Ryan Garcia's 3lbs made a lot of difference

In essence, people saying same day weigh ins are dangerous are saying we should carry on doing this;

Let's use the 147 pound welterweight division as an example.

So, fighters do all sorts to cut weight, in many cases making themselves feel unwell in the process.
They make the 147 limit 24-36 hours before they step into the ring.
They are then allowed to go off and rehydrate, eat, bulk up, and enter the ring 10-15+ pounds over the 147 pound welterweight limit.

In what alternate reality does that make any sense?
If you are a welterweight, that means you should be at your absolute healthy, fit, fighting best at 147.
What on earth is the point in asking two people to make an weight limit if they then go off and balloon up overnight?

It's completely baffling to me that this isn't rigorously enforced.

The "being dangerous" argument makes no sense because, if we had weigh ins 3-6 hours before the fight then no fighter would be able to make dangerous, draining weigh cuts.

They'd be in the weight class they should actually be in.

Haney, Garcia etc...are really natural middleweights.

GGG, Canelo etc...are really natural light heavyweights.

Bivol, Bertebiev etc...are...well, they would fall into an unclassified division between LHW and cruiserweight.

But, you get my point.

Instead, we see these ridiculous weight cuts to make a weight that they then completely ignore.

How is this even allowed?

I'm serious.

As a boxing fan for over 40 years, as someone obsessed with the sport for my childhood in particular, I really am curious.
Imagine, if other sports allowed you to compete in another certain class or group to the one you are meant to be involved in.
Suppose, Usain Bolt was allowed to race 12 year olds in the qualifying rounds of the Olympics while everyone else was racing their peers.
Or, an college basketball team playing against 90 year olds with hip replacements and broken hearing aids or making the other team wear 50 pounds of dumbbells in a backpack so they are exhausted by half time.

These aren't great analogies, I know, but that's because I cannot think of examples in other sports that mirror this bizarre attitude in boxing.
I suppose, one could argue that if everyone is doing the weight cut/bulk up rigamarole, what's the problem?

But, suppose, some fighters aren't doing it and are genuinely fighting at their ideal size?

They are then facing guys (potentially) 20 pounds heavier - the Loma vs Haney example being one mentioned before.

Anyway, rant over .

 

Most of YDKSAB. It doesn't matter how much he rehydrated. The point is the impact on the body of losing weight that Ryan didn't need to go through.

I hate Haney as much as the best guy, but you have to be honest.

 

That's the reason most of us thought Haney would win, and why he's won thus far. He's an extremely disciplined boxer. I even stated I didn't think Ryan could win on the scorecards unless he dropped Haney 3-4 times, and low and behold he actually went out and dropped him 3 times (really more like 5 but who's counting). Haney started believing he was not only bigger but stronger than guys and that's not what got him to the big leagues. Now everybody that can hit (and there's a number of guys in his division who can) are gonna be zeroing in on him to test his mettle.

 

Everybody knows the left hook is Ryan's main weapon. Very surprised Haney was hit with it less then a minute into the fight. Haney did show the heart of a champion tho. He coulda quit but he got up every time.

 

The scumbag clearly came in overweight knowing that the majority of the public don't even know what or how weights work in the sport.
You can already see all of social media exploding with ooohs and aaaahs.

 

Sums up how I feel. I used to fight in various martial arts competively. Only once did I come across the option to weigh in the night before, and that was for an Olympic level qualification, and even that was for logistics reasons for the organisers. Generally you weigh in a couple hours early on the morning, then have a day of fights in a tournament style.

But Boxing isn't a "sport" anymore at the lower levels. It's just a business.

Like there is a distinct lack of honour in trying to drain yourself down so you can fight much smaller men than you. Who does that really? Personally, I always weighed what I weighed, and at times I chose to give up weight to test myself at higher weight classes on the day. But deliberately trying to fight much smaller men? lol Embarrassing

But hey, when there are potential millions of dollars down the line for the best weight grifters in boxing, you can see why they do it.

Lack of honour, but very rich

 

Exactly.

It might be within the letter of the rules... But no way is it within the spirit.

Very unsportsmanlike.

Plus...
Why should the guy who takes the most risks boiling down get the most advantage?

I mean, we ban PEDs to prevent people taking too many at risk to their health to gain advantage - but we let them boil down dangerous amounts to make weights they couldn't possibly fight at.

As far as I'm concerned it's a loophole that shouldn't be there.

 

Sounds like the OP is making excuses. Lomachenko didn't make any excuses about Haney weighing 20 lbs more than him on fight night.

 

That's what i've been saying. Hell make it 3-4 hours before the fight.

 

Yeah, weight cutting is my least favorite aspect of modern fight sports. But look at it this way, Haney came in almost 9 lbs heavier than a guy who himself is cutting significant weight. Haney has taken weight cutting to an art.

 

There are people that have broken down the fight that noted why Garcia was landing his left on Haney. Garcia paw's his left to block the vision, then follows up with the left hook. If you watch the fight, you will notice Haney could not react to it off of his reflex's alone.

On top of that, Ryan added a step to his opponents left in between the combination which affords him the angle to punch around the guard. Following rounds Haney begins to crouch pre-emptively following the jab. You even see him crouch with nothing coming his way after Garcia sticks his hand out.

Garcia then started throwing a chopping punch to hit Haney when he would crouch after the jab. Come round 7, Garcia throws the jab, Haney wasn't sure if he should duck or stay standing, and bam left hook catches him like a deer in the headlights.

Only a handful of boxers in the sport can throw their jab out like that, then follow up with a blazing fast hook with knock out power off of the same hand. Roy Jones being one of them. Haney was not ready for it, and had no answer other than to play the guessing game.

 

You DKSAB. The ring weight is the most important, Just ask Joey Gamache, Loma or any other fighter outweighed by 20 lbs in the ring.

 

What we saw wasn’t the real weigh in, that happens in the morning under medical supervision. People call them “mock weigh ins” now. I think it’s been like this since Gatti / Gameche.

 

Both fighters are a disgrace. But Haney is more disgraceful.

 

You are spot on.

The idea of honour, of sportsmanship, of fair play, are increasingly dismissed and even ridiculed by people who simply can't understand what they mean.

Everyone, seems to think that if you can cheat and get away with it, why not do it.

When you factor in the (perceived?) PED abuse going on at every level, and the seeming impunity of some and the lenient penalties in general that allow cheats to return after barely a year or two, and the ridiculous weight cut - rerhydration nonsense, as well as the endless belts and pointless governing bodies, the way big fights take years to make and champions avoid contenders etc...it sometimes makes me question my love of this sport.

Unfortunately, nothing short of a complete, systematic, root and branch refresh, involving every aspect of the sport, will change anything.

The corruption and laziness and cynicism is too deeply entrenched to simply tinker and fix one aspect while leaving the others untouched.