The significance of reach in boxing goes way back to the early beginnings of the sport. Legend has it that Dan Donnelly, one of the pioneers in professional boxing and the first Irish-born heavyweight champion, had the longest arms in boxing history. He was allegedly able to touch his knees without bending down. This would be impressive considering that he stood at 6'0". It was believed that this contributed greatly to this undefeated record in the ring.

What Is an Ape Index?

Ape index measures your arm span relative to your height. A common method of calculation is having the height subtracted from the arm span. Normally, the average reach of a person usually correlates with his or her height, which gives a neutral size ratio. However, most boxers have an arm span that is significantly longer than their height. The average reach of a boxer is usually 2.5” longer than the average man around his height. As such, this gives most boxers a positive ape index of 2.5". This is not to say boxing increases one’s reach. Longer armed individuals just have an advantage in boxing and tend to become boxers as a result.

Benefits of a Long Reach in Boxing

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to appreciate the importance of reach or arm span in boxing. A longer reach allows you to stay on the outside and pepper your opponent with jabs. It is an advantage both offensively and defensively because a long jab, when used properly, can set up attacks and keep an aggressive opponent at bay.

It comes as no surprise that a good percentage of the best fighters in history have enjoyed a significant reach advantage over most of their opponents. Of course, there are exceptions like Mike Tyson and Rocky Marciano. They were so good at fighting on the inside that their reach disadvantage didn’t affect them that much.

It's one thing having a long reach and another thing being able to make full use of it. At 6'3", Bryant Jennings has an unbelievable reach of 84". His ape index is a whopping nine inches. He has a reach advantage over heavyweight champions Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder despite being significantly shorter. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to take full advantage of his reach when it mattered the most against Wladimir Klitschko.

Height and Reach

Being tall usually comes with a long reach. It was believed that one of the tallest men in the history of boxing, Ewart Potgieter, who stood at 7’2”, had a whopping 94” reach. However, this is not always the case. A good example is Canadian super heavyweight boxer Jean-François Bergeron. Despite standing at 6’5”, he has the average reach of a 6’1” man. Bergeron has a negative ape index of four inches.

There are also cases of short boxers who possess an extraordinary reach. Jimmy Bivins was rumoured to have a 79” reach despite being only 5’9”. Below are 15 champions with the most impressive reach to ever step in the ring.