How do boxers shed 20 pounds in a week and why do they do it?

In early April, it became known that Russian boxer Murat Gassiev was moving up to heavyweight. According to his trainer, the former WBA and IBF world champion in the first heavyweight division will be ready to enter the ring in June this year. The transition occurred not only because of the signed contract with the promotional company Matchroom Boxing, but also because of the problems with weight loss before the last fight.

The fight took place last summer, it was won by Alexander Usik and became the absolute world champion in the first heavyweight division. According to the Russian, for him it was the most difficult weight cut in his career, shortly before the weigh-in he needed to lose one and a half kilograms. We have collected the methods of burn down, which are used by representatives of martial arts to make weight.

Why do you need to burn off weight?

Representatives of many martial arts perform not in their weight category. This means that during the fight they may weigh more than the rules allow. Most often, weigh-ins are held at least a day before the fight, so many fighters lose weight for a week to get within the required limits, and then gain weight back during the remaining time before the fight. Already during the fight, the athlete becomes more powerful than his opponent, which allows him to gain an advantage. Considering that some fighters burn up to 20 kilograms, the advantage can be very impressive, but it is important to remember that such machinations have a strong impact on health.

How does weight cutting take place?

To burn weight usually start a week before the weigh-in, the first thing the athlete sits on a rigid diet, starts to drink a lot of water. From the diet it is necessary to exclude salt and sugar, as they retain fluid in the body, also in this period the athlete should minimize the consumption of carbohydrates, for the same reason. As noted by the athletes themselves during this period they eat mainly salads and fruits, completely exclude meat from the diet. It is important to eat what is quickly digested, so that the body does not linger in the excess, which will make it heavier. The amount of water consumed during the week is also gradually reduced, and on the day of weigh-in the fighter does not consume anything at all. During this week, excess fluid comes out of the body, but muscle mass is completely preserved. The amount of training during this period is reduced to a minimum.

In cases with more aggressive weight training athletes use diuretics, train in thermal suits, remove excess fluid in the sauna or in a bath with salt.

Some athletes bring themselves to such a state that during the weigh-in they look little like people and hardly stand on their feet.

Usually after such procedures, saline drips are used to replenish the water and salt balance.

How do fight organizations deal with this?

Due to the fact that weight manipulation harms the health of athletes, some promotions have begun to fight aggressive weight training. UFC fighters have been banned from using saline drips for several years now, in part because they can be used to hide traces of doping. Anti-doping agencies have placed many diuretics on the list of banned drugs.

While the UFC periodically talks about interim weigh-ins, other organizations are already actively introducing them. For example, Singapore’s One Championship promotion has made it mandatory for fighters to weigh-in two months before a fight, then every following week, also several times during the week before the fight and immediately on fight day. The changes were enacted after one athlete went to the hospital from a weigh-in ceremony where he later died.

Boxing organizations WBC and IBF obliged fighters to weigh in on the day of signing the contract for the fight, one month before the fight, two weeks before the fight, one week before the fight and immediately before the fight. This showed the other organizations that such innovations do not have to wait until tragedy strikes.