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Why Does Boxing Have 17 Weight Classes?
THU April 7, ANTONIO ANDRES CARRIEDO - Many ideas have been thrown around over the years about how to improve the sport of boxing. One that I'd like to address is the subject of weight in fights. We all fundamentally understand the fact that boxers rarely fight at the advertised weight limit. They weigh in 24+ hours before the fight and then add some weight before the fight actually starts. This is not only anecdotally accepted; any empirical study will back this up. A debate I'd like to fan the flames of is whether or not this is a practice that should continue.
I'm of the opinion that same day weigh-ins are necessary to reign in gross abusers of the current weigh-in structure. First, let us consider why the WBC recently instituted a policy of weighing boxers 30 and seven days prior to fight night. Notable fights involving Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales were compromised because of those boxers' inability to make the contracted weight. While no one knows a boxer's body the way the boxer does, the cold hard truth is that many boxers will fight at a lower weight class than they should if they believe they are capable of making the weight and gaining an advantage from making that weight.
I'm almost certain that some within boxing circles will argue that same day weigh-ins leave boxers drained and lethargic from making weight. One could argue the point further and posit that, for those reasons, same day weigh-ins would cause more harm to the health of a boxer than the current structure. I'll offer this possible solution for a system that mandates same day weigh-ins. Put pre-fight weight limits in all major fight contracts. Weigh the boxers the day the contract is signed. Weigh the boxers 30 days before the fight. Weigh the boxers seven days before the fight. Weigh the boxers as many times as is necessary to ensure that they are fighting at a weight that is healthy for them to fight at.
The primary objective of having 17 weight classes in this sport should be to determine the best fighters within specific intervals of weight. Not to pick on Manny Pacquiao, but if he weighs a trim and fit 145 lbs. on fight night, then how on Earth can we call him the 130 lb. champion with a straight face? Why have so many weight classes if the boxers being weighed are going to make a mockery of the system?
Do we support the aspect of our sport that allows a 6'4" Aaron Pryor Jr. to compete against a 5'8" Alphonso Williams? Or 6'3" Ronald Hearns against 5'10" Juan Astorga? Even in the cases where the short man pull off the upset, such as 5'9" Carlos Quintana's, recent upset of 6'2" Paul Williams, those of us who believe that weight limits should be a tool for creating fair fights sit and laugh at the obvious disparity in size. Clearly, under the current system all fighters must weigh in at the weight limit. But, how many hours per year does Paul Williams really weigh 147 lbs? For how many days in the year does Manny Pacquiao weigh less than 140 lbs.?
I do not know the answers to the questions I just asked. However, those of us who concern ourselves with fighting weights would like to know those answers and I'm confident that many people would be troubled by the answers. I'm confident that things many fighters do to make weight will have an adverse effect on their long term health. I'm also confident that the current system weakens the quality of the fights.
As tough as Alphonso Williams proved to be against Pryor Jr., that was not a fair fight. What chance did he really have in overcoming his physical disadvantages? Had Pryor Jr. been fighting at a weight class inhabited by fighters of similar build, he'd have almost undoubtedly been forced to stand in and fight in a more conventional and necessarily more entertaining fighting style. Boxers have 17 weight classes to fit into. They should be compelled to fight within the one that most nearly reflects their actual trim and fit weight.
Obviously, there are exceptions. On rare occasions fighters of Oscar De la Hoya or Floyd Mayweather's caliber will naturally outgrow many weight classes…first in physical terms then in terms of their ambition for the prestige of collecting many belts. Those cases should not be confused with the cases of numerous boxers who make a mockery of the weigh in system by adding 10-15% of their fighting weight between the weigh in and the actual fight. A prime example is the Arturo Gatti-Joey Gamache fight at Madison Square Garden in February 2000. Gatti's official weight for that fight was 140.5 lbs. Gamache's was 140 lbs. On fight night, according to HBO's unofficial scales, however, Gatti weighed 160 lbs. while Gamache weighed 142 lbs.
The Gatti-Gamache fight should never have been allowed to take place. Instead, Gatti obliterated the game Gamache inside of two rounds. Gatti nearly killed Gamache and did injure him badly enough to end the game fringe contender's career. Instead, of sparking outrage within the boxing community the Gatti-Gamache fight is mostly remembered as the fight where Gatti re-stabilized his standing as a 140 lb. title contender. A 160 lb. man beating down a 142 lb. man proved that the 160 lb. man could contend for titles at 140 lbs. It should not make sense, but somehow in the boxing world it does.
Now that many of the top boxers are beginning to fight each other and the problem of not having many compelling elite level match ups appears to have been resolved, perhaps it's time to turn our attention to the fact that Manny Pacquiao can win a 130 lb. title while weighing 145 lbs. and Arturo Gatti can become a 140 lb. contender while weighing 160 lbs. You never know. It''s possible that the variance in size within weight classes may play a role in the entertainment value of the product/fights we enjoy watching. Size differential should not be an issue in a sport with 17 weight classes. Somehow, in boxing it is a huge issue that we do not talk about enough.
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