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The podcast on man things
S1 E4: Manly Bit - Boxing Weight Classes
These episodes are a lot shorter than my main ones
Catherine: How many weight classes are there in professional boxing? Take a guess. I think you're going to be surprised. I'm Catherine, and this is manly bits. These episodes are a lot shorter than my main ones, but even though they're short, I promise they're just as satisfying.
Weight divisions in boxing are designed to prevent mismatches between opponents
Okay, to answer that question, there are currently 17 weight classes in both men's and women's professional boxing. 17 each. Weight divisions in boxing are designed to prevent mismatches between opponents, create a safer environment for competitors, and have fair fights. It may not seem like ten pounds is a lot of difference between two people, but when it comes to muscle mass, it is. The women's class range from 102 to 175 pounds and the men's range from 105 to 200 pounds. These weights are categorized in a spread.
Catherine: Typically, weight classes will have a three.
Catherine: To five pound spread. For example, the men's fly weight category is 112 pounds to 115 pounds. But you do start seeing larger spreads of five to eight pounds as the classes get closer to the 200 pound mark. But this is why there's so many weight classes. Boxing does have what's called glamour divisions. These are the eight divisions that are the most prominent and widely recognized in boxing. Examples of these divisions you've probably heard of flyweight, lightweight, ultraweight, and heavyweight. For example, all weight classes are regulated by weigh ins that happen directly before the fight. Boxers have to weigh in with the weight of their division at the time of the fight in order to participate. Amateur boxers have one weigh in before the fight.
Catherine: Professional boxers have two.
Catherine: For professionals, those two weigh ins are held the day before and the day of the fight. Weigh in one determines the correct weight range for the match. Weigh in. Two, make sure the fighter has not gained more than ten pounds since the first weigh in. You might be wondering, how can a boxer possibly gain ten pounds in 24 hours? I'm m with you, and the answer to that question is transient weight. This term is used to refer to the weight of your body that isn't your body. This includes things like water weight stored in fat and muscles, the food in your gut, and other things that come and go pip in the week or so before the official weigh in, boxers start preparing by cutting or reducing this transient weight. This focus is largely on water weight. It's the largest source of transient weight in the body, and it's easy to put back on. I found an article in a scientific journal referring to the weight gain and loss of MMA athletes around an official weigh in. It said, it appears that MMA athletes average a weight loss of nearly 7% within 72 hours prior to the official weigh in. The data also suggests that athletes gain nearly 10% of total weight between the official weigh in and the competition. There are a few different techniques to eliminate the water weight. These can include removing carb and salt from their diet, diuretics, laxatives, and sweating. If you've ever seen someone doing cardio in a sweatsuit, this is what they were doing. And now that I've said that out loud, that must be why it's called a sweatsuit. Uh, these techniques allow them to get down to the correct weight while sacking, sacrificing as little strength and muscle mass as possible, because they don't want to enter the fight as a dehydrated piece of beef jerky. The athletes will start rebuilding the weight directly after the first weigh in. This means they're eating every two to 3 hours, focusing on their carbs, electrolytes, and water. The body is craving all of these nutrients and just sucks them all up and starts restoring them again. So, more information on those weight classes. Amateurs cannot fight above their weight class, but professionals can. And boxers tend to naturally go up.
Catherine: In weight class throughout their career because.
Catherine: Of their bone density and strength growing over time. So they likely won't fight in the same class forever. If they win titles in multiple classes, then they're considered to be a multiple champion, which is a big accomplishment for
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Catherine: any fighter. So, um, differences between lighter fighters and heavier fighters, there's going to be some differences in how those fights look and how those athletes train. Lighter fighters will have more speed, agility, and better footwork and technical fighting skills. They'll be faster on their hands and feet. Fighters in the lighter weight divisions are much less likely to end fights with a single punch. So you'll see more combination punches in these fights.
Catherine: Typically, the lighter classes will have better.
Catherine: Defensive skills because they're lighter on their feet. They can move faster and can punch block at sharper angles.
Catherine: Lighter weight fighters also have to stay.
Catherine: Within a much tighter weight class bracket, and this requires them to be extremely conditioned, which is a nod to their dedication to athleticism and technical skill.
Different boxing weight classes focus on different skills and can end with a single punch
On to heavyweights. A huge difference between the heavier weights and the lighter ones is that heavyweight fights can easily be ended with a single punch. So this means the fighters focus on different skills. They don't rely as much on technique or footwork because they can rely on their power, and building that power is most important. Because of this, heavier weight divisions are not as fast on their feet. In fact, they'll often need to be more conservative with their fight to make sure that they don't tire themselves out.
Catherine: Fighters at this level try harder to.
Catherine: Pace themselves, which leads to fewer punches throughout the fight. In between the extremes in the middle of the divisions, these tend to be the more popular classes to watch because the fighters will have a combination of strength and agility skill. You'll have fighters with one punch knockout power and fighters with excellent footwork and amazing cardio. This range of skills allows for more diversity among the athletes and often provides more exciting matchups for the fans who love to debate. If one boxer's agility can beat out another boxer's power, fans are going to get a wide range of fights between the lighter weights and the heavier ones, just depending on the strengths of those particular classes, often enjoying the fast paced technical scoring of the lighter divisions and the power and draw of the one punch ko of the heavier ones. So everyone, that is what the difference boxing weight classes mean and the different kinds of fights you'll get at each level. I'm Catherine and this was your manly bit.
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