Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of boxing skyscrapers. This is where reach matters more than reflexes, and footwork often looks like a toddler learning to roller-skate on cobblestones. Some of these guys could’ve dominated with their physical freakishness — others could barely tie their boots without falling over. Let’s take a tour through the circus tent, shall we?
Can Being a Human Flagpole Actually Help You Win a Fight?
1. Gogea Mitu / John Rankin (7’4″, 224 cm)
Mitu had a reach longer than most men’s life goals (93 inches), but somehow threw jabs like he was swatting mosquitoes. Rankin? A walking mountain with zero intention of moving. His strategy was “stand there and hope the opponent gets tired hitting me.”
2. Ewart Potgieter / Jim Cully / Tom Payne (7’2″, 218 cm)
Potgieter: Won 11 of 14, mostly by towering over men who looked like they wandered into the wrong weight class. Durable, but not exactly nimble.
Cully: Claimed the Irish heavyweight title, and we’re still waiting for someone to claim they enjoyed watching it.
Payne: NBA benchwarmer turned punch sponge. He had the athleticism… just not for boxing.
3. Julius Long (7’1″, 216 cm)
Ah yes, Julius “The Towering Inferno” Long — if the inferno was started by damp firewood. He had arms that could wrap around the ring twice, and yet somehow managed to make his jab look like a gentle request to back up. Watching him was like watching a giraffe ice skate: fascinating, absurd, and slightly concerning.
4. Nikolai Valuev / Taishan Dong / Marcellus Brown / Gil Anderson (7’0″, 213 cm)
Valuev: The “Beast from the East” who fought like he was stuck in first gear. Two-time WBA champ. Two-time sleep aid sponsor.
Dong: The kind of guy you build in a video game and delete after two fights. All look, no threat.
Brown: Managed to get in the ring with real killers and survived. His footwork? Think tectonic plate shifts.
Anderson: Two fights, two KOs, and then poof — vanished. Probably got tired of ducking under doorways.
The Functional Giants (aka “How to Actually Use Your Size”)
5. Tyson Fury (6’9″, 206 cm)
The one giant who actually gets it. Moves like a featherweight in a fat suit. Fury isn’t just big — he’s irritatingly good. Great chin, great jab, great mind games. If he weren’t boxing, he’d be scamming tourists in Marbella.
6. Vitali Klitschko (6’7″, 201 cm)
Cold as a Siberian tax audit and about as forgiving. Vitali didn’t just beat you — he looked like he enjoyed it in a very Eastern Bloc kind of way. The older Klitschko brother was a master of keeping his opponents exactly where he wanted: stunned, out of range, and full of regret.
7. Jess Willard (6’6½”, 199 cm)
The man who outlasted Jack Johnson by simply being harder to kill than a cockroach. Watching Willard fight was like watching molasses fight gravity. He was massive, slow, and somehow always managed to survive — like a well-placed sofa in the middle of a brawl.
8. Wladimir Klitschko / Anthony Joshua (6’6″, 198 cm)
Wladimir: The original sleep technician. Reigned with a jab, a straight right, and enough hugging to qualify as a relationship therapist.
Joshua: Looked like a Greek god… until Usyk made him look like a confused man trying to order coffee in Ukrainian. Built for intimidation, undone by hesitation.
The Big Men Who Weren’t Quite That Big
9. Primo Carnera (6’5½”, 197 cm)
The Italian “giant” who boxed like he’d just learned what punching was. Fought more like a bad bouncer than a world champ. Managed to win a heavyweight title while half the audience swore someone else was pulling the strings.
10. Lennox Lewis (6’5″, 196 cm)
Now here’s how it’s done. Lewis had it all: brains, power, reach, and the cold-blooded ability to dismantle legends like he was swatting flies. He didn’t fight — he dissected. A rare mix of chess player and executioner.
The Lower Giants (Where the Meltdowns Begin)
11. Shannon Briggs (6’4″, 193 cm)
“Let’s go, Champ!” became a catchphrase, a meme, and a cry for help. Briggs shouted his way into relevance long after he stopped deserving it. He hyped himself harder than a TikTok influencer doing push-ups in a Ferrari.
12. George Foreman (6’3″, 190 cm)
The only man on Earth who hit harder after middle age. Foreman had fists like anvils and the stamina of a lawn chair — but when he landed, it was curtains. A legend whose fists spoke louder than any quote.
13. Andy Ruiz Jr. / Sam Peter (6’2″, 188 cm)
Ruiz: The only man who made it to heavyweight glory via buffet line. Shocked Joshua, then shocked the scales. Went from Cinderella story to “Cinderella forgot leg day.”
Peter: The “Nigerian Nightmare” who came in promising Tyson power and left with fans asking, “Wait… that’s it?” All brute, no brain, and barely a game plan in sight.