I can hear the moans and the groans from fight fans now; ‘Oh, not another weight class!’ But Tony Bellew, who boxed at light-heavyweight, cruiserweight, and heavyweight, has put forward some interesting ideas to support his belief that there is room in the sport for a “super-cruiserweight” division. Bellew argues how “small heavyweights” are at an unfair advantage when fighting “Monster” heavyweights.
Speaking with Talk Sport, the former WBC cruiserweight champ said he “gets what Don Majeski is saying.” Majeski recently proposed the formation of a new weight class, to slot in between cruiserweight (currently 200-pound limit) and heavyweight, with the WBC also in favor of this. The new weight class would be from 190 to a max of 220, while Bellew says he is also in favor of the current cruiserweight division’s weight being changed to 175 to 190.
Here’s what Bellew had to say:
“The difference in all the other weight categories is minimal – 4lbs, 3lbs, sometimes 6lbs. The weight jump from light-heavyweight to cruiserweight is from 175 to 200lbs – that’s 25lbs. That’s just too much,” Bellew said. “I get what Don Majeski’s saying because in the current game at heavyweight, the big boys are too big and the smaller heavyweights are not able to compete with the bigger boys. As great as some of them are – the likes of Oleksandr Usyk – it’s looked at now that he’s not gonna be able to compete with the monsters. Not because of his boxing ability, purely because of his size.
“I actually like the divisions going from 175 up to 190. That will make it a bit better for the guys who are struggling at light-heavyweight but are not monster cruiserweights. Then, if I had my way, I would go from 190 to 220. You’re looking at the ‘small heavyweights.’ I would’ve fallen into that category quite comfortably. Deontay Wilder falls into that category. David Haye falls into that category.”
Bellew is against the idea of a “super-heavyweight” division, stating how “You can’t mess around, you can’t have a super-heavyweight in boxing. There’s only one heavyweight division, that’s all there ever should be.”
So in a nutshell, Bellew wants to see the current cruiserweight division to be set at anything above 175 to a max of 190, have a super-cruiserweight division from anything above 190 to a max of 220, and then have the massive heavyweights – your Tyson Furys and your Anthony Joshuas – competing at heavyweight, at anything above 220 to unlimited.
The problem, though, could be that even smaller men, currently referred to as “small heavyweights,” would still want to fight at heavyweight, for big money, and for the glamour. Would a new weight class really change anything in that regard? Everyone wants to be heavyweight champion of the world, but would there be too many fighters who weigh around 210, 220 wanting to be the super-cruiserweight champion of the world?
Still, in terms of safety, with heavyweights getting bigger and bigger and heavier and heavier, it seems something may have to be done pretty soon. The point Bellew makes about Usyk is a good one: how can Usyk, who fights at around the 215-pound mark, be expected to be able to handle a giant like Fury, who fights at around 265 pounds?
