Making weight question

[Laxalt]

One thing I have never fully understood in boxing is making weight. It's been bugging me for a while so I decided to make an account to ask it.

Firstly, we've seen how Khan is bulking up for his fight against Canelo at 155 lbs, however I read that his natural weight after rehydration is around 155/160 lbs, so why does he need to bulk?

Also, in terms of this GGG-Canelo at 155 lbs story. If GGG gets his weight down to 155 lbs for the weigh-in, then surely he'll just rehydrate back to his natural weight the same way Canelo does, so won't their weights on the night of the fight be the exact same as if they were fighting at 160 lbs like GGG wants to?

Apologies if this sounds unbelievably idiotic, I just feel like I'm missing something here.

[UNBIASED BOXING]

One thing I have never fully understood in boxing is making weight. It's been bugging me for a while so I decided to make an account to ask it.

Firstly, we've seen how Khan is bulking up for his fight against Canelo at 155 lbs, however I read that his natural weight after rehydration is around 155/160 lbs, so why does he need to bulk?

Also, in terms of this GGG-Canelo at 155 lbs story. If GGG gets his weight down to 155 lbs for the weigh-in, then surely he'll just rehydrate back to his natural weight the same way Canelo does, so won't their weights on the night of the fight be the exact same as if they were fighting at 160 lbs like GGG wants to?

Apologies if this sounds unbelievably idiotic, I just feel like I'm missing something here.

The majority of fighters never fight at the weigh-in limit (i.e, 140, 147, 154, etc.). They dehydrated themselves of a water weight in order to get a size advantage. So if I weigh 156 pounds, I'll professionally fight at 147 instead of 154, and make the weight by cutting water weight. You have a day to recover, so all should be well. It also lets me fight smaller opponents, vs. the ones at 154 that will be taller/heavier. Think about it: The heavier you are, the more likely you are: stronger, more durable, and in general just more physically imposing than your opponent.

For example: Dan Austin weighs 148 pounds and deadlifts 697 lbs. Dmitriy Nostov weighs 165 pounds and deadlifts 760 lbs (where Dmitry clearly outweights Austin by 17 pounds). That's a noticeable strength gap. Obviously, the bigger you are the more powerful you should be compared to your opponent (typically).

In Khan vs Canelo's case, the weight difference if Khan doesn't bulk up would be around 20~ pounds. That's a LOT of weight, and makes a huge difference, especially considering they're about the same height (definitely meaning Canelo has more muscle mass). That's a lot of potential strength/power Canelo should posses over Khan due to how much heavier he is.


In regards to GGG vs Canelo:
GGG is older (just recently turned 34 years old)
Canelo is younger (25 years old)

It's a lot harder on the body when you dehydrate yourself/lose weight the older you get. Think of it like this: when you are younger, you can gain muscle mass much easier with a good diet and nutrition. When you're older, that rate of growth of muscle diminishes and diminishes. You can be a hard worker, but you can't outwork father time.

Another reason is that GGG is not use to those massive water weight cuts/probably doesn't feel comfortable doing it. If he drains water weight to about 155, that's around 8-9% of a water weight cut. For anyone in combat sports, 10% is the maximum amount recommended, as it gets REALLY BAD any more than that. Cutting too much water weight is a dangerous idea. I'd say, about 5% is a good amount to stride for on average

Canelo rehydrates back to 175 from the 155 weigh-in limit. Golovkin rehydrates to 170 from the 160 weigh-in limit. Theoretically, Canelo could weigh even more than 175 if he wasn't stressed to make that 155 limit.

[doublejabbing]

The majority of fighters never fight at the weigh-in limit (i.e, 140, 147, 154, etc.). They dehydrated themselves of a water weight in order to get a size advantage. Think about it: The heavier you are, the more likely you are: stronger, more durable, and in general just more physically imposing than your opponent.

For example: Dan Austin weighs 148 pounds and deadlifts 697 lbs. Dmitriy Nostov weighs 165 pounds and deadlifts 760 lbs (where Dmitry clearly outweights Austin by 17 pounds). That's a noticeable strength gap. Obviously, the bigger you are the more powerful you should be compared to your opponent (typically).

In Khan vs Canelo's case, the weight difference if Khan doesn't bulk up would be around 20~ pounds. That's a LOT of weight, and makes a huge difference, especially considering they're about the same height (definitely meaning Canelo has more muscle mass). That's a lot of potential strength/power Canelo should posses over Khan due to how much heavier he is.


In regards to GGG vs Canelo:
GGG is older (just recently turned 34 years old)
Canelo is younger (25 years old)

It's a lot harder on the body when you dehydrate yourself/lose weight the older you get. Think of it like this: when you are younger, you can gain muscle mass much easier with a good diet and nutrition. When you're older, that rate of growth of muscle diminishes and diminishes. You can be a hard worker, but you can't outwork father time.

Another reason is that GGG is not use to those massive water weight cuts/probably doesn't feel comfortable doing it. If he drains water weight to about 155, that's around 8-9% of a water weight cut. For anyone in combat sports, 10% is the maximum amount recommended, as it gets REALLY BAD any more than that. Cutting too much water weight is a dangerous idea. I'd say, about 5% is a good amount to stride for on average

Canelo rehydrates back to 175 from the 155 weigh-in limit. Golovkin rehydrates to 170 from the 160 weigh-in limit. Theoretically, Canelo could weigh even more than 175 if he wasn't stressed to make that 155 limit.

People generally don't realize how dangerous weight cutting is when you pass the %10 mark. I've heard stories of dudes having their kidneys shut down due to extreme weight cutting.

[RussB23]

About GGG, he would have to probably drain himself to cut those extra 5 pounds to make 155. He walks around at about 170-180 so he already cuts about 15 maybe 20 pounds to make 160. To cut that extra 5 would drain him and thats why canelo is asking for it being a little prick trying to get GGG to drain himself for no reason when hes been fighting at 160 his whole career.

[Laxalt]

The majority of fighters never fight at the weigh-in limit (i.e, 140, 147, 154, etc.). They dehydrated themselves of a water weight in order to get a size advantage. Think about it: The heavier you are, the more likely you are: stronger, more durable, and in general just more physically imposing than your opponent.

For example: Dan Austin weighs 148 pounds and deadlifts 697 lbs. Dmitriy Nostov weighs 165 pounds and deadlifts 760 lbs (where Dmitry clearly outweights Austin by 17 pounds). That's a noticeable strength gap. Obviously, the bigger you are the more powerful you should be compared to your opponent (typically).

In Khan vs Canelo's case, the weight difference if Khan doesn't bulk up would be around 20~ pounds. That's a LOT of weight, and makes a huge difference, especially considering they're about the same height (definitely meaning Canelo has more muscle mass). That's a lot of potential strength/power Canelo should posses over Khan due to how much heavier he is.


In regards to GGG vs Canelo:
GGG is older (just recently turned 34 years old)
Canelo is younger (25 years old)

It's a lot harder on the body when you dehydrate yourself/lose weight the older you get. Think of it like this: when you are younger, you can gain muscle mass much easier with a good diet and nutrition. When you're older, that rate of growth of muscle diminishes and diminishes. You can be a hard worker, but you can't outwork father time.

Another reason is that GGG is not use to those massive water weight cuts/probably doesn't feel comfortable doing it. If he drains water weight to about 155, that's around 8-9% of a water weight cut. For anyone in combat sports, 10% is the maximum amount recommended, as it gets REALLY BAD any more than that. Cutting too much water weight is a dangerous idea. I'd say, about 5% is a good amount to stride for on average

Canelo rehydrates back to 175 from the 155 weigh-in limit. Golovkin rehydrates to 170 from the 160 weigh-in limit. Theoretically, Canelo could weigh even more than 175 if he wasn't stressed to make that 155 limit.

Ah I think I get you, so will Khan be bulking up to heavier than his natural weight and then start dehydrating himself to make 155 lbs at the weigh-in?

[RussB23]

Ah I think I get you, so will Khan be bulking up to heavier than his natural weight and then start dehydrating himself to make 155 lbs at the weigh-in?

Pretty much, hes bulking up so when he cuts hell still be bigger at 155 than he was in previous fights once he rehydtrates.

[Laxalt]

Pretty much, hes bulking up so when he cuts hell still be bigger at 155 than he was in previous fights once he rehydtrates.

Right that makes sense now, cheers!

[SplitSecond]

[Laxalt]

About GGG, he would have to probably drain himself to cut those extra 5 pounds to make 155. He walks around at about 170-180 so he already cuts about 15 maybe 20 pounds to make 160. To cut that extra 5 would drain him and thats why canelo is asking for it being a little prick trying to get GGG to drain himself for no reason when hes been fighting at 160 his whole career.

I wonder how Canelo doesn't seem drained when cutting to 155, he looks huge on the night of the fight and even bigger than GGG in my opinion.

[Larry the boss]

One thing I have never fully understood in boxing is making weight. It's been bugging me for a while so I decided to make an account to ask it.

Firstly, we've seen how Khan is bulking up for his fight against Canelo at 155 lbs, however I read that his natural weight after rehydration is around 155/160 lbs, so why does he need to bulk?

Also, in terms of this GGG-Canelo at 155 lbs story. If GGG gets his weight down to 155 lbs for the weigh-in, then surely he'll just rehydrate back to his natural weight the same way Canelo does, so won't their weights on the night of the fight be the exact same as if they were fighting at 160 lbs like GGG wants to?

Apologies if this sounds unbelievably idiotic, I just feel like I'm missing something here.

Natural weight=walking around/aka not in shape

He is bulking up to be all muscle at the weight

and GGG would have to cut muscle to make 155 and will be what we call "drained"