Feeling the heat.

The boxing gym I got to has always been a pretty sweltering place even on the best days. The sort of crowded little nuts and bolts gym where your water bottle better be full on hot days because you'll be sweating off pounds as you go.

Now I hadn't been in much for the past couple of weeks before today, so today was this year's first session of pure sweat. I was drenched after the warm up! This is because of two things:
A) It was bloody hot, did I mention that?
B) I need to run more.

Of course some handled it better than others. On my best day my workrate and fitness puts nobody to shame, so I fell into the category of "others".

It got me thinking about fights and there outcomes being affected by imense heat. The famous one, goes without saying, being The Rumble In The Jungle. Obivously aside from the heat a couple of other things beat Foreman: Ali being a truly phenomenal fighter and Foreman being a young, wreckless bull who thought he was invincible. I bet Big George would've been happier in an air conditioned gym though!

How many other fights have seen one or both guys feeling the heat? Would the outcome have been different in a different climate?

I think in the hottest of bouts fighters should be given some between rounds.

That's what they did in the old days. They thought it was performance enhancing!

If Herbie Hide's planning on bombing James J Jeffries out early he better hope the Boilermaker's sloshed.

Robinson v Maxim light heavyweight title fight. Robinson was winning going into the late rounds but just welted under the extream heat.

I remember Barry's eyes entering their last round. He looked gone.

I can't believe I forgot Robinson v Maxim.

Great shout on Mcguigan v Cruz.