Why is weigh-in the day before the fight?

Wonderful to hear that Boom Boom is thriving, he was a real 100% fighter and gentlemen. We hear so many horror stories about boxers after their career is over so it is great to hear good news. Yea Ray always is doing something. Either he is in California where he resides, or Chicago, or back home in Youngstown, Ohio. If you ever get the time to just sit down with him seize the opportunity cause he is very interesting to listen too. I am very Thankful to have him as a friend, through all his glory and his not so glory times he never forgets me. We recently did a charity thing together here in Las Vegas at the Palms. It was called "Dancing with the Las Vegas Stars" and it was a competition for Charity and the winner got $10,000 for there Charity for Cancer and Ray and his Partner Mandy won it. We had alot of fun and I did some interviews about him on the radio 98.5 KLUC here in Vegas. You can see it on you tube. Either type in "Dancing with the Las Vegas Stars" or Ray Mancini. Anyways I have rambled on enough about Ray.

Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't the Duk Koo Kim-Mancini fight that directly led to the weigh-in day change although it played a factor. The main fight that led to the change was a proposed rematch with Michael Spinks vs. Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. Now I say proposed because it was going to happen but then it got cancelled because Muhammad came in overweight during the weigh-in and Spinks wouldn't fight him. That's what led to the change so that we wouldn't have these cancellations on the day of the fight

A lot of people complain that some boxer rehydrate a lot of weight during the fight . Are they being weigh the same during the fight and the weigh-in before the fight? Or when they are weigh during the fight shoes, robes, gloves are on?

It pains me to hear why this has happened beings I am the best of friends with my friend Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, although you are very much right. I have been friends with him for 30 years now we grew up approximately 10 houses apart on the same street back in Youngstown, Ohio. I have never talked about this before not even with Ray, and now this. As much as you hear on this fight the part about him never being the same is so untrue. Ray is very much the same as I have always knew him, he just did not have the same passion for being in the ring. Ray is a very successful person in life and luckily he had a very good manager and did not squander or have his winnings $$$$$ taken away from him. He owns a Cigar company called the El Campeon Cigar Company, he produces movies, minimal acting, and most recently has his own wine now. Ray is on Radio in Chicago www.chicagosportswebio.com from 3pm-6pm Eastern standard time Mon.- Fri. with long time Chicago radio personality, Chet Coppock and the show is called "Chet and the Champ". If the website doesn't come up you can go to my personal page and its the very first message on my page. Sorry got off the subject, It is also true that is why they changed the fights from 15 rounds to 12 rounds because they found that more tragedy has happened from the 13th to the 15th round in boxing. It sucks I think that they have weigh in the day before because I believe it still does not give the boxers ample amount of time to re-hydrate. I really believe they need to do it at the least 2 days before the fight. In regards to the referee Richard Greene committing suicide is true in July 1983. Duk Koo Kim's mother also committed suicide 4 months after the fight. I just want people to know that what happened on November 13, 1982 could have happened to any fighter as it recently has to a couple of boxers lately. No one should hold Ray responsible for the death of Duk Koo Kim, I know that is not the subject but just want everyone to know who thinks that to know the truth. Ray's love for boxing is still there the passion to box is what left him when this tragedy happened. I am very pleased and honored to enlighten some people on this matter. If you have any questions about Ray just leave me a message on my page and I will be happy and do my best to answer them for you on Ray "Boom Boom Mancini "The Champ". Also please play the clip I have below its a song about "Boom Boom" by Warren Zevon. Thanks Everyone!!! Wonderful to hear that Boom Boom is thriving, he was a real 100% fighter and gentlemen. We hear so many horror stories about boxers after their career is over so it is great to hear good news.

No, losing weight is not a skill. "Damn Son, look at that boy, losing weight like a motherphucker, Pound 4 Pound baby, pound for pound!" LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :rofl: :rofl:

I've read that in the 1940's there were 60,000 registered professional boxers (from the book "Charley Burley and the black murderers row"), where as today there are something like 2,000. I would bet percentage wise there are more deaths today than back then. IF that is true I believe it it because fighters fight so much less now, than then. This is amature guess work on my part, but I think it traumatizes a body more to go thru the rigors of severe weight loss less often. Sadly I think you are right about there being more deaths % wise. Worrying, considering the medical advances and facilities now in place at boxing matches. You might be right re the severe weight loss certainly would explain the anomoly between more damage and less fights. Also need to consider that there are 3 more rounds and the fact that referees step in far sooner now than in days past. I don't think however that there is any strong will from boxing to do the kind of studys needed so we might never know.

Du Ku Kim died after a fight with Boom Boom Mancini, many believe because of dehydration, and the extra rounds we don't have now. So, we now have weigh-ins the day before the fight, rather than the day of, and 12 rounds, rather than 15, or even 13. Incidentally, the ref of the Mancini fight committed suicide, and Mancini was never the same again. This wasn't the only fight that caused these changes in the sport, just one of the more prominent. It pains me to hear why this has happened beings I am the best of friends with my friend Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, although you are very much right. I have been friends with him for 30 years now we grew up approximately 10 houses apart on the same street back in Youngstown, Ohio. I have never talked about this before not even with Ray, and now this. As much as you hear on this fight the part about him never being the same is so untrue. Ray is very much the same as I have always knew him, he just did not have the same passion for being in the ring. Ray is a very successful person in life and luckily he had a very good manager and did not squander or have his winnings $$$$$ taken away from him. He owns a Cigar company called the El Campeon Cigar Company, he produces movies, minimal acting, and most recently has his own wine now. Ray is on Radio in Chicago www.chicagosportswebio.com from 3pm-6pm Eastern standard time Mon.- Fri. with long time Chicago radio personality, Chet Coppock and the show is called "Chet and the Champ". If the website doesn't come up you can go to my personal page and its the very first message on my page. Sorry got off the subject, It is also true that is why they changed the fights from 15 rounds to 12 rounds because they found that more tragedy has happened from the 13th to the 15th round in boxing. It sucks I think that they have weigh in the day before because I believe it still does not give the boxers ample amount of time to re-hydrate. I really believe they need to do it at the least 2 days before the fight. In regards to the referee Richard Greene committing suicide is true in July 1983. Duk Koo Kim's mother also committed suicide 4 months after the fight. I just want people to know that what happened on November 13, 1982 could have happened to any fighter as it recently has to a couple of boxers lately. No one should hold Ray responsible for the death of Duk Koo Kim, I know that is not the subject but just want everyone to know who thinks that to know the truth. Ray's love for boxing is still there the passion to box is what left him when this tragedy happened. I am very pleased and honored to enlighten some people on this matter. If you have any questions about Ray just leave me a message on my page and I will be happy and do my best to answer them for you on Ray "Boom Boom Mancini "The Champ". Also please play the clip I have below its a song about "Boom Boom" by Warren Zevon. Thanks Everyone!!!

I don't have a real problem with weigh-ins the day before the fight, but it does cause problems (if a guy is tall and slender, he has a harder time dropping weight than someone who's more compact, for example), and offhand, I really can't think of a viable solution to those problems. You can't really start using height/reach as part of a weight class qualifier, or age (the older you get, the bigger you tend to get), as things would get too complicated and end up being more screwed up than they are already. Things are probably better left as they are. This was probably said too when discussions first began to have day before weigh ins. If there really that many more fighters before fighting professionaly and the percentage of deaths compared than to now was lower, I think we need to go back. You also have to take into consideration that guys were fighting more rounds and with smaller gloves back then too. Both these things have been nixed and we're still having deaths. If thats going to happen anyway, lets at least make it as fair as possible.

The bitch of it is, people are still dying because they further try to cheat the odds without properly knowing how to go about it. I've read that in the 1940's there were 60,000 registered professional boxers (from the book "Charley Burley and the black murderers row"), where as today there are something like 2,000. I would bet percentage wise there are more deaths today than back then. IF that is true I believe it it because fighters fight so much less now, than then. This is amature guess work on my part, but I think it traumatizes a body more to go thru the rigors of severe weight loss less often. Almost as if it doing it more it builds a tolerance. Like I said though, this is guess work at best and by no means am I stating it as fact. Either way boxing would be better of and more legitimate if we had same day weigh ins. Jmo. I don't have a real problem with weigh-ins the day before the fight, but it does cause problems (if a guy is tall and slender, he has a harder time dropping weight than someone who's more compact, for example), and offhand, I really can't think of a viable solution to those problems. You can't really start using height/reach as part of a weight class qualifier, or age (the older you get, the bigger you tend to get), as things would get too complicated and end up being more screwed up than they are already. Things are probably better left as they are.

No, losing weight is not a skill. "Damn Son, look at that boy, losing weight like a motherphucker, Pound 4 Pound baby, pound for pound!" Good point that made me laugh. But what i meant is it is a must because of the a day before weigh-in, u can rehydrate and that would be one big advantage.

Du Ku Kim died after a fight with Boom Boom Mancini, many believe because of dehydration, and the extra rounds we don't have now. So, we now have weigh-ins the day before the fight, rather than the day of, and 12 rounds, rather than 15, or even 13. Incidentally, the ref of the Mancini fight committed suicide, and Mancini was never the same again. This wasn't the only fight that caused these changes in the sport, just one of the more prominent. The bitch of it is, people are still dying because they further try to cheat the odds without properly knowing how to go about it. I've read that in the 1940's there were 60,000 registered professional boxers (from the book "Charley Burley and the black murderers row"), where as today there are something like 2,000. I would bet percentage wise there are more deaths today than back then. IF that is true I believe it it because fighters fight so much less now, than then. This is amature guess work on my part, but I think it traumatizes a body more to go thru the rigors of severe weight loss less often. Almost as if it doing it more it builds a tolerance. Like I said though, this is guess work at best and by no means am I stating it as fact. Either way boxing would be better of and more legitimate if we had same day weigh ins. Jmo.

Would you guys consider cutting weight as much a part of a fighter's skill set? No, losing weight is not a skill. "Damn Son, look at that boy, losing weight like a motherphucker, Pound 4 Pound baby, pound for pound!"

really? can u elaborate on this? i've always wondered too,..thanks Duk Koo Kim had to lose a few pounds before the Mancini fight, which doctors said could have been a contributing factor to his death because he couldn't rehydrate himself properly and didn't have enough fluid protecting his brain from sloshing around. Which one would you favor same day weigh-in or a day before and why? Would you consider cutting weight as much a part of a fighter's skill set? Boxing would probably be a bit fairer with same day weigh ins because you'd have more fighters fighting in their natural weight classes but day before weigh ins are safer so I think it's better safe than sorry, I'm fine with day before weigh ins, I know a few people here who would prefer to go back to same day weigh ins though.

That'd be great, Joe, if everybody thought like you, but they don't. Most fighters believe the "Bigger is better" addage and want to squeeze into the smallest weight class they can, which means extreme dehydration, which is why the weigh in is the day before, giving them time to rehydrate before putting themselves through 12 rounds of a fight. Now you say "Sorry", Joe, 'cause you know I'm right. :) You know most top fighters wouldn't do that. Their team would know that being hydrated is 100x better than being extremely dehydrated. again, they would look at the De La Hoya-Pacquiao for proof of which is better. so most fighters would move up in weight, not stay at the same ****ing weight and be a zombie

Would you guys consider cutting weight as much a part of a fighter's skill set?

It's a conspiracy against Floyd Mayweather Jr. But seriously, Deanrw hit it right on the head.

I dont think so. If I was a fighter I would rather enter the ring 2 weight classes higher being hydrated and fight a bigger guy badly dehydrated. Think De La Hoya-Pacquiao. Now say sorry, because the post you made didn't make sense. Try again. That'd be great, Joe, if everybody thought like you, but they don't. Most fighters believe the "Bigger is better" addage and want to squeeze into the smallest weight class they can, which means extreme dehydration, which is why the weigh in is the day before, giving them time to rehydrate before putting themselves through 12 rounds of a fight. Now you say "Sorry", Joe, 'cause you know I'm right. :)

The rules are in place to make sure a fighter is properly hydrated. Every person has a fluid barrier that surrounds the brain and protects it from violent shock. In a dehydrated fighter, there is less fluid and a higher risk to a fighter getting a serious injury or killed.

No, we'd just have alot more fighters in the ring who are badly dehydrated and at huge risk of serious injury or death. I dont think so. If I was a fighter I would rather enter the ring 2 weight classes higher being hydrated and fight a bigger guy badly dehydrated. Think De La Hoya-Pacquiao. Now say sorry, because the post you made didn't make sense. Try again.

really? can u elaborate on this? i've always wondered too,..thanks Du Ku Kim died after a fight with Boom Boom Mancini, many believe because of dehydration, and the extra rounds we don't have now. So, we now have weigh-ins the day before the fight, rather than the day of, and 12 rounds, rather than 15, or even 13. Incidentally, the ref of the Mancini fight committed suicide, and Mancini was never the same again. This wasn't the only fight that caused these changes in the sport, just one of the more prominent.