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Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?


gavpowell
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The Frampton comments over the weekend have left me a bit puzzled:

 

"I had a lot of weight to take off the day of the weigh-in - too much, more than ever. Maybe I'm doing the weight wrong, I don't know"

 

Shane McGuigan then said:

"I don't think it's that he's doing it wrong necessarily - he's 28 years old, he's full of muscle, there's not an ounce of fat on him - we just need to evaluate how much water we can take out of him."

 

OK, Frampton's muscular and yes he's always weighed in right near the limit, but why would he suddenly be unable to maintain that weight? He's not like Khan, who grew into his weight as he matured - Frampton's done growing, and he's not old enough that I would expect him to struggle to lose weight.

 

Is he too muscular? Is it a question of the wrong training giving him muscle mass he has no use for? Or is there some other reason that would make it hard for a 28-year-old athlete to suddenly be unable to make weight?

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Re: Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?

 

I find comments like that an excuse. It's not as if he is new to the game, he has taken weight off in the amateurs and the pro game so why now is he struggling and blaming weight problems after a bad performance?

 

Surely his camp has professionals looking after him, nutrition experts, regular weigh-ins, fat measurements etc.... He must do as I remember reading he had private doctors and bio-scientist's looking after him.

 

Maybe he just had a bad camp and his team got it wrong...

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Re: Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?

 

As a fighter gets older sure it must become harder to shift those last few water & ounces pounds at 28 shouldn't be the case.

 

Too much muscle and you will start getting tight at the weight one thing is for sure they will need to sort it out asap.

 

Some real monsters at 126lb and those size advantages he may have at 122lb totally wiped out.

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Re: Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?

 

I've never understood why boxers get to the lowest possible weight they can, almost being malnourished to get that far. Is it so they can get as much as an advantage as they possibly can? I.E they really have the size and power as a 12 stone person, but they get down to a weight so they are fighting smaller guys at 10 stone. Almost trying to make it a mismatch. Granted at the higher levels, their foe is likely naturally a 12 stoner also, but that's besides the point.

 

Surely you'd want to be at a comfortable weight than starving yourself to be lower.

 

Like fucking women and diets. All about the actual weight rather than how flabby they are :haha:

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Re: Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?

 

Like fucking women and diets. All about the actual weight rather than how flabby they are :haha:

 

Charming!!

 

Unless I'm missing something, the weight you fight at should be the weight you naturally are when you are in fight shape. Not the weight you can get to be stripping water etc and starving yourself before weigh in.

 

 

 

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Unless I'm missing something, the weight you fight at should be the weight you naturally are when you are in fight shape. Not the weight you can get to be stripping water etc and starving yourself before weigh in.

 

That's certainly not how the game is played though - fighters dehydrate right down for the weigh in and then pile on anything up to about 30lbs overnight. The one I remember is Corrales-Clottey: Intended to be in the welterweight division, Corrales weighed in at 149 and Clottey at 151. As a result they said Clottey had to lose 2lbs to equal Corrales. On fight night, HBO or whoever it was did an unofficial weigh-in. Clottey was 170lbs.

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Re: Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?

 

Is it so they can get as much as an advantage as they possibly can? I.E they really have the size and power as a 12 stone person, but they get down to a weight so they are fighting smaller guys at 10 stone.

 

That more or less it, yes. They've even got rehydration limits in the contract clauses now...............and look at the amount of boxers who get caught for banned diuretics.

 

If you're looking to win a fight by making the lowest possible division, instead of staying healthy and training well, then you get what you get.

 

never a truer word spoken.

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Re: Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?

 

I know, it's more common now to make fights at daft weights and more accepted when fighters come in above that weight. I don't remember that fight. I was so disappointed in Paul Smith before Ward fight, blaming water retention from travelling. These are professional athletes who should plan these things to last ounce. Unless it was a bizarre ridiculous plan.

It can't be of any benefit whatsoever to do that to your body before a fight. To strip yourself of water and starve.

Surely it weakens you, poss not since most appear to do it!

I don't think it's any coincidence that most fighters who stay at a more consistent weight and stay in shape between training camps have better fight career longevity. I'm sure people will come up with fighters to prove that theory wrong.

 

 

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Re: Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?

 

As I've said several times recently, the fans have accepted it as part of the sport - remember the outrage when Castillo weighed in overweight for Corrales? He's still paying that debt now I think! Yet now we just shrug our shoulders and the fight goes ahead as planned.

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Re: Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?

 

I know, it's more common now to make fights at daft weights and more accepted when fighters come in above that weight. I don't remember that fight. I was so disappointed in Paul Smith before Ward fight, blaming water retention from travelling. These are professional athletes who should plan these things to last ounce. Unless it was a bizarre ridiculous plan.

It can't be of any benefit whatsoever to do that to your body before a fight. To strip yourself of water and starve.

Surely it weakens you, poss not since most appear to do it!

I don't think it's any coincidence that most fighters who stay at a more consistent weight and stay in shape between training camps have better fight career longevity. I'm sure people will come up with fighters to prove that theory wrong.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I agree totally with regards career longevity and being able to walk around at anything between 7-10 lb above your fighting weight makes your weight cut easy and sensibly done over any training camp.

 

Mayweather,Hopkins,Froch etc long careers at the top walking around near the weight they were competing at between fights.

 

Ricky Hatton amazed he was able to compete for so long at the top fighting at 140-47 lb walking around at 185 lb between fights,taking 3 stone off twice a year not healthy and no doubt it caught up with him in the end.

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Re: Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?

 

I agree totally with regards career longevity and being able to walk around at anything between 7-10 lb above your fighting weight makes your weight cut easy and sensibly done over any training camp.

 

Mayweather,Hopkins,Froch etc long careers at the top walking around near the weight they were competing at between fights.

 

Ricky Hatton amazed he was able to compete for so long at the top fighting at 140-47 lb walking around at 185 lb between fights,taking 3 stone off twice a year not healthy and no doubt it caught up with him in the end.

 

As you mentioned Hatton. I watched and read post fight comments and Frampton's team are convinced he couldn't of got any more weight off his body. I bet Hatton could of got weight off that body, he used to get himself in ridiculous shape and it wouldn't surprise me if Hattons fat % was dangerously low.

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Re: Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?

 

Charming!!

 

Unless I'm missing something, the weight you fight at should be the weight you naturally are when you are in fight shape. Not the weight you can get to be stripping water etc and starving yourself before weigh in.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I didn't mean to offend :haha: but you know what I mean.

 

They live by the scale! "Oh my god I have 6lbs to lose before my holiday". Yet they have a diet and walk a few nights and it takes off some weight, but you hardly notice it in body shape etc. If they actually worked out and toned up, they would weigh more (as muscle weighs more than fat) but look trimmer. ;)

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Re: Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?

 

Lol I wasn't offended it made me laugh as its so true.

Takes a lot to offend me being the sole female in our house and an Everton fan with three reds!!

 

 

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Not the only female. Floyd Mayweather Fan is female but she supports Arsenal.

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Re: Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?

 

:haha: Cheers for the endorsement Gav!!

 

Not too sure what tragic stereotype you are adhering to though!?

 

Do you mean referring? If so, I was thinking a combination of Gene Hunt and Bernard Manning.

 

If you actually meant adhering and were referring to me, I see myself as a sort of low-rent Alan Bennett ;)

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Re: Why Do Fighters Struggle With Weight?

 

Do you mean referring? If so, I was thinking a combination of Gene Hunt and Bernard Manning.

 

If you actually meant adhering and were referring to me, I see myself as a sort of low-rent Alan Bennett ;)

 

Ha ha the only person I've heard of out of those three is Bernard Manning. Will google later. I'm intrigued.

 

 

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