Could Hagler have fought at 154 with 24-hour weigh-ins?

You're mistaken. I'm not saying it's "the same thing".
I'm saying : Water loading/cutting weight is as old as the hills.
Obviously the longer the period between weigh-in and the fight, the lighter a fighter can weigh in at. I haven't disputed that.

Middleweights back in Hagler's era were about 164 to 168 in the ring. Nowadays they are possibly even over the light-heavyweight limit. So, yeah, it's not the same thing, I agree.

If you believe middleweights were legit 160 in the ring because they weighed in below that weight several hours earlier, you're mistaken.

 

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Yes, it is different today.
The point I'm making is that a lot of middleweights in that era did routinely manipulate water and or sweat down in a similar manner as to today (though not as extreme, nor as routinely) and would be 166+ pounds in real weight.
(I know this from experience of family members and talking with some of the other guys who were active then ... a middleweight was actually "eleven stone ten, or eleven stone eleven" (164 or 165) in the ring).
Non-title fights were often made at 164 or 165 anyway.

I agree with you, that wasn't the emphasis back then like it is now.
AND, yes, the best practice was done by those who could maintain a steady weight through discipline in training and never have to think about it.

I think the modern ways are ridiculous. As you illustrate. Not only is it dangerous and unhealthy, it is actually false advertising. In the old days a middleweight was usually within 5 or 6 pounds of the 160 billed weight, or perhaps actually further down there or inside. Nowadays you've got freaks coming in at 178 or more fighting as middleweights.
The other thing is it unfairly rewards the freaks whose bodies can manipulate water more extremely and puts the others in a double danger (1. danger from fighting a far bigger opponent, and 2. danger from carrying out the dehydration process).

The irony is the "24 + hour weigh ins" were supposedly brought in to make things safer and prevent dehydrated boxers.

 

Easily and he's probably not even that big at 154.

Hagler fans always want to ignore it but tall MWs gave him a lot of trouble see the losses to Watts and Monroe and draw to Sugar Ray Seales. He avenged all of those in dominant fashion but the weakness is still exposed and why anyone who favors Hagler h2h vs Hopkins, Monzon or even McCallum is crazy

 

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I think today Hagler starts his career at 140 for his first dozen or so fights moves up to 147 for 8 rounder and eventually wins a vacant title at 147 has a couple defenses then quickly moves up to 154 and spends his entire rest of his career there

 

I think he makes 147 pretty easily if he were boxing today.

 

I'm sure he could but not sure how it would have impacted him ..

 

Hell people were doing it at the turn of the century and before.

 

LOL @ people thinking Hagler could ever be a welterweight.

I think you guys need to calm down on the impact of the 24-hr weigh-in.

Hagler's body was never meant to be at 147.

 

The guy was under 160 in the ring regularly and is one of the toughest fighters in the history of the sport. Anyone who thinks he couldn't adapt to having to steam off another few pounds to make weight is way too focused on numbers imo

 

He could probably make 147 the day before the fight (in the modern era) with about the same degree of difficulty as making 160 on the day of the fight (as in his era). He wouldn’t have been able to dehydrate himself nearly as much back then, given he had to fight no more than 12 hours later.

If you want a modern comparison, I don’t think Hagler was any bigger than Spence.

 

Ray never beat him. Also it was father time.

 

He was a fairly lean 160...you could maybe speculate him wearing 154 comfortably, but 147?