The California State Athletic Commission has reported that Devin Haney gained a whopping 25 lbs after his official weigh-in on December 8th when he weighed in at 140 lbs. This means that Haney weighed 165 lbs at the time he stepped into the ring, according to an unofficial weigh-in conducted on the day Haney faced Regis Prograis on December 9th.
While no wrongdoing is alleged on Devin Haney’s (31-0, 15 KO’s) part, there are plenty of questions now regarding his extraordinary weight gain, which virtually made him a super middleweight upon entering the ring with Regis Prograis (29-2, 14 KO’s). Prograis himself weighed in at 139 lbs at the official weigh-in and 156.8 on fight night, which made him a middleweight at the time of his fight with Haney. Both fighters are 5’8 tall and fought at super lightweight for their title fight on December 9th.
Earlier this week, Devin Haney was accused of potential steroid use by Gervonta Davis (29-0, 27 KO’s) due to his association with SNAC, but it is yet unknown whether the weight Haney put on is a result of the SNAC program he has been incorporated into for several years.
It is also unknown whether this weight gain was unintentional. In boxing, unless there are rehydration clauses to prevent fighters from regaining weight to a certain point, it is not prohibited for fighters to rehydrate to higher levels than expected, though a weight increase of 25 lbs is peculiar.
Weight classes exist for a reason in boxing, after all, and fighters can gain an advantage if they rehydrate to weight levels above that of their opponent. As every boxer has a different method of rehydrating, and each human body works differently, the sanctioning bodies and state athletic commissions in boxing have yet to determine proper rules on rehydration.
Haney’s weight gain can be easily construed as “weight bullying,” a method by certain fighters to compete at weight classes lower than their natural weight, gaining an advantage when they rehydrate up to their normal weight after official weigh-ins.
To prevent such advantages, promoters can include rehydration clauses in contract talks, stifling how much opponents of their fighters can rehydrate. However, this might not be entirely safe, as rehydration is a natural cycle for athletes, and limiting it can negatively affect the body.
As of yet, there has been no investigation launched against Devin Haney, but boxing would likely benefit from more thorough research on rehydration to prevent fighters from gaining an unfair advantage during their fights. However, as stated before, rehydration is a complex concept that varies from person to person, and any attempts to restrict extraordinary weight gains need to be backed by science confirming there will be no drawbacks to such restrictions.
