Heaviest boxing champions in history including Andy Ruiz Jr and 7ft Nikolai Valuev ahead of Thor vs Eddie Hall fight
STRONGMAN rivals Hafthor Bjornsson and Eddie Hall are due to settle their score in what is dubbed ‘the heaviest boxing match in history’. The pair are expected to hit the scales with a combined weight of over 45 STONE ahead of their six-round exhibition in Dubai on Saturday. It means they dwarf some of the […]
STRONGMAN rivals Hafthor Bjornsson and Eddie Hall are due to settle their score in what is dubbed ‘the heaviest boxing match in history’.
The pair are expected to hit the scales with a combined weight of over 45 STONE ahead of their six-round exhibition in Dubai on Saturday.
It means they dwarf some of the greatest heavyweights of the past and present.
But not every champion in the blue ribband division has floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee – like the iconic Muhammad Ali did.
Here, SunSport reveals some of the heaviest fighters to have won world titles belts.
NIKOLAI VALUEV, 24st 8lb
The Russian stood 7ft tall and twice reigned as WBA champion, weighing 22st 6lb while holding the belt.
But his heaviest career weight was a 24st 8lb, making him bigger than Game of Thrones star Thor currently.
British fans will remember Valuev for his 2009 points loss to David Haye, who scaled 15st 4lb and gave away over SEVEN STONE.
Valuev, now 48, retired after the loss and has since transitioned to politics, currently a Member of the State Duma.
SAMUEL PETER, 20st 7lb
The Nigerian was most famously known for his rivalry with the Klitschko brothers, losing twice to Wladimir with a defeat to Vitali sandwiched between.
But Peter in 2008 won the WBC title by beating Oleg Maskaev in March 2008 – only to concede it to Vitali six months later.
When he won the belt, Peter weighed just 18st but let himself go towards the end of his career.
The heavyweight, 41, was 20st 7lb at his largest and last fought in December 2019, losing to Arslanbek Makhmudov.
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PRIMO CARNERA, 20st 3lb
Italian Carnera was a wrestling and boxing star – most well remembered for his knockout power.
He scored a stunning 72 KOs in his 89 wins and reigned as champ from 1933 to 1934.
The 6ft 6in heavy-hitter, who died in 1967 aged 60, was 20st 3lb while holding the titles, his heaviest weight.
Carnera last fought in 1946 and retired with a 89–14 record.
ANDY RUIZ JR, 20st 2lb
The Mexican-American outsider shot to fame overnight when he stunned Anthony Joshua, 32, in June 2019.
He weighed 19st 2lb that night but shockingly ballooned up to 20st 2lb for the rematch six months later.
The chubby Snickers-lover lost his belts and admitted the stardom got to his head – and belly.
Ruiz, 32, returned last May under new coach Eddy Reynoso and did so at 18st 2lb beating Chris Arreola.
SHANNON BRIGGS, 19st 4lb
Briggs – renowned for his ‘Let’s Go Champ’ catchphrase – was just as handy with his fists and he was his mouth back in the day.
He held the heavyweight title twice and did so while fighting at 19st 4lb.
Briggs has not boxed since 2016 when he beat Emilio Zarate and soon after saw a grudge match with Haye, who at 41 is retired, collapse.
He has insisted his fighting days are not over, even at 50, teasing a boxing return and even debuting in bare-knuckle boxing.
TYSON FURY, 19st 11lbs
The Gypsy King was only 17st 5lb the night he outboxed Klitschko in 2015 to reign as heavyweight boss for the first time.
But his subsequent battle with depression and substance abuse saw him vacate the belts a year later and pile on the pounds.
Fury in 2018 made a comeback and by 2020 was champion again, all the way up to 19st 7lb when he stopped Deontay Wilder, 36, for the first time.
Only last October, the Brit, 33, went one further and scaled 19st 11lbs. For his return against Dillian Whyte, 33, in April, Fury claimed he will weigh over 21st.
