Day two of the 2019 WBO convention is in the books, and one of the key topics discussed in Tokyo was the issues of weight-cutting and excessive rehydration, which goes with the first day’s focus on fighter safety.
WBO First Vice President John Duggan asked about rehydration, “Can we come up with a fair rule that discourages that? What’s the best fairest way for the good of the sport to discourage the excessive rehydration?”
Nebraska Athletic Commissioner Brian Dunn admitted that at this time, there are no clear answers on the issue of weight cutting.
“I think the second day weigh-in impedes the fighter’s ability to rehydrate,” Dunn said. “We know weight cutting is a problem. We don’t know how to fix it. We are exploring how to correct it. The key is finding the ideal amount of weight that a fighter can cut safely.”
We’ll see if anyone in the sport actually starts coming up with some answers going forward, but these things are no doubt an issue in modern boxing and the consequences can be dire. At least they’re talking about it.
Source: badlefthook.com
