If Boxers had to weigh-in 1 hour before the fight

[Benny Leonard]

If Boxers had to weigh-in 1 hour before the fight, how different things would be.

Is anyone tired of fighters coming in at different weights for a fight?

When Hatton and Floyd fought, they fought at 147, but that is their normal weight by fight time when they were both fighting at 140...maybe 149 tops.

That's why I always considered it to be a 140 fight...it just didn't have the dehydrated weigh-in a couple of days before.


So how different would it look; where would the fighters you know about be placed and who would they have to fight based on fight time weight.

For example: I hear Manny Pac has weighed in the 140's; he could be placed with Hatton and Floyd possibly.


It propably wouldn't drastically change who is fighting who since they all basically do it, but that 5 extra pounds that someone can gain over the other would be a difference.

Some people gain 5 pounds, others 10, and some 15.

[leppard365]

1 hour is too drastic but maybe same day weigh in.

[leppard365]

can you imagine 50,000 lunatics turnin up for fight of the year, everyone's ready, coverage is ready with HBO, sky from UK, everyone ready to start the damn fight, and a fighter weighs in 5 pounds over and cannot lose it in that 1 hour. I think mayhem would occur in that stadium,

[Benny Leonard]

1 hour is too drastic but maybe same day weigh in.

Yes, but wouldn't it prevent fighters from dehydrating and then putting on weight. It would mean they would have to fight at their walk-in weight and have no time to dehydrate. If they did dehydrate before the fight this close, there is little chance of them being effective so it would turn a fighter off.

[Southpaw16BF]

Day of weigh in is what the old schoolers had to do, alot harder than todays day before weigh in.I remember re watching the Johnson/Wilard fight in Cuba and they come down to the ring weighed in the ring and then fought right after.

[Dice]

Many people would die or get hospitalized. They used to do it back in the day but moved it to a day before the fight. I would complain but usually both boxers blow up after the weigh in so it evens out

[Benny Leonard]

1 hour is a bit drastic, but day of weigh in is what the old schoolers had to do, alot harder than todays day before weigh in.

OK, agree: weigh-in on fight day.

[Benny Leonard]

Many people would die or get hospitalized. They used to do it back in the day but moved it to a day before the fight. I would complain but usually both boxers blow up after the weigh in so it evens out

I've read fighters that dehydrate themselves and put back weight on can be dangerous as well.

There should be some way of making a fighter fight at whatever weight he can maintain for at least a week.

Look at Floyd; he basically fights at the weight he walks around at.

You look at HWs like Louis, Ali, Tyson, etc. They all trimmed down to their desired healthy weight that would make them effective.

[BattlingNelson]

If Boxers had to weigh-in 1 hour before the fight, how different things would be.

Is anyone tired of fighters coming in at different weights for a fight?

When Hatton and Floyd fought, they fought at 147, but that is their normal weight by fight time when they were both fighting at 140...maybe 149 tops.

That's why I always considered it to be a 140 fight...it just didn't have the dehydrated weigh-in a couple of days before.


So how different would it look; where would the fighters you know about be placed and who would they have to fight based on fight time weight.

For example: I hear Manny Pac has weighed in the 140's; he could be placed with Hatton and Floyd possibly.


It propably wouldn't drastically change who is fighting who since they all basically do it, but that 5 extra pounds that someone can gain over the other would be a difference.

Some people gain 5 pounds, others 10, and some 15.

Same day weigh-ins was abandoned following ring fatalities in the 80ies. If I remember correctly it was abandoned following the Mancini-Kim disaster as well as the abolition of 15 round championship fights. The logic was that same day weigh-ins would make some fighters dehydrated with not enough time to hydrate before the fight. When a fighter (and the brain) is dehydrated the risk of serious injuries gets much higher.

One could argue that the earlier weigh-ins that we have today might make weight differences between the fighters potentially greater and thereby increasing risk as bigger man may fight smaller man. I guess the choice is made because it's thought to be the lesser of 2 'evils'.

[BattlingNelson]

Day of weigh in is what the old schoolers had to do, alot harder than todays day before weigh in.I remember re watching the Johnson/Wilard fight in Cuba and they come down to the ring weighed in the ring and then fought right after.

That's right. Of course for heavies that's really no problem, but it's a factor in the other divisions.

Take the first Joe Gans-Battling Nelson fight for instance. Gans was believed to having weight problems and Nelson and his schrewd manager insisted on no less than 3 weigh-ins on fight day. In the end it didn't matter as Gans won on DQ in the 42 round in one of boxings most classic encounters.

If you're interested in this intriguing story you can read about it here:

http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=204170