In the boxing world, you’ve probably heard of a fighter asking for a rehydration clause before a fight.
Some boxers use this to gain an advantage over their opponent, while other boxers use it to protect themselves against a heavier opponent.
This article will discuss how a rehydration clause is used in boxing.
What Is A Rehydration Clause In Boxing?
A rehydration clause is when two fighters agree on a limit to how much weight each fighter is allowed to gain in between the weigh in and the fight.
The first weigh-in sets the limit that both fighters will agree on, while the second weigh-in on the morning of the fight determines what weight the fighters ended at.
Some boxers use this rule to protect themselves from an unfair advantage, while others can break the rule and choose not to make the weight as agreed in the contract.
They can then use the extra weight as an advantage. In today’s professional boxing world, there are many “weight bullies” who win fights based off of this advantage more than their skill or hard-work.
If one fighter doesn’t hold to this agreement, the clause adds financial penalties to the offender.
Still, the fight will go on, even if the agreed weight is not met.
Examples of Rehydration Clauses
Some examples of rehydration clauses being used in boxing are:
- Ryan Garcia vs. Gervonta Davis
- Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn
- Canelo Alvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs
In boxing where each of the weight classes are separated by a matter of 10 pounds or so, a fighter’s diet and training routine is designed to maximize performance and maintain weight.
For the heavier boxer who has to cut a certain amount of weight rapidly, this can cause health problems and can cause their performance in the ring to suffer.
Fans tend to forget that their favorite fighters are regular human beings too. They don’t care how a fighter makes weight, just as long as he shows up to the scale.
But boxers who train regularly or who have rapidly cut weight for a fight know how tough this can be.
First imagine fasting for a day and then doing a hard sparring session. Of course it’ll suck, but it’s just a one-time occurrence and you can make up for it the next day.
Now imagine doing multiple training sessions a day consistently without proper water or food, under immense pressure, and then entering the day of a title bout while your opponent is well-rested and comfortable.
Often, you’ll hear commentators talk about boxers having less energy in the ring due to the rehydration clause.
However, these boxers don’t want to address this because it makes them look weak to the public.
Making weight sounds simple on paper, but in practice it’s complicated and sometimes dangerous.
This is one of the reasons why fighters tend to move up in weight classes for new titles, rather than down.
Below we’ll go into some examples of famous fights that had rehydration clauses.
Ryan Garcia vs. Gervonta Davis
One example of a rehydration clause is the fight between Ryan Garcia and Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
Each fighter agreed to a catchweight of 136 pounds, with a limit 10 pound limit.
For Ryan Garcia, who had recently made the jump up into the super lightweight division, he had to cut drastically to make the catchweight.
Oscar de la Hoya, Garcia’s promoter, said that Tank asked for this clause to take advantage of Garcia.
Perhaps this was so, as Tank knocked out Garcia with a liver shot in the seventh round.
According to Ryan Garcia’s post-fight interview, he said that he felt weak after he had lost so much weight, but refused to use that factor as the reason for his loss.
Despite everything, we think Garcia did very well; going 6 rounds while dehydrated is no joke.
Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn
Next is the fight between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn.
Each fighter agreed to a catchweight of 157 pounds, with a clause of 10 pounds for the second weigh in.
At the time, Eubank Jr. hovered in the middleweight (160 pounds) and super-middleweight (168 pounds) weight divisions for his fights, while Benn stayed in the welterweight (147 pounds) range.
Even though the bout was cancelled, Eubank Jr. was on track to meet the catchweight, weighing 159.3 pounds.
Canelo Alvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs
Lastly is the fight between Alvarez and Jacobs, with each fighter agreeing to a weight limit of 170 pounds.
On the morning of the bout, Jacobs would weigh in at 173.6 pounds, which cost him $250k per pound in penalties, while Alvarez weighed in at 169 lbs.
Coming into fight night, Jacobs would have the weight advantage, at the cost of a few hundred thousand in cash.
In the end, this weight difference didn’t matter as Alvarez won via unanimous decision over Jacobs.
Conclusion
With a rehydration clause, you’ll be sure to see drama between the two fighters.
To the average person, gaining 5 to 10 pounds happens in a matter of months; to fighters, gaining 5 to 10 pounds happens in a matter of weeks or days.
Each pound to gain or lose will make a considerable difference in a fighter’s energy, power, and speed.
Still, it’s difficult to say whether this weight difference is the deciding factor in some of these fights; that is up to the individual fighter.
This rapid movement between weight classes can have consequences for the rest of a boxer’s career.
After a fight with a rehydration clause, a welterweight will have to take his time to rejoin his natural middleweight class.
Jumping from weight class to weight class just to fight as many times as possible is a sure way to sacrifice a fighter’s long-term health for short-term gain.
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