I've realised being a one division man is extremely rare below heavyweight

Carlos Palomino.

 

I remember, in the summer of 1981, when it was a big deal that Alexis Arguello and Wilfred Benitez both won titles in three divisions.

In the entire history of the sport, only FIVE other people had done it. Benitez and Arguello were the sixth and seventh.

Forty years later, 55 BOXERS have won titles in three divisions. Sometimes a guy will win titles in three divisions before you even see him on television.

Going from "only five" since the start of boxing to "55 fighters" in the last 40 years is ridiculous.

Having so many belts in so many divisions, especially in the lighter weights, is a big factor. You can win a WBA regular belt, call yourself a champ, move up three pounds, and win another belt. It's nonsense.

But the primary reason for the explosion was moving the weigh-ins from the day of the fight to the day before.

Boxers used to lose a lot of weight during fights. Leonard famously lost 10 pounds during the first Duran fight and walked out of the ring weighing close to 135. So guys would weigh in the day of the fight and enter the ring at their "best fighting weight."

Now, guys dry out before fights and rehydrate and add weight after the weigh-ins, so they enter the ring 20 pounds heavier. If they moved weigh ins back to the day of the fight, a lot of those boxers would start competing in divisions 15 or 20 pounds heavier than where they are, because that's the weight they enter the ring at now.

Most boxers today "never really" move up in weight all that much. They just don't 'dry out' as much. It's just a weigh-cutting contest before the fight. But they enter the ring and fight at basically the same weight, whatever division or belt they happen to be fighting for.

Which is why I never get too excited about a small guy winning titles in a lot of divisions. He's not moving up, he just isn't drying out as much.

 

GGG was effectively one. Aside from a tuneup with Steve Rolls and his trilogy fight with Canelo at super middle (which really was more of an epilogue to his career) he campaigned exclusively at middleweight for the bulk of his career - from 2009 until 2022.

 

Saad

even shot he was still physically in shape

He may have done one cruiserweight fight when he first came back in 1986 but then fought at 175-180