Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia’s real weight in the night

Definitely - and even if it's true that "the last 3 lbs are the hardest" (ignoring that just how bad those 3 are depends on how easily you can make weight in the first place), there's surely no way that the effects of cutting those last 3lbs outweighs a 5lb+ weight advantage on fightnight.

I don't deny for a moment that Haney was within the rules and Garcia wasn't... But in sportsmanship terms, I'm not sure either can have any complaints.

 

If it's within the rules, you can't expect much to be done about it, true enough.
Heck, even if it's not within the rules a lot of slack is given (holding, rabbit punching, low blows, etc - officiating is generally much more permissive than it's supposed to be!).

The question about rehydration and safety isn't just about the safety of the fighter doing the cutting - it's also about the implications - a guy like Haney who's a well known star with money is going to be able to afford better medical supervision than most of his challengers might.

There's plenty of general trends... Fighters tend to be unpopular if:
- They don't punch hard
- They have a low KO percentage (especially if they're successful
- They duck the best fights, and/or only make better fights when they can stack the deck
- They hold/clinch excessively
- They have an attitude problem - claiming to be great whilst ducking the best, for example.

Now Haney ticks a lot of these boxes - and not many fighters can do that without being very unpopular (I'm sure we can all think of a few fighters that manage it, though!).

I know what you mean about enjoying watching skill... But at the same time... It's cheapened when the guy has height and reach advantages most of the time - you need less skill when you have physical advantages (and in Haney's case these are created by the extreme lengths he goes to in cutting to make weight).

 

It's pure madness - it's like claiming to be the fastest cyclist by putting a motor on your bike... Or claiming to be the fastest woman swimmer whilst being male...

It's a clown world - as you say, it's become more about who can cut hardest and/or force the most favourable terms on their opponents than about who's actually the best at the actual weight.

For all the complaints (often justified) about top fighters ducking the biggest challenges - guys fighting in categories where most will be a good 10lbs lighter than them is far more cowardly.

 

Haney is much bigger than Garcia is. Haney kills himself to shed weight. Garcia didn't even diet or train properly and looked a tad bit blown up.

I'd say Haney was 165ish and Garcia 160ish. I think Garcias natural fighting weight is low 150s.

 

Weights:

Haney=Hagler

Garcia= the Pacquiao versus Margarito

 

Well reasoned post I'd say. Will hopefully get back to you on some points.

 

Where do you get those weights because I can't find anything on it

 

Where did you get those weights I cant find anything on it

 

I definitely think he was a lot stronger here and I think it's possible he could win a rematch BUT Tank did a good job of taking away his left hook in that fight.

 

I remember back when Hatton was rehydrating 16lbs and everyone thought it was crazy. Think at LWW only one opponent I recall showed up heavier and that was Juan Urango at about 160lbs and he looked strong and powerful but lethargic.

Now a lot of these fighters in this era are exceeding that by quite a bit and going up multiple weights with ease.

It's definitely a bit suspect and I'm not saying Hatton was clean either, with Kerry Kayes knowledge in his camp and the weights he'd balloon upto I'm sure he did need extra help the odd time.

 

It's f***** awful for the long term health. All these guys doing these crazy weight cuts are going to be having kidney failure in their late forties or early fifties. Then they can look back and see if it was worth it. In the short term it also makes you more prone to kidney stones, which are f***** horrible to have. Their choice. Their bodies. But I guarantee they'll be regretting it when they've retired and already done irreparable damage and have to spend all their hard earned millions on medical care because they were too short sighted to see the stupidity of their decisions.

 

You should be looking at it the other way around. You have a 165 lbs guy who dehydrates his body by sucking out every ounce of liquid in his body, to the level most people would die if not for the team they have around them monitoring. Who then rehydrates in the ensuing 36 hours with a combination of liquid intake, likely IV use and binge eating.

It's a very dirty thing that actually leads to eating disorders in some athletes.

This video is from the MMA perspective but it applies to boxing as well.

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