undecided about what weight division

[Aussie_Egg]

So im at a position to either be heavy weight or super heavy for amature boxing, i want to have a bout in late april or early may

Im currently
94kg (206Lb)
198cm (6Ft 6in)

Im already pretty slim just a pinch of holiday cheer to go.
I think i might be able to get down to heavy but would be a struggle and i still may not make it.
Iv already dropped 34kg from when i played rugby but those days are passed after two ankle reconctuctions.

My old trainer said to stay where im at and pick my fights but im looking for a new gym and one gym trainer said bulk up (again) and another said drop the 3.5kg.(looking at changing due to old trainer leaving and only training twice a week now)
So im a little lost id like to drop it but it could be hard to maintain the weight.
What do you guys think?
I know its a bit hard to say without knowing me, Just looking for other peoples ideas.
Ill try put a pic up

[Youngblood]

Personally I'd rather fight being at the top end of a weight division then just coming into another. Especially something as wide open as super. And as suggested you'd have to pick your matches carefully. I suppose it really depends on how realistic it is for you to get there without drain. It sux being stuck in the middle but I know what that's about as I'm only ever right smack in the middle and forever cutting it seems, for tours anyway. Club shows it's a diff. deal and you only need be matched within so many kgs of your opponent. So if its club shows you'll be fighting to begin I wouldn't worry and just go in in the best condition you can and hope to get matched. Get the experience and see how it goes then look at making a decision for advancing tours.

[Aussie_Egg]

That pretty much what iv been thinking youngblood. Just work at the gym and work towards the 91kg mark i should get there and still have a bit of time if not its not the end of the world.

[HerbM]

Don't take anything I say on this subject too seriously (I know a bit about making weight from high school wrestling and also about competing there as a heavyweight who only barely exceeded the next weight class down, about 175-185 lbs when the lower weight class was 175 or 180 different years] So my experience is not directly in boxing.

Do consider my thoughts and if they help you work it out then good....

At 6' 6" you are pretty slim at that weight, and so I would ask do you already have the muscle mass you would want for fighting at the level you wish to compete?

If not, you are going to put on some 10 pounds or (perhaps a lot) more getting your arms, shoulders, lats, maybe legs, etc to the mass/strength you wish.

If that's the case, then trying to make a weight class yo already exceed is going to get even more difficult.

If you need to bulk up a bit (to be your most competitive) then you are going to be forever working against yourself, trying to lose weight while also trying to gain muscle.

Another consideration is that at 6'6" you likely have a healthy reach and so fighting super heavy "giants" won't be as big a stretch (pun intended) for you as it would be someone my size (at 5'10" but with a reach comparable to most guys 6'4" or so).

On the other hand, if you are satisfied with your current muscle mass and have more than fat content than you really need then going down won't be that big a deal.

What is your fat percentage currently? If it is much lower than 12% you will struggle to get it down, for some people 15% is difficult to maintain. (I know it is for me.)

Figure out what fat percentage you can reasonably hold, figure out how many lbs you can drop from that reasonably, and how much water weight you can SAFELY and COMFORTABLE drop for a weigh-in without doing damage to your health or feeling done in before you even start the fight. Then do the math and think about all those days or weeks you will have to "watch everything you eat" and "do without" to get there each time.

BMI is generally worthless for measuring an athlete since it makes no allowance for additional muscle nor for bone density/build.

BTW, when I wrestled as a 'tiny heavyweight' my toughest matches were the guys only 20-30 lbs heavier -- they were all in really good shape and generally top notch technically. The guys 40-50 lbs bigger tended to be overweight and slow while the real giants heavier than that were just opponents I had to try to outrun or outthink. Speed, movement, and sneakiness were my only real weapons against guys who outweighed me by more than 50 lbs, but I had one really good win when I gave up 75lbs to a fellow who was all muscle (fortunately this included his head) -- my team was behind 4 points going into my match (the last of the night) but won the match when I got him disqualified by sneakiness. <grin>


--
HerbM

[Aussie_Egg]

box.jpgHere is a pic i dont know if there is 4kg to lose;

[HerbM]

The picture shows you pretty lean, but it also seems to indicate you could easily carry 5-10 kilos more muscle so if going down is (too) difficult, and adding more muscle is acceptable (to you) then seriously consider some focused weight training with techniques to ensure you are adding mass and strength.

Besides, when gaining weight you get to eat a lot more (but make sure it is GOOD STUFF chosen to add muscle).

Yours is sort of a cool problem to have -- as problems go. I am always carrying a bit more fat than I would wish unless I really restrict my diet severely.

[Aussie_Egg]

Cheers herbM.
My weight is the least of my troubles now, i went to training tonight to find that there is NO trainer, and if another is coming he'll be changing nights to monday and thursday 7pm-9pm.
Not impressed so going to a new gym as of monday hopefully should be good.

[Aussie_Egg]

So my problem is no longer a problem. Im now 89.5kg so start on a weights program tomorrow.
I couldn't believe it when i jumped on the scales at the gym, Now i have to put on weight.

[Fran@myboxingcoach]

Go Aussie!

A few KG for a big lad should be fine. Start thinking about having 3 weights: A walking around weight, a training weight and a fighting weight. Getting down to fighting weight is never easy, but as long as you have at least 3 to 4 weeks notice of a contest (or series of championship contests), then getting down to the weight should be OK. Youngblood's right, be at the top of the weight, it will only help.

Fran