QUEBEC | What seems like just a formality the day before a fight is actually a multi-step process that begins two hours before the boxers step on the scales.
• Also read: Boxing Gala: Behind the scenes at the Videotron Center
• Also read: Interview with Bob Arum: The time Muhammad Ali caused the Leafs to be sold
• Also read: Beterbiev doesn't flinch
The weigh-in for the boxing gala took place on Friday afternoon and everyone weighed in. Normally our text would end there. Not this time.
The Journal had the opportunity to accompany the officials of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux (RACJ) in their work for part of the morning.
We entered the Videotron Center 1 hour and 30 minutes before the weigh-in began. It's a real anthill.
PHOTO DIDIER DEBUS SCISSORS
Many stages
The boxers are almost all already there and have to follow all the steps given to them.
You must register with the boxing associations and the RACJ and, above all, you can start checking your weight.
“We install the scales two hours beforehand and the boxers can use them. If they are intelligent, they will do it when they arrive. “So if they need to lose weight, they have time to do it,” explains Denis Labrecque, one of the thirty officers present on site.
PHOTO DIDIER DEBUS SCISSORS
“Then they sign their contract. We validate all information such as the purse and the expected weight, because a boxer who does not make the weight gives his opponent 20% of his purse.
The identity of each boxer's corner staff is also recorded. “These are the people who have the right to enter the locker room and we are pretty uncompromising about that,” specifies Denis Labrecque.
PHOTO DIDIER DEBUS SCISSORS
At the doctor
There are then two steps left so that the pugilists can step on the scales at the official weigh-in.
“You go to the doctor who checks motor skills, vital signs and weight loss progress. We also ensure that visibility is good. We already had a boxer who wore sunglasses and when she took them off we immediately canceled her fight,” recalls Mr. Labrecque.
Then there is one last step that is crucial, namely the choice of gloves. The boxers have three options in front of them. We try every pair. However, some also come with their gloves that can be used if they are approved.
Please note that boxers weighing 147 pounds and less must wear 8-ounce gloves and fighters weighing over 148 pounds must wear 10-ounce gloves.