WBC institutes new weight management program

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has announced a new initiative that his sanctioning body is taking to ensure the safety of fighters — particularly with regards to them safely making weight, as reported by ESPN.

Sulaiman says the new initiative will require that fighters now disclose their weight at the time a fight is signed. And in addition to the 30 and 7-day weigh-ins before a fight, which the WBC already has in place, it will also add a new 14-day weigh-in.

Fighters will not be allowed to be weigh more than 10% more than their contracted weight for the 30-day weigh-in, 5% for the 14-day check, and 3% for the seven day weigh-in. Sulaiman adds that this initiative will require collaboration from promoters, managers, trainers, and, of course, the fighters.

Promoters will also be required to make arrangements with local athletic commissions and a WBC supervisor to ensure there is a scale on site for the day of the fight, with fighters not allowed to have gained more than 10% of the contracted weight following the official weigh-in.

Penalties for not complying with these new regulations can range anywhere from a $5,000 fine up to 30% of a fighter’s purse, or the WBC withdrawing it’s sanctioning of the fight altogether.

Over the past couple of years we’ve seen a number of fights get canceled at the last minute as fighters tried to squeeze down to their fight weight at the 11th hour, which can often have dangerous side effects. The most recent example would be David Lemieux, who was pulled from his December bout due to weight-related dehydration.