Do same-day weigh-ins really matter?

I think they should go back to same day weigh ins but with regular weight checks (with limits) leading up to the fight.

 

And 15 round championship fights!!!

 

I can promise you, that if the'd return to same day weigh-ins today, a very large amount of boxers would have to move up a weight division.

More time to rehydrate and recover means they can lose more weight without having to fear entering the ring in a severely weakened state. It also means they can rehydrate to higher weights at fight night.

 

Yes it matters. It was well publicized after the tragic death of Du Koo Kim that he struggled to make the weight limit. Extreme
extreme weight cut are a health risk that can lead to long term organ damage and make fighters more susceptible to
concussion , brain trauma and knockouts die to fluid on the brain and not being rehydrated enough in time for the fight. Gerald
McCellan was rumored to have weight loss problems with Benn fight. MMA Leandro Souza died from stroke and Yang Jian Bing
died from heart failure trying to make weight. Chris Wieldman said once he loss 30lbs in 10 days only eating a spoonful of
peanut butter a day.

 

Better that fighters have 24 hours to re-hydrate, even this means some boxers are huge by the time of the fight, than have them weigh in on the day of the fight and risk boxers climbing into the ring while still dehydrated with all the implications this has for the fluid which protects the brain inside the skull. There is no perfect solution to making weight.

 

I think that decades ago it was common to cut 5-10 pounds and now it's common to cut 15-20 pounds, because you have that extra time to rehydrate and eat. I think the average height of fighters has probably gone up about an inch from what it was back in the day.

This discussion is muddled because people always want to know what fighters moved down in weight when same day weigh ins stopped being practiced. But this isn't the only response fighters would have. The ones who were going to move up suddenly wouldn't have to, so you might see less vertical movement. Or the guys who were having trouble making their weight cuts would have an easier time of it, and maybe wouldn't miss weight like they otherwise would have. It's natural for fighters to put on weight as they get older anyway so the natural career trajectory is up. The lack of same day weigh ins wouldn't actually stop guys from growing out of divisions, but it might slow the process or put a lower cap on how far they have to move up.

The champions obviously aren't going to relinquish their crowns and move down. Those belts make money and the higher up in weight class you go the more money you can make too. Any contenders moving down a division probably wouldn't be noticed by most fans; so it should be difficult to come up with good examples. If you are looking for change right away in 1983 when the rules were changed there are several complicating factors. They added 3 new weight classes around that time to make changing weight classes easier. You also have to consider that the guys who were championship or contender level were maybe ten years into their career and used to training a certain way. The rule changes would have the biggest effect on the fighters just starting out at that time who would learn to cut more weight as a normal course of competition than the previous generation.

One thing which the rule change for weigh ins probably helped was with fighters who had already moved up moving back down for money fights. Tommy Hearns fought Dennis Andries for a light heavyweight title, then moved down to fight Juan Roldan for a middleweight title, then he's fighting Kinchen for a super middleweight title. The looseness of the new rules definitely allowed him a lot of flexibility to cut as much or as little weight as he wanted, within certain physical margins.

 

But that's the thing. If they didn't have 24 hours to rehydrate then they can't cut that much weight which means more fluid in their organs.

 

Fighters nowadays at weigh ins look like zombies half the time. They enter the ring at a weakened state because they cut too much weight! Doesn't matter if you have the 24 hours it's not enough time for your body to recuperate, all you are doing is stuffing water in that the body will lose in energy and sweat as the fight wears on. A thing I've always wanted is after fight weigh ins.

 

Huge difference, Canelo, Jcc jr, donaire, broner all have enjoyed reasonable weight advantage over a majority of the opposition, funny part they aren't quite as great when they don't have the size advantage

 

That doesn't make sense to imply the less time they have to re-hydrate the more re-hydrated they would be. Unless same-day weigh-ins persuaded fighters to box at a higher division - which is unlikely because all boxers are looking for the advantage of size and are often their own worst enemies - they would do more harm than good. All the studies into this topic support the belief that weigh-ins 24 hours before a bout are safer, largely because they save boxers from themselves.

 

Needless to say, you probably shouldn't be fighting in a division 30 pounds lighter than your walk around weight. And yet, you can't convince anybody that it isn't a perfectly fair fight when two guys both weigh the same for a second a day before the contest. If weight is the only metric of fairness, then how can it be fair for one fighter to gain fifteen more pounds than the other fighter before the match? Boxing needs rehydration clauses that limit how much weight you can regain if they are going to continue this day before weigh in farce.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but, wasn't one of the main reasons for doing away with same day weigh in was for the fighters health. Some fighters were getting kidney failure due to dehydration if I'm not mistaken. This prompted the powers that be to change the weigh in schedule. Not sure if this is fact or not!

 

Yes, weigh-ins 24 hours before a bout must be tied in with hydration clauses. The IBF have got it right in this matter...

 

As mentioned previously, it's my understanding that severely dehydrated fighters have significantly less fluid protecting the brain inside the skull and it is this fact which puts their health at the greatest risk. Not sure about kidney failure, but I guess that would make sense too...

 

That's the thing. Fighters will fight in a division more suited to their bodies. If you're at the point of dehydration at 143, but still need to lose those 3 pounds, you are being a danger to yourself. Where do those extra 3 pounds come from? Now more than ever fighters struggle just to make the weight. And if I recall correctly, your organs and/or cranial fluid is not replenished in 24 hours. I may be wrong about that statement.