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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Gareth Fullerton

Michael Conlan details staggering realities of cutting weight and opens up on two-stone gain following Leigh Wood bout

Michael Conlan has revealed the astonishing realities he has faced in cutting weight ahead of big fights in his career.

Conlan has previously fought at super-bantamweight (8st 10lbs), but more regularly the Olympic silver medallist competes at featherweight which holds a 9st limit.

And Conlan admitted he has piled on two stone since fighting Leigh Wood in Nottingham back in March of this year, a fight which saw him knocked out of the ring in a frightening ending.

Now looking forward to another contest in August, Conlan is focused on cutting weight once again.

The 30-year-old offered an insight into the weight game on a recent episode of the No Blasters podcast with comedian Ciaran Bartlett.

He said: "I think from the (Wood) fight I have put on two stone.

"You obviously get to the fighting weight, and then you go up a bit in between the weigh-in and the fight.

"I weigh in at 9st dead. It's mental.

"So I get to that (for weighing in) but I am only like that for a few hours. And then I will be in the ring at 64kg which is basically a stone heavier. So I put a stone on within the space of 36 hours.

"It's not as if I am killing myself down to that weight. I just lose all the water from my body. So I sweat all the water out of me. I am not actually that weight, it is just water, and then I rehydrate."

Conlan revealed how he "basically collapsed" trying to boil down to super-bantamweight for a fight against Ionut Baluta in April last year.

The Falls Road boxer resorted to sitting in a "scalding hot bath" to try and sweat any excess water, but says his body started to shut down after overheating.

He said: "One time last year, April 30 it was. I fought and on the day of the weigh-in I was trying to move down a weight, to 8st 10lbs.

"I got down to 56kg and had a kilo to lose. I was in a scalding hot bath. It burns the f****** b**** off you trying to get into it.

"So I was sitting in the bath sweating like f***, but obviously I spent too long in it and I started to overheat and my body started to shut down.

"I got out of the bath and had to lie on the floor with ice packs on me. I basically collapsed. I felt my eyes going, like when you faint.

"I won the fight, but I didn't do as well as I could have. And that was down to losing the weight."

Conlan also revealed how he was fined £50,000 after missing weight for his fight against TJ Doheny at last summer's Feile.

The contest was originally set for super-bantamweight before being moved up to a catchweight which Conlan missed by a couple of ounces.

"I have missed the weight once by a few ounces. Half was my fault, half wasn't," Conlan said.

"The fight was changed to a different weight the week before but the opponent hadn't agreed on that weight.

"He was demanding I made the lighter weight, but I had already started to eat, and I had to try and lose it. I was a few ounces out, and I think he got £50,000 of a bonus and I think I lost £50,000.

"He was standing at the weigh-in saying 'your boy's in trouble' because I was over the weight. I just stepped off the scales and drank some water and he was fuming.

"I think that's why I got fined as well."

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