World champs that were nothing but weight bullies

Good article.

 

Then they would be breaking the rules and should be banned from the sport (if drug testing was better, this would happen a lot more often, I suspect).

But other than that, any legal way of making weight is allowed, however ill-advised...

 

You mean, go back to same-day weigh ins?

I think that's the best solution.

 

I'd say Callum Smith is freakishly big with decent reach for super middleweight. Makes the weight comfortably though so I'm told.

 

GMAN would spar heavies for a reason.

 

Correct but don't you think it even happened back in the days of same day weigh-in? Of course it did.

I say weigh them just before they enter the ring.

 

And when they come in overweight at the arena and the fight has to be canceled with a crowd ready to riot....well what is the plan now?

 

Ban them for life.....

 

I don't agree that a fighter operating within the rules is a weight bully. Whether we like it or not, since the inception of same day weigh-ins, the ability to cut weight and rehydrate is an important part of a fighter's make-up. I have no idea how someone like Callum Smith makes 168, especially when his own sibling with a much smaller frame fought in the same weight class. However, it's not his problem, much less his "fault". What is he supposed to do, fight at a higher weight class than what he needs to?

The fighters for whom the term "weight bully" is appropriate are those who deliberately miss weight to give them an unfair advantage in the ring, in the knowledge that the consequences are limited and the fight is unlikely to be cancelled at the 11th hour. Nery against Yamanaka, Castillo against Corrales, and Salido against Loma are examples, and not coincidentally the guilty party came away with the W.

Probably the most egregious example in combat sports was Gina Carano in MMA, who seemed to make a habit of bringing smaller fighters up in weight and missing weight by a mile. She was the name fighter calling the shots, and the opponent was essentially left with the choice of giving up a career high pay day and wasting a training camp, against taking the fight at an unfair disadvantage. Classic example of a true weight bully.

 

David Lemiux is a blatant weight bully.

 

Yes, I was trying unsuccessfully to be a little bit funny or ironic or something.

 

Wilfredo Gomez was noticeably larger than a lot of the guys he defended against at 122lbs.
Monzon typically was taller, longer and bigger than a lot of the guys he faced during his reign.

 

In past times, there used to be a pre-fight physical in the commissioner's office a few days before the fight. One of the things that happened at these pre-fight physicals is that fighters would be weighed to see if they were getting close to the limit. If it looked like one of them was not going to be able to make weight, then the commission would have time to issue and statement and even make a ruling. Options included advising the fighter that the fight might end up being a non-title bout or in the champion's case that he might be stripped of his title. The newspapers would report these events and the fans would have time to adjust their expectations and travel plans. A final physical and the official weigh-in would occur on the day of the fight, either in the morning or in the early afternoon. This would allow the fighter time to rehydrate and eat a full meal before the fight.

If the fighter didn't make weight on the day of the fight, the commission could downgrade the fight to a non-title event and strip the champion of his title if the champion was the one who was overweight. The newspapers would have an afternoon edition advising people of the change. This would at least give the local fans the option of not attending. It would still be messy, however, for folks that were arriving from out of town.

 

Good call. I suspect he never made 130 but he had HBO behind him. Those scales can get suspect.