By Daniele D’Alessio
THIS WEEK, Janibek Alimkhanuly became the latest victim of weight cutting in professional boxing. Severe dehydration forced the Kazakhstani to withdraw from his fight with Andrei Mikhailovich, thus forfeiting his chance to make his debut in 2024. But when you look at the landscape of fighters cutting themselves short to gain a size advantage in the ring, it’s surprising how rare such late withdrawals are.
At its best, weight loss looks like magic. On the scale, you see the skeleton of a boxer—someone who appears to lack the nutrients and hydration levels of a healthy person. The body looks dry and the person lacks vitality. Dark circles appear around the eyes and the face looks tired.
However, on fight night, after replenishing fluids and calories, a transformation occurs. Suddenly, the fighters look fuller, their muscles bulging and ready to fight. And of course, they are much bigger and heavier than they were at the weigh-in.
But as Janibek discovered, if you lose too much weight, it becomes dangerous. Instead of gaining an advantage, your body shuts down to protect you, and even if you do make it into the ring, you’re left with nothing. Just an exhausted athlete who’s put all his energy into hot tubs and tracksuits.
Before moving up to 154 lbs, Vergil Ortiz was a fighter known for pulling out of fights simply because his body couldn’t handle the injuries he suffered at 147. He pulled out of fights with Eimantas Stanionis and Michael McKinson due to a condition called rhabdomyolysis. But since moving up to middleweight, he seems to be healthier. There have been no postponements for Fredrick Lawson or Thomas Dulorme this year.
Vergil Ortiz (Getty Images)
Indeed, weight cuts are common at the elite level, just look at the size of some boxers competing in certain weight classes. On Saturday night, Jaron Ennis knocked out David Avanesyan in five rounds. But beyond such a dominant performance, it’s hard to ignore how much bigger Ennis is than his opponent. Despite it being a world title fight at 147 pounds, ‘Boots’ wouldn’t look out of place if he were up there with a middleweight replacement.
The same could be said of Devin Haney, when ‘The Dream’ was the undisputed lightweight champion. And when he moved up to 140lbs to face Regis Prograis for the WBC title, he still looked big for his weight, famously tipping the scales at 165lbs on fight night.
Then there are guys like David Benavidez and David Morrell, both of whom are huge men, yet somehow managed to make it to 168 pounds for a number of their fights before temporarily (or not temporarily) moving up to 175 pounds.
Not to mention Canelo Alvarez’s early years when he fought at 155 lbs. After being knocked out in the sixth round in 2016, Amir Khan stated in an interview with DAZN that he thought Canelo entered the ring at over 185 lbs. We’ll never know the full truth, but Canelo went on to win the world title at 175 lbs.
It is worth noting that the IBF has attempted to level the playing field by requiring boxers fighting for their world titles to attend a second weigh-in on the day of the fight. This makes it harder for there to be a large weight difference between the two opponents on fight night. However, this does not solve the problem of dehydration. In fact, it can make the situation worse because the boxers cannot fully rehydrate.
This ties into another aspect of weight loss that’s rarely talked about: increased risk of brain damage. Without getting too scientific, the fluid that surrounds your brain. If you’re severely dehydrated, your brain takes more of a beating from every blow to the head.
Generally speaking, at the elite level, whether it’s boxing or any other sport, history shows that athletes are willing to do whatever it takes to win. Until weight classes are introduced, fighters like Janibek can continue to risk their health to gain a competitive advantage.
