Quote Originally Posted by Bilbo

If anything seems unfair to me it's the reyhdration process as that allows fighters who really shouldn't be fighting in a division to fight there against much smaller men.

Guys who want to bulk up to fight bigger men are the braver in my opinion so why penalise them?
I've always thought that people who go up in weight do it because they are no longer being challenged in their own division or for the money or in some rare cases because the competition is actually not as tough because there are fewer and less experienced opponents in the next division up.

In most divisions I'd say it'd be a fairly rare fighter who will sit within the weight class they compete in. At a tournament I went to recently only one guy out of a team of 24 of us sat comfortably within his weight class. The rest of us were double checking our weight every night and every morning and would definitely be a little over by fight night. I've seen comps where the weigh in is right before to make sure everyone fights at their weight (or really because they couldn't be bothered having a separate weigh in) but it just means people compete dehydrated which I think is a little dangerous.

If your natural weigh has you sitting near the bottom or within range of the next weight class down most people will opt to go down to avoid being bashed by someone stronger.

One excuse to weigh in heavy in women's boxing which POs me is the "I've got my period' excuse - which should only account for one kg, once a month, at a more or less predictable time - strangely though it usually ends up being more than a kg, every time you see them and you'll get no forewarning of it so they have a weight advantage right there.

I don't know anyone on steroids although they probably wouldn't be telling the world about it so who knows! I knew some people who used to compete in the kickboxing scene who allegedly took them but it seems to have been a self destructive thing for them because their increased aggression levels ruined a lot of other things in their lives - their relationships, business, got them arrested. Not worth it if this is the typical effect in my opinion.

I don't know anyone in the amateur game who will intravenously rehydrate - can gain a kg or more just by drinking and loose it again before weighing in the next morning so to need to go to the extremes of intravenously rehydrating you're talking a lot of weight!