How is a fighters "reach" measured? Last night, a guy 6'8" had a reach of 80". His opponent of 6'3" had a reach of 78", a 5" diff. in height. Also have seen where the shorter guy has more reach that a substantially taller guy. The shorter guy wasn't a knuckle dragger either!

So, hows it done???

 

AFAIK, there are two methods:

1. "Wingspan", which is a measurement from fingertip to fingertip with arms straight out from sides
2. IBC (or HBO) which measures from knuckle to inside of armpit, which is more accurate, because it takes the length of the fighter's fingers out of the equation.

There are some guys with just incredibly long arms, where their reach is a huge advantage. It also becomes a major disadvantage when going against someone who is a good inside fighter, because those long arms start getting in the way.

 

In boxing wingspan is never used, it's always measured from armpit to knuckles.

 

I agree that it is more accurate, but I believe the different boxing organizations have different measures. In the original post, the question was asked about a "fighter", not a boxer; if it's a boxer with an 80" measurement from armpit to knuckle, that guy's got arms long enough to reach over his back and scratch his ***. . .