Same guys fight below their natural weight class to beat up on smaller men. Yes, it's legal. Technically there is nothing wrong with it. And it could backfire if you're not careful, you could drain yourself. But even though it's legal it does tend to rub me the wrong way. Some examples. Jarrett Hurd. He's a 168 pounder fighting at 154. And it's just ridiculous. The fight with Lara looked like a circus clown show. Bernard Hopkins. He's naturally bigger than Mikkel Kessler. A man who campaigned a weight class above him. Yes, he made 160 for over a decade. How did he do it? He starved. He ate nothing, but fish, chicken breasts and air. Erik Morales. My 4th favorite fighter ever, clearly had no business at 122. An absolutely massive Superbantamweight. How did he make the weight? He starved.
This content is protected I think it generally catches up to the fighter. Edit: For those unaware, McDonnell was 143 on the night of the fight vs Inoue, the fight was at 118 lbs.
There's benefits as well as a downside to fighting too low below your natural weight (BTW....natural weight is HIGHLY subjective and should be treated as such.) Sure, one can gain a huge size advantage boiling down. One can also keep themselves from proper condition if down too low. If one cam squeeze down light and still maintain their high level of performance, nothing wrong with it. What I have objections on are on the amount of weight some guys gain post weigh in (If they even allow that weight to be public). What they can weigh come fight night should be a pre-determined % of their weigh-in weights.
There is nothing wrong with it. Like I said it's not illegal to cut weight and be disciplined enough to keep your weight down as much as possible while still maintaining your health. It still leaves a bad taste though.
Not sure how Hops was naturally bigger than Kessler. Their frames are different, where Kessler looked to have broader shoulders. And Hops waist was pretty small. Kessler looked a tad sturdier in the legs as well. Morales was in his early 20's for the most part of that campaign. He doesn't have a a large frame either. Always tended to look a tad slender.
I don't know. Having discipline and keeping weight down are not bad things for a boxer to have. Now the guys who balloon in weight post fight and train to lode weigh, as opposed to stay sharp in the ring, are issues I have.
Hopkins debuted at 175. Kessler at 154. The reason Kessler looked bigger to you is because he weighed more, but Hopkins was definitely the naturally bigger man. The man hasn't had a piece of junk food since 1988. Morales has a huge frame for 122. Look at how tall he is. And his back and legs are thick.
If you can do it without hurting yourself I have no problem with it. However I tend not to pull for fighters that rely putting on the day of weight to just be too big for the opponents (Chavez Jr. at middle). The skill has to be there as well
No. I was looking at Hops's weight from 175, not comparing a MW to a SprMW. You are right about Morales legs and height. But his upper body, not so huge.
If they make weight they make weight. I don’t see a problem with it. As others have stated there are some risk in doing this. Fighters have died because of dramatic weight cut and water gain leaving the fighter more susceptible to brain injury.
Hopkins used to weigh less than 168 on fight night during his MW campaign, I don’t like the man but how exactly was he too big for 160? Shawn Porter used to fight as a middleweight, is he too big for WW?
W/O intimate knowledge of their diet, daily routines and lifestyle, that's just opinion, should be treated as such. Normally, I'm 5'11" and 165. But I feel more or less the same anywhere from 160 to close to 180, diet depending.
Don’t hate the player, hate the game. You get away with what you can. If they simply brought the sport back to using same day weigh ins this problem would be eliminated.
He’s a disciplined, world class professional athlete. Is he supposed to eat hot Cheetos and grandmas cookies on a regular basis?