Let’s be honest — sauna use before the scales has always been boxing’s open secret. But now, Chris Eubank Jr has been hauled before the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) after allegedly using a banned sauna suit to cut weight ahead of his catchweight bout with Conor Benn. The irony? Despite going to extreme lengths, he still missed the contracted 157 lb catchweight by 0.05 lb, yet the fight went ahead. Meanwhile, Adam Azim’s bout was cancelled last weekend after his opponent was flagged for sauna-driven weight-cutting. Is the BBBofC picking when to enforce rules?
Eubank Jr’s Weight Miss: Ironic, Ridiculous, or Both?
The Eubank Jr vs Benn fight was agreed at a catchweight of 157 lb, a concession to the heat of that high-profile grudge match. Despite what reports describe as sauna suit use (banned under BBBofC rules), he still missed weight by just 0.05 lb—a margin so small it wouldn’t register on most scales. He paid a £375,000 fine, the fight went on, and that should have been that—except it’s not. Now, months later, the Board has summoned him to explain the sauna use. That’s a serious mixed signal from the regulators.
Adam Azim’s Cancelled Fight: Double Standards?
Just last weekend—7 June in Barnsley—Adam Azim’s undercard fight was cancelled hours before it began. His opponent, Eliot Chavez (Mexico), had made the contracted 143 lb, but the Mexican Boxing Commission informed the BBBofC that he’d used a sauna to shed weight—something the Board bans Chavez was pulled, Azim lost the fight opportunity, and there was no refund for the front-row crowd. As trainer Shane McGuigan said, it’s “very frustrating” when a fighter gets penalised for the same thing a star fighter got away with.
Boxing’s Unspoken Crisis: A Culture Built on Risk
This isn’t just about Eubank or Azim. Saunas, dehydration, crash diets—fighters routinely jeopardise their health to fit weight categories. While MMA has started implementing hydration testing and rehydration protocols, boxing remains conservative: if you make weight (even by extreme methods), you fight.
This backward approach leaves athletes exposed and vulnerable—physically, mentally, and financially—all in the name of tradition and profit.
Is the BBBofC Serious, or Just Selective?
If the Board’s move signals a shift toward accountability—fine. But it looks more like selective scrutiny. A big-money fight gets the green light after a massive fine. A low-stakes undercard gets scrapped. No consistency, no transparency—and definitely no clarity.
If they want credibility, the BBBofC must:
- Clarify which weight-cutting methods are permitted or banned
- Introduce hydration testing and rehydration guidelines
- Enforce rules equally across all levels and fighters
Until then, the impression will remain: rules only count when money isn’t at stake.
Final Word: Rules for Some, Profits for Others
Let’s be blunt. The reason Chris Eubank Jr got to fight—even after a weight miss and alleged sauna suit use—is simple: money. It was a major grudge match, on pay-per-view, set to sell out arenas. Let it be pulled and millions would have evaporated. The Board took the fine, kept the payout—and moved on.
But last weekend, Adam Azim lost his fight because it couldn’t generate the same headline revenue. His opponent got pulled for sauna use with no hesitation. That’s boxing in a nutshell—one rule for one, another rule for another.
Boxing isn’t baseball. There’s no universal rulebook. It’s ruled by profit. And until that changes, expect more of the same.
What Do You Think?
Is this the moment boxing gets serious about weight cuts, or is it just more selective enforcement? Should the BBBofC implement hydration protocols like MMA? Or will star power continue to buy exemptions?
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