How do boxers drop 20 pounds of water weight and not feel like ****?

Same, they are very tough people. I wonder how Chavez Jr managed to take a beating like the one he received from Martinez for 12 rounds whilst being drained.

 

I would love to hear some stories of weight cutting from some the posters with actual boxing experience. I can't imagine it is fun in any way.

 

Some MMA fighters cut even more

 

They do feel like garbage during fight night and during the weigh-in, they just know how to pretend everything is O.K. During the actual fight, the adrenaline and testosterone probably negates the side effects until after the fight is over.

That's what happens when you stay in a weight class you aren't suppose to be in and when you don't eat properly and train if that is your natural weight class.

 

It soothes them when they are beating down their much smaller opponents

 

I personally think boiling down to the absolute minimum you could weight is overrated.

 

They do feel like **** at the weigh in.

But then they rehydrate,eat well. Get in an IV drip if they have to,for the next 36 hours.

Come fight night, they're in a completely different state.

 

Bare in mind,these top fighters have professional nutritionists and trainers.

They tend to be monitored and know what they're doing

 

Some people's bodies can handle more water loss than others, this is a known fact as well. As already mentioned, these guys have professionals monitoring them as well, as well as IV drips.

I used to be in wrestling, and BJJ, and guys cut insane amounts of weight, especially in wrestling. Basically we used techniques like getting in a bath, and running water as hot as you can possibly stand, so hot you have to move slowly... submerging yourself all except your head in there, that's the most extreme, and quickest way to do it in an emergency situation. You cannot shower afterwards, as your skin will rehydrate that way, causing weight gain. You cut out all sodium to prevent water retention, and of course do a ton of running and exercise with a ton of clothes on, anything to make you sweat a **** ton. You can use steam rooms if you have access to it, but many people don't have them readily accessible, not to mention you feel too shitty to drive anywhere, so yeah. The bathtub method is only in an emergency to cut weight, it's VERY dangerous, and I wouldn't recommend anyone try cutting weight without professional help, I personally have friends who ruined their kidneys taking it too far.

When you're cutting weight, you get horrible headaches, chills, you're totally irritable, and feel like complete dog****. I suppose those guys are more used to the effects, but they are always horrible, trust me.

Yes, I have cut too much weight before, and you basically feel incredibly weak. I liken it to when you have the flu, and you just feel weakened all over, completely lethargic. That's exactly the feeling when you cut too much weight and aren't recovered come match time, and I can only imagine how much worse it would be when getting punched in the face was involved. It completely saps your strength, and stamina, and you are mentally in a complete fog if you cut too much. I will just say many guys do make excuses, but if someone legitimately is drained in the ring, it's a very viable reason for a shitty performance. The time I cut too much, I was dizzy the entire match, I felt like I was going to pass out at any moment.

Edit: For anyone wondering, I have an extremely lanky build, and was cutting all the way down to the 66KG (146lb) weight class being a 6'3 guy. I was probably cutting about 15 lbs, which I could handle. When I got myself into trouble was when the next season started, coming off a three month break in competition. I was at about 165 at the beginning of the new season, and had to cut way too much to make it back down.I felt absolutely horrible making weight, and was a complete zombie. After that though, I lost the few extra pounds I had gained in the off season, and was able to make the cut again. Oh yeah, and two or three pounds can make a HUGE difference, no joke. The last pounds are always the hardest to lose, I've seen guys get to a point were their body begins to rebel, and simply refuses to lose any more weight, they are in survival mode. This happened to Rios multiple times, he simply could not lose any more weight... two pounds can literally be all the difference in the world, cutting weight is a *****.

 

This is true, but it's still very dangerous. You're basically taking steps to help minimize the risks, but overall there is only so much you can do. It's kind of like riding a motorcycle... the helmet will help you survive in you get into a wreck, but you're probably going to get seriously hurt either way. Weight draining is absolutely terrible for your kidneys, most people don't realize that. I know alot of guys with kidney problems from cutting weight, you wouldn't believe some of the cuts the guys make in wrestling, where size is a HUGE factor.

 

This is why there was no way in hell Lewis could have given Vitali a rematch.

Lewis was going to be 38 at the time of the rematch and was clearly in the 260+ 'division' . Emmanuel Steward said that he need Lewis to go back down to 245 to be fully effective against a Prime Vitali.

Lewis could have probably made 245 again but he would have been incredibly drained. Vitali should have went up to 260+ for the rematch like a real man.
You wanna fight the top dog? You go to his division.

 

1) Why do you want to be a dickhead and turn this into a TKO6 thread?
2) Heavyweight is anyone above 200lbs, there is no weight class above it in boxing. Why do you think 330lb SNV was a heavyweight?

 

I used to wrestle and now box. The most I ever cut was 20lbs. Your max weight drain will depend on your height, muscle mass and how hydrated you normally are. I remember getting to the last 1lb and wearing sweats, running for an hour and no sweat. I barely made the weight on time. This is why the boxers look so ripped at weigh-ins cause even the water in your skin is gone so your skin is thin and taunt over your muscles.

So in wrestling you have same day weigh-ins and I when I cut 20lbs I had no energy. I got beat so bad the first 2 matches. By the 3rd match I had a bit more energy but I was still zapped. Soon after that I just got lean and started competing 3lbs within my walk-around weight. Much better results and I wasn't gassing like my competitors even if they were bigger. For the most part being lean I was around the same size of my competitors.

Anyhow it takes like 48 hours for your body to start recovering at the cellular level after dehydrating and skipping meals. Some people start cutting weight early and some cut weight closer to fight time. I'm sure the nutritionists and doctors for the higher paid boxers helps.

 

This. Plus, much like when someone gets punched in the face, eventually you get used to feeling like ****.