Im very confused about Ezzard Charles resume

[Bundana]

I've no argument with this, my original statement was that old fighters cut weight by dehydrating and I'm talking principally about heavyweights men who had no need to make a certain target weight..We know Jeffries andJohnson, dehydrated,and we know Foreman did.

Yes, strange as it may seem today, some old-time trainers thought it gave their boxer an edge, if they entered a fight in a semi-dehydrated state.

I remember reading (forget where) about a trainer, who denied his fighters anything to drink on fight day. The first time they would get even a sip of water, was when they returned to the corner after the first round. The idea was, that being deprived of anything to drink the whole day, even when thirsty, would make the boxer irritable and angry - which he then would take out on his opponent.

Today we of course know, that such a strategy is ridiculous and could be very be detrimental to a boxer... but this was way back in the day, where no one really knew much about how the body works.

[Lomadeaux]

You guys looking at this stuff and thinking you understand it.... just give up. You don't understand boxing.

[them_apples]

Yes, strange as it may seem today, some old-time trainers thought it gave their boxer an edge, if they entered a fight in a semi-dehydrated state.

I remember reading (forget where) about a trainer, who denied his fighters anything to drink on fight day. The first time they would get even a sip of water, was when they returned to the corner after the first round. The idea was, that being deprived of anything to drink the whole day, even when thirsty, would make the boxer irritable and angry - which he then would take out on his opponent.

Today we of course know, that such a strategy is ridiculous and could be very be detrimental to a boxer... but this was way back in the day, where no one really knew much about how the body works.

yeah but this wasnt common strategy. And many fighter today are often drained completely. While ill admit if they had to make weight they did it in the toughest ways possible, but it was general practice a good pro stayed within his weight range and kept in shape.

[them_apples]

I've no argument with this, my original statement was that old fighters cut weight by dehydrating and I'm talking principally about heavyweights men who had no need to make a certain target weight..We know Jeffries andJohnson, dehydrated,and we know Foreman did.

ive heard stories of them coming in with limited water and food to avoid cramps and be lighter, but nobody was purposely coming in dry of mouth and feeling like garbage, that defeats the purpose of training. Theres been a lot of fighters and a lot of fights in history so maybe somebody did that one time but it wasnt common practice. Even Duran, for how brutal it was cutting weight in the second bout (during camp it made him irritable) but on fight night he stuffed his face with steak and juice.

[GhostofDempsey]

It comes down to boxing skills. A good smaller boxer will beat a larger fighter with poor boxing skills. Those big guys Charles defeated weren't in the same league as Rocky. What he may have lacked in size and finesse he made up for in brute strength, stamina, resilience and a great chin. He had just enough bob and weave to give opponents a moving target to hit and was good at getting on the inside. A lot of those big fighters are easy targets who offer little in the way of nuance or defense.

[GhostofDempsey]

yeah but this wasnt common strategy. And many fighter today are often drained completely. While ill admit if they had to make weight they did it in the toughest ways possible, but it was general practice a good pro stayed within his weight range and kept in shape.

This was one of LaMotta's problems. He often had to "dry out" by not drinking any fluids 24 hours prior to weigh-in, they put the water weight back on by drinking a lot of water. This can drain a fighter of his energy back when they had same-day weigh-ins. He often said he wished there was a super-middleweight division back in his day because he had trouble making 160 and he was too small of 175.

[Ivich]

ive heard stories of them coming in with limited water and food to avoid cramps and be lighter, but nobody was purposely coming in dry of mouth and feeling like garbage, that defeats the purpose of training. Theres been a lot of fighters and a lot of fights in history so maybe somebody did that one time but it wasnt common practice. Even Duran, for how brutal it was cutting weight in the second bout (during camp it made him irritable) but on fight night he stuffed his face with steak and juice.

All I can do is refer you to Pollack's excellent series of bios on the heavyweight champions . All the information and references to drying out by the early Champions is contained in those books.
You're obviously not going to take my word for it though why I should give a FF about it and deliberately try and mislead you is beyond me!

[Ivich]

This was one of LaMotta's problems. He often had to "dry out" by not drinking any fluids 24 hours prior to weigh-in, they put the water weight back on by drinking a lot of water. This can drain a fighter of his energy back when they had same-day weigh-ins. He often said he wished there was a super-middleweight division back in his day because he had trouble making 160 and he was too small of 175.

True, but these were smaller men ,attempting to make a certain weight. WTF did Heavyweights do it?
Simply put because they erroneously, and probably dangerously believed it was the correct thing to do!

[GhostofDempsey]

True, but these were smaller men ,attempting to make a certain weight. WTF did Heavyweights do it?
Simply put because they erroneously, and probably dangerously believed it was the correct thing to do!

I think there was just an effort on the part of HW's to be in the best condition possible, not necessarily to drain off weight. They fought at their best weights, where they felt their strongest and could go the distance. Take into consideration the different body types (meso, ecto, endo) and there is no exact science that works for every fighter.

[Ivich]

It comes down to boxing skills. A good smaller boxer will beat a larger fighter with poor boxing skills. Those big guys Charles defeated weren't in the same league as Rocky. What he may have lacked in size and finesse he made up for in brute strength, stamina, resilience and a great chin. He had just enough bob and weave to give opponents a moving target to hit and was good at getting on the inside. A lot of those big fighters are easy targets who offer little in the way of nuance or defense.

A good smaller boxer with will beat a bigger boxer with poor skills?
Well up to a point,but would say Marvin Hagler beat Valuev? Ray Robinson beat Chris Arreola?
If you want an example where your premise falls down. Here it is;
Primo Carnera 270lbs vTommy Loughran184lbs.
Q Who was the better by far boxer?
Q Who won the fight?
At some point SIZE DOES MATTER.