June 15, 2015
Nicholas Waters failed to pass the weigh-in of the contracted and stipulated 126-pound, forfeited his WBA featherweight belt on the scale, but actually defeated the slated challenger Miguel Marriaga on Saturday in New York. It’s a shameful incident against the weight category system of boxing, since boxing should basically depend on the weight of the contestants. Obviously it is because the heavier weight, the greater power?in general?though there had been such rare exceptions as Henry Armstrong, Manny Pacquiao, etc. Should a boxer be heavier, he should logically have more quantity of muscles that can produce physical power which is essential and fundamental in boxing.
This is to suggest some improvements provided that a boxer should be overweight at the first trip to the scale. This observer hereby makes following suggestions thereon:
1. The overweight boxer should continue doing his best effort to reduce his weight down to the class limit in 120 minutes from the first weigh-in without voluntarily giving up his more effort for the weight reduction. In other words, the overweight boxer should not be allowed to drink any beverage or eat any food--for two hours--until his mandatory weight-reduction is over. Walters, in only 90 minutes, declared that he would not reduce the weight any longer by neglecting his obligation of reducing the weight in 30 more minutes.
2. The overweight boxer that finally fails to make the weight should be punished with greater penalty than now. Why are there so many overweight scandals? Why do they repeat and repeat such overweight incidents? It is because the current penalty is too light for the boxer who violates the weight-making and weight-observing regulations. (1) We had better standardize a strict international rule of the overweight penalty in terms of money deduction out of his purse: thirty (30) percent. (2) The overweight boxer should be suspended for a stipulated period: six (6) months. (3) He should not be given an opportunity to fight again for a world championship for a punishable period: nine (9) months. These might be an effective warning to his failure to make the weight.
Say again, boxing depends on weight, or boxing is ground on the weight system. Nicholas Walters dishonorably became a member of the Overweight Club (hereinafter referred to as OWC) that consists of Jose Luis Castillo, Mauricio Pastrano, Freddie Norwood, Noel Arambulet, Lorenzo Parra, Orlando Salido, etc. This reporter was a witness of some overweight scandals of an OWC member that took place here in Japan.
The WBA defending champ Norwood, in January 2000, failed to make the featherweight limit of 126 pounds in his title defense against Koji Matsumoto, and was forced to reduce the weight in two hours. But Lil Hagler, so nicknamed then, couldn’t stand reducing the weight in sauna bath, but impulsively and recklessly drank much water despite having reduced some portion of his excessive weight. In less than the stipulated two hours, Norwood gave up reducing weight any more, and scaled in as heavily as the first weigh-in at 127.75, a pound and three quarters over the limit.
Why was Norwood allowed to give up reducing the weight any longer? The Japanese local promoter had already sold tickets to customers, and the television had already scheduled a program by a live telecast. They were afraid of Norwood crazily refusing to fight Matsumoto even if he was overweight than the 126-pound limit. Norwood could successfully conserve his energy and stopped Matsumoto via tenth round stoppage though he had been already stripped of his belt before entering the ring. It really proved a dilemma that we had to save the promotion after selling tickets and selling the television right, while we should have more strictly punished the overweight ex-champ Norwood to make the game fair.
That’s only a single example. There were many cases that overweight boxers actually won the fights because they didn’t make their ultimate efforts to reduce the weight but preferred conserving physical energy or power just to win the game even without his previous belt at stake.
You may have some objections to this humble suggestion that the overweight boxer should not be free for two hours unless he attempts to make the weight for two hours. You may say the two hours after being overweight at the first weigh-in is not an obligation but a right for the overweight boxer to make the weight. If so, the overweight boxer may be able to easily say “I don’t want to reduce my weight more, accept to lose my belt, but will fight with this weight.” Is that fair? The jurisdiction should force the overweight boxer to reduce the weight for full one hundred and twenty (120) minutes to delay his intake of calorie and liquid. Otherwise, the other boxer who controlled his appetite and withstood taking more nutrition will not have any advantage for having successfully made the weight due to the rules and regulations.
You, commission people or press people, will be occupied and have a schedule after the weigh-in, so maybe don’t like to waste no less than two hours just to wait for the overweight boxer’s weight-reduction. We understand it. But the overweight boxer should not be easily allowed to declare “No Mas” in weight-making within two hours. The overweight incident is a cancer to the weigh-in system. Without making our proper regulation, there will be more overweight cases happening in the future and we will see more Overweight Club members.
(6-15-2015)