Weighing In - Part 3

 What to Wear When Weighing In

Pat at Big Whack Attack commented on my previous Weighing In post, asking "When did they switch to bike shorts? for the weigh-in?"  That inspired me to create this post.  So, this is for you, Pat.  (You can see Pat's blog at https://bigwhackattack.blogspot.com.)

There's no rule for what fighters wear when weighing in.  They've worn all sorts of things, generally lightweight (since they're trying to keep their weight under the limit).  So, the fashion-conscious fighter might ask, what should I wear when weighing in?

In the early days, fighters just weighed in nude, and no one thought anything about it.  This is American boxer Billie Papke before a fight in Paris with a French boxer in 1912.

In 1954, Don Cockell wore underpants, while Roland LaStarza wore his boxing trunks.  They're doing the ceremonial handshake after the weighing-in.

In 1962, British featherweights Terry Spinks (left) and Billy Davis both wore tighty whities.

But here's Spinks for the last fight of his career, against Johnny Mantle in 1962 (Spinks won).  Of course, fighters strip naked if necessary for the actual weighing, but after the weighing (and before the handshake) they put back on their shorts or whatever.  So, it looks like Spinks showed up naked for his last weigh-in, like the good old days.

In a British middleweight title fight in 1963, Mick Leahy wore see-through underwear.

But this unidentified fighter went him one better by wearing really see-through underwear.  And he appears to be wearing a cock ring – what's up with that?  This looks like a regular UFC event (a type of mixed martial arts), so I think the photo is real.

There is no weight limit for heavyweights, so they can wear anything to the weigh-in.  Most just wear their boxing trunks.  Here, former world heavyweight champion Ingemar Johansson weighs in for a rematch with Floyd Patterson in 1961, wearing plaid shorts.  Really, Ingemar?  Plaid?

British heavyweight champion John L. Gardner (right)  looks more fashion-conscious at a 1979 heavyweight title fight weigh-in, wearing stylish bikini briefs.

MMA fighter Nick "the goat" Thompson wore a jock strap in 2008.  This is the ceremonial "face off" after weighing in.  Is it just me, or do you also want to adjust his jock strap so it's not twisted?

Boxer Paulie Malignaggi wins the prize for most original weigh-in costume with his elephant G-string in 2014.

So, what to wear when weighing in?  I recommend what Paul Lloyd wore in this weigh-in video. It never goes out of style.