Why do most deaths and serious injuries happen in the lower weight classes

Watched Benn/McClellan the other day and thought to myself that you really don't see injuries like that the higher you go up in weight. Even though the higher you go up in weight, the harder the punches. For example, Tyson and Ruddock hit each other with likely significantly harder punches than what Benn and McClellan hit each other with, yet none of them suffered any life altering injuries. It seems as if that becomes more common place the lower you go in weight.

 

It's almost certainly down to the dehydrating effects of weight-making. The day of the fight rule hasn't improved anything either, guys are making even more unnatural weights given the 24-36 hours to rehydrate. It's causing physical mismatches on fight night to increase the dangers even more.

That said, boxing at any weight is always going to be dangerous, and everybody who does it deserves huge respect.

 

Dehydration is the man reason.

At least a heavyweight is always well hydrated.

 

One contributing factor might be that generally speaking, the lighter boxers fight at a far more furious rate.

 

There is exceptions like Magomed.

I think as well when Heavyweights get KOed much more when they are badly hurt, whereas a the lower weights much more they get hurt, recover, hurt, recover over and over, a lot of sustained punishment.

Plus there's also just more boxers at lower weights.

 

Volume of the smaller fighters and when you move into the 154-175 range they have volume and speed of smaller fighters and the power not far off the cruisers. In addition the weight cutting and dehydration especially today the dehydration is at a stupid level

 

Which is why fighters should fight at their natural weights. This lose 10-15 pounds than re-hydrate is BS.

 

It's got to be something with the lack of fluid surrounding the brain when cutting weight and dehydrated. I'm still surprised there's seldom any HW tragedies as the blunt force trauma is much more severe.

 

You kind of answered your own question. The HW's don't dehydrate, ergo their brains have more cushioning fluid.

 

Here, a doctor explains it in layman's terms:

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Because big men actually suck at using their energy stores.

 

I know that but I'm just saying I'm surprised there's not more HW death's due to the massive forces involved.

 

I don’t think it’s dehydration, because that’s common at most weights.

I think it’s because they hit each other in the head the most and rarely knock each other out cold. You want the show to be over if you’re starting to get bruising in your brain rather than stay conscious and take another 100 punches to the head.

 

Alot of good reasons above. Just putting this out there, alot of lighter weight guys come from less developed nations where medical care can be hard or very expensive to get and after care is very unlikely.

 

Which is my thoughts exactly. My thought is just to get in the best shape you can for your body frame and fight at that weight. I.E. if you can be lean at 175 pounds then fight at that weight rather than trying to sweat off and dehydrate yourself so you can fight as a 160 pound middleweight