Should the Cruiserweight division be scrapped?

Question

It seems that since the introduction of the cruiserweight division in boxing a few years ago heavyweights have just got heavier and heavier.

Pre Sonny Liston almost all the heavyweight champions were 200lb or below, some were below 190lb.

Then from Liston to Holmes 210 to 220 was the norm. "Big" George Foreman was actually only 6'3" and 220 when he first won the title and he was the biggest up to and including Holmes.

Now, since the introduction of the cruiserweight division, 235 to 245 seems to be the standard weight for a heavyweight.

The cruiserweight division seems to be tempting smaller heavyweights into staying as cruiserweights, rather than trying to make it as heavyweights, where many of them would probaby be successful. So if the division was scrapped it might help improve heavyweight boxing. What do you think?

Answer 1

i believe that the better cruiserweights would move up if they thought they could compete in the division....david haye could be stepping up after his unification fight against  maccarinelli.

it remains to be seen if the next ezzard charles, floyd patterson or jack dempsey is out there.......holyfield was the already the next charles......and then some !

Answer 2

I agree with contee 1 they should make the weight go up to 215 or get rid of the division all together by the way Evander Holyfield is the best cruiser weight to ever come out of that division

Answer 3

I think that scrapping the cruisers to help the heavies makes about as much sense as shaving your head to make you nose look smaller.  

The cruisers are more exciting than they've ever been, with the Mormeck-Bell wars, and a pile more talent. . . probably more talent there than in the heavies. . .you're right about that.

But why punish the cruisers, simply because another division is struggling?  We've seen great fights come from seemingly mediocre fighters like Darnell "Ding a Ling Man" Wilson, and now Tomasz Adamek wants a home in the cruisers after running the show in the lightheavies for years.  The Adamek-Briggs fights were legendary, and I got to see them in person, since Chicago has become a renewed "hotbed" for championship fights lately.  

The heavies are weak right now, but don't blame the cruisers.  They've done everything they've been told to do, and they've been thriving.  Let them be, and they just might surprise us even more than they have been.

Answer 4

Either go back to the original eight weight classes, or leave it alone.  I don't think scrapping it will improve the heavyweight division any more than dropping the 154 lb. division will improve the middleweight division.  We will just have to wait out the talent drought, eventually the talent level of the youngsters coming up will improve the over all level of the heavyweight division, it can't stay this bad forever.

Answer 5

The trougle is when there was no cruiserweight division, after 12st 7 you had to move up to heavy. This was ok when heavyweight champions were 200lbs, but when it was brought in they were starting to get bigger. I don't like the name as much as anything. There's a great british cruiser clash coming up in the next few days and loads of people are looking forward to it.

Answer 6

I personally have never liked the cruiserweight division. I know thats where wanna-be heavyweight fighter begin at so they can win a lot of fights and move up in the rankings once they hit the Heavyweight division but it seems useless to me. Just go into being a heavyweight, pay your dues and move up like so many others had to do!

Answer 7

No, I don't think the cruiserweight division should be eliminated. I was never a big fan of the division, but I have to admit that it seems to be on the right track to becoming better. I just think that a lot of cruiserweights are simply not ready or feel they can compete at heavyweight. It could also be that they just enjoy fighting at that fight weight. Cruiserweight is not the reason for heavyweight division being what it is. Trust me, when some cruiserweight is ready to make that jump to heavyweight, then he'll do it making the heavyweight division interesting.

Answer 8

No the problem is lack of natural big guys interested in boxing period, so even if it did have some effect it would not stop the real problem.

And I don't see natural big guys ever coming back to the world's hardest sport. Life is too easy now for the world's two natural big races(blacks and whites in western countries)They have too many other options stealing them away-bodybuilding, athletics, five different world football styles, eating mcdonalds and watching reality TV etc.

One hope is russia and eastern europe etc. problem is they do not have the marketing(ie TV's per household) to make anyone really rich in the modern sport, so its not worth anyone's while, yet.

Answer 9

I think that they should move the cruiserweight to 190 to 215 and move the light heavy up to 185. I have never been a fan but also I haven't really seen th cruisers promoted like the heavys. it seems as if you are right about the fact that the heavys are over 230lbs. it shouldn't be scrapped but just expanded. originally there were only 8 divisons, but due to changing times they had to add the others, thats what they should do now either create a jr heavy or expand the weight limits.