelles that outweigh them.

But a leopard would be hopeless against a lion because it's too small. The lion is bigger but not too big for its speed and mobility to be compromised. The fact that lions also have fearsome weapons can be an analogy also here in that it can represent talent and skill, punch power etc in boxers.

Roy Jones in moving up to fight John Ruiz was basically a leopard taking on a wildebeast. Ruiz was bigger but had literally NOTHING else in his favour whatsoever.

Manny meanwhile is moving up to face a bigger cat. It's like a cheetah vs a leopard a MUCH MUCH tougher fight.

I don't know if you're getting this but really I can't understand how little understanding some people have regarding this.

Above a certain weight, excess weight matters very little because boxing is not about bodyweight, it's about speed, power, strength, height and reach, skill, athleticism etc. Simple mass isn't a huge factor.

Manny is facing a bigger guy who will have a big advantage in natural power and strength, and is also evenly matched in skill, and not far behind in speed.

Ruiz was inferior to Roy Jones in every aspect other than size. Although a good win there is no real reason to believe Jones feat could not have been acomplished by many other fighters. I'm sure other former middleweights in Bernard Hopkins and Joe Calzaghe would be fancied to beat him, James Toney whupped his ass too.

But can you name a single other former flyweight in history who has moved up to welterweight to face the BEST man there (not a paper champ bum like Ruiz)?

No you simply cannot, and that is why its such a great feat.

Make no mistake a win for Manny over Cotto, were he to pull it off sees him join the ranks of Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard and Henry Armstrong as one of the top 10 fighters of all time.