Let’s take it back (choose one)

I'm going to keep it super simple -

Return to same day weigh in.........so, to be greedy, fighters today are able to be better compared to post same day weigh in. It would also negate some advantages of those genetically disposed to rehydrating more so that their competitors.

 

I would love the same day weigh ins too, as mention it does seem an unfair advantage for some but I really miss the 15 round fights.

I think it really shows what a true champion is especially over those last 3 rounds.

 

I went with less world titles. Back in the day, everyone knew who the world champion was. Nowadays with all the belts, there is always a dispute and often times never a unification fight. Just look at how long we have been waiting for Fury and Uysk to happen.

I go back and forth on the same day weigh in. I do believe for the most part that it is safer for fighter's overall to have 24 hours to rehydrate as opposed to cutting weight and getting into the ring same day. Sure, you have guys weighing the same competing against each other with same day weigh ins, but you also have guys that will be entering the ring incredibly drained which is dangerous.

 

Bringing back 15 rounds title fights would only make sense - in my opinion - if it was implemented together with having single champion/division. I don't need to watch Bivol against Umar Salamov for 15 rounds, or most of the "regular" defences. Bivol against Betterbiev on the other hand...

I think removing the "inbetweener" divisions while keeping the current weigh-in system would also be a mess. You'd get even bigger size discrepencies if someone like - I don't know - Charles Conwell was forced to fight guys like Zhanibek at 160 since He'd be too big for 147 and too small to be effective at 160.

I'm not sure if same-day weigh-ins on it's own would solve the weight-cutting issue. I'm sure that fighters would not be cutting as much, but I think that there would still be a way of gaining an advantage with today's knowledge about nutrition and I think it's possible it could potentially put a lot of fighters who are half-time boxers or don't have the money to pay for nutritionist at disadvantage as well as increased health-risk.
I think different solution might be needed here.

I'll go with 2 world titles - although I think there are some problems with that idea as well.

 

None of the offered.
That there is only a lineal champion.

 

@Jel , I'm afraid I'm going to have to abstain here. Basically because I'm a greedy sort. You see, I want them all. 11 weight classes, one champ, 15 rounders and same day weigh ins. Can you believe what that would do to the sport? The man on the street - never mind us die-hards - would be able to follow the sport. Healthy competition would start up again. No more of this once a year fights because you have to keep your rating up. Cable and networks would have a renewed interest. Magazines and newspapers would have a renewed interest. I could only see the sport take its rightful place as a must-see event if all of those boxes are checked.

 

Me too, mate. It's all got to come in to place to regain its place as the number sport!

 

It might do the opposite because some guys are capable of dehydrating for weigh-in, then rehydrating and fighting later that day. Probably not the 20lbs they can do with day-before, but there will be plenty of guys who can do 10lbs like this. Always suspected Tommy Hearns was one of them. Might be a contributing factor to his pretty bad CTE -- stepping into the ring still dehydrated. The HW's, who never had to play this game, seem to do better in old age. Jerry Quarry and Muhammad Ali aside.

 

The first two adversely affect a fighter’s paycheck.

The second two add risks.

I chose 15 rounds because a competent ref should be able to mitigate the added risk.

 

Chose the tweener divisions. The tweener division killed interest in the sports divisions as divisions(except HW) and made boxing more reliant on the big fight. 7 pounds means every fighter can fight at 3 or 4 weight classes. Everything below CW might as well be the "P4P" weight class or "SP4P"/"LP4P".

Multiple sanctioning bodies isn't an inherent issue its the decisions they make namely the mandatory system that is the problem. But with tweener divisions how are they supposed to maintain a lineage?

 

If my wishes were granted, it would start with the economics of the sport to scale to the point that we once again had club shows and regular boxing happening. When I was coming up, there were shows all over — I’m in the Deep South and you’d be able to drive to shows in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana … everywhere.

For a while, casinos filled this void and there were at least monthly shows in many venues.

I’m talking cards where maybe a 6- or 8-rounder headlined with four or five or six fours underneath. Guys could get a lot more fights and thus a lot more experience — they weren’t getting rich doing it, but they were learning the trade so when the better of them stepped up they weren’t out of their depth.

The reason we have 15-fight world champs on the regular nowadays isn’t just because ‘oh they were exceptional, had a lot of amateur fights’ … heck, guys had a lot of amateur fights then, they just had to work up through the ranks. And if you were California state champ or New England champ or whatever, that title meant something because you had to go through a lot of at the very least decent fighters to earn it.

I’m going to NYC next week and wanted to hopefully go to a fight while there … and there’s not one. I’m pretty sure there’s not one in the entire state.

 

They’re all choice desires but it’s a well framed question asking us to only one pick one.

I’ve been trying to think of the most fundamental and impacting change in its own right.

I think 15 rounds and same day weigh ins were rejected in light and on the heels of the Mancini-Kim tragedy, correct?

I also understand that the prospect of more convenient television programming might’ve influenced the reduction in rounds also.

The weigh in dilemma is a real catch 22 - but there can be still inherent dangers with 1 day or so prior weigh ins - one of those dangers being two fighters of notably unequal size engaging in combat.

Another danger (still) being for the fighters themselves is the practice of losing and regaining even more weight in proportion to the greater time period allowed to do so.

One example would be Haney dropping and regaining some 25 lbs - I had to see the proof for myself before I could believe it. For a 140 lb’r that’s a ridiculous near 20% upsizing from weigh in to fight time.

Impossible to say without concrete proof but there’s a good chance illegal IVs are being used to rehydrate drastically and quickly.

It seems fighters and their teams will go out of their way to circumvent most safety measures put in place (like the old spy vs spy, ongoing counter measures) - if it means giving them the edge - and, in doing so, they still present as dangers to themselves notwithstanding the best 3rd party intentions and changes to the rules of the sport - and that includes the defiant use of forbidden PEDs - which presents as a danger not only to themselves but also as an increased danger to their opponents.

Lo and behold, it seems we now also have Garcia being caught for PED usage for his fight vs Haney - just to add more drama to that fight. Lol.

All in all, hard choice, but I would also opt for same day weigh ins but I don’t know that I’ve necessarily proven my case on making that selection.

 

This for me too. The BS with all the weight going on today is beyond ridiculous. Catch weights rehydration clauses weight bullies. It's never ending. Same day weight in eliminates all this nonsense and IMO creative cheating. It's enough already. Oh and bring back 15 rds

 

To be honest i think Hearns was just a freak of nature. I don't think they were so much dehydrating for the weigh in as training down. He was fighting at light welter in the amateurs and he would have been around that weight for long periods of competition. He was making 147 for 4 years in the pro's and is he was draining that much he would have ended up burnt out and hammered. He was also waiting to go again at 147 but Leonard didn't give him a rematch. Weight used to peel off Hearns quite quickly in training. Later on he cut his camps from 6 weeks to 4 weeks to avoid overtraining.

Fenech used to put on about half a dozen pounds but he was as extreme an example as I've heard of. He was having trouble making weight in his first couple of divisions but moved thru them quite quickly which saved him potential drama IMO.

There was never any talk of Hearns putting on pounds after the weight in and nor any comments from opponents about how big he was or weight advantages.

Hearns used to spar huge amounts of rounds in camp, it was his favorite way to get into shape. This wouldn't have helped his CTE but i think a lot of it might be genetic.......some take it and some don't. Holmes and Foreman came out quite well but others with shorter careers were not so lucky etc. Benitez came off terribly but he was notoriously lazy in training and therefore probably not draining much at all. His young start and tough upbringing would have been a big factor.

That's just my take. You are probably right about heavyweights coming off a bit better.