There is a big problem in boxing which really affects the entire boxing
community
and that is the heavyweight fighter who comes to fight fat and out of
shape. This has been
going on for about 25 years or so and I think I know why. But first I’d
like to discuss why
we only see this in the Heavyweight division. The reason is that there
is no upper weight
limit. This answer will ultimately give us the solution to this
problem.
Now, the reason for this horrible occurrence which cheats the fans out
of seeing the
fighter at his best and also puts him at risk for injury. Muhammad Ali
is to blame for this
phenomenon. This is no surprise if you evaluate it with an open
mind.There was rarely if
ever a heavyweight to come in the ring fat and sloppy till after Ali.
Towards the end of his
second career ( post draft debacle) Ali came to fight a little
overweight and not in the best
fighting shape. Still, he got away with it for the most part. He was so
good that he could rely
on his slipping ability, reach, still dominant hand speed and
unfortunately for him, an iron
jaw. If you recall, after his last fight with Joe Frazier and before
his fight with Holmes, Ali
did just that, and good for him.
Unfortunately for us, the fans, other heavyweights thought they could
do the same
things, but for the most part, they could not. Over the years, fighters
just saw other fat
fighters and copied this now deplorable condition. If you think about
it, the heavyweights
that excelled after Ali were the ones in great shape, like Tyson and
Hollyfield.
Now as I’ve said, this is really horrible for we fans as it cheats us
out of seeing the
quality we should be seeing. We are entitled to the best and we deserve
it, after all we are
paying for it. The solution I believe is simple. When the fight is
signed, a knowledgeable
official from the state boxing commission(or it’s equivalent) should
give the respective
fighters a weight which they may not exceed at the weigh in. If they
do, the fight is off and
an appropriate fine is levied.
That seems simple enough to me and I think the fight game would be
better off..We
get to see the best of a fighter and more importantly, a fighter in
shape is less likely to get
hurt. It’s just common sense.
Dr. Ken Winokur