Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Quijano: Boxing’s weighty matters By Jingo Quijano Last Round
(conclusion)
HOWEVER, even if it is a myth as characterized by Dr. Goodman, boxers still practice it as most, if not many, have profited and achieved success (however you define it) by fighting at a lighter weight class.
Apparently, some boxers are willing to gamble with the health risks involved in such a practice in exchange for a perceived weight advantage come fight time.
The most notorious example that readily comes to mind would be Joey Gamache vs. Arturo Gatti. The latter, who is a obviously a master at binging and purging just in time for the weigh-in, reportedly came in at fight night as a welterweight for their lightweight bout.
Gamache was brutally butchered in two rounds and retired immediately thereafter. He alleged permanent brain damage suffered during the fight and filed lawsuits against Gatti and New York State Athletic Commission.
DISORDER. Hence, for as long as the day-before-weigh-ins are in effect, boxers will always try to take advantage of such a situation and sometimes, this has been blamed for unwatchable mismatches, and even ring fatalities.
Another factor that should be mentioned is that some boxers fail to adhere to a strict exercise and diet regimen in between fights. They usually balloon up to more than 20 pounds bigger than their fighting weight and so they show up for training camp overweight and needing to shed off more pounds in such a short period.
Most experts agree that boxers should lose ideally not more than two or three pounds per week. Multiply this number with the six or eight-week training camp needed for a fight and you have a pretty good idea of how much weight a fighter should pack into his frame in between fights.
CONTRAST. “The Executioner” Bernard Hopkins, who holds the record for the longest middleweight title defenses, once bragged that whether or not he was in training you could wake him up in the middle of the night and he would still only be a couple of pounds above middleweight.
When you consider that he remained a middleweight champion for more than a decade, and the level of success he has consistently achieved throughout his career, you can actually believe that.
On the opposite end of the spectrum would be James Toney, a fighter who ate his way out of several weight divisions.
Probably fed up with the endless cycle of binging and purging, Toney said to hell with it and went right up to heavyweight where there is no weight limit. Talk about lack of discipline.
As things stand now, Toney seems to be content in slapping around his opponents with his cute counters, as he sorely lacks the serious power to take them out.
Yes, under that fleshy, flabby heavyweight actually lurks a lean, mean, fighting super-middleweight machine. Once upon a time.
BJJ. If mixed-martial arts is your thing and you’ve always wondered what it would be like to be grappling and finding leverage to subdue your opponents, then you might be pleased to know that Gracie Barra is in Cebu.
It is the world’s largest and most successful Brazilian Jiu Jitsu organization, headed by Master Carlos Gracie Jr., and it has academies in Brazil, US, UK, China and Japan,
In the Philippines, Gracie Barra is headed by Alvin Aguilar, who founded the URCC. Gracie Barra Cebu will be headed by Norman Go, a Gracie Barra 2 stripe blue belt
For more information, please call Baseline at 253-8787 and look for Marina or the Loft office at 238-0532 and look for Eric
THE LAST ROUND. It’s on a good friend and fraternity brod, Joel Garganera who recently turned a year older.Cheers!
