The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-02-21
WHEN FIGHTERS
SUFFER MOST.
"DRYING OUTr PROCESS MOST TRY
ING FOR THE PUGILIsT.

In Order to Get to Weight He Must
Abstain From Liquors for the Last
Few Days of Training - Benny
Yanger and Young C0rbett No
table Examples.
From the New York Sun.
One of the hardships of pugilists
life, and there are many, is the dry
ing out" process. To the uninitiated
this term may have no particular sig
niticance, but to the scrapper it is
worse than a scourge or the heaviest
and most effective blow ever delivered
in prize ring. Drying out" is MAX
ing the required weight for a fight.
In order to do this successfully al
most total abstinence from liquids is
essential. Any person who has ever
trained for a battle can readily real
who have cultivated the habit of
drinking with their meals.
Hardly boxer of prominence, aside
from those in the simon pure heavy
weight class, has escaped this. 1t lis
a part of the business and inevitable
unless a, fighter is lucky enough to
arrange a match at catch-weights
which permits him to scale at any
weight he cares to.
The drying out" process is usually
put in operation during the final two
days training for a contest. If the
pugilist has to get to, say, 122 pounds,
and he Is above that limit, he has to
be very careful not to grow heavier
Liquids of any kind increase weight
and the trainer, If he understands his
business, will be prudent to see that
his charge does not take on any more
fiesh especially if it happens that a
large forfeit has been posted for prop
er weight
There are several instances where pu-
gilists have baked at the programme
laid down by their trainers. There
have been stories told where fighters
in the later stages of their preparation
have smuggled bottles of ale and wat
er to bed, while the rest of the camp
slept and drank to their hearts con-
tent. But such a procedure was mere
folly, as it added all the more to the
torments in keeping within the pre-
scribed limit.
Thirst is a painful thing at any time
and while in training it is aggravated
because all the moisture in the sys-
tenn is absorbed by exercising. In or
der to alleviate this somewhat trainers
often give food to their charges that
will keep the body moistened and at
the same time prevent the increase of
weight. Yet this does not always
help, and some fighters are almost har-
raised to madness from sheer thirst.
One of the most prominent examples
of strenuosity in making weight has
been Benny Yanger, the ''Tipton Slash
Ell" Yanger, who used to be a feather
weight, had to keep on training year
in and year out to stay at the weight
demanded by his competitors. To do
this-one must be possessed of Spartan
courage and grit. When Yanger was
matched to fight Hughy Padden of
Brooklyn at Detroit last year he had
to get to a certain weight. He had
often fought at the scale. but he was
growing older and heavier all the. time.
His mentor could not account for
the increase of avoirdupois,~ and one
questioned Yanger.
You drink a lot with your meals,
don't you, Benny?" inquired the train
er Yanger admitted that such was
the case, and then his trainer replied:
well, Benny, If you wish TO save the
forfeit money and beat Padden you've
got to cut out all kinds of liquids. I'm
derstand?"
Yanger laughed, but his handler con-
WINGED him that he meant it, and that
unless Yanger complied he would quit
him on the spot Yanger said that he
could not do without a drink while
training and that it would be torture
for him to abstain altogether. But he
was told that he must. and finally ac-
guessed.
For a whole week prior to the en-
counter Yanger did not touch any
liquid. He made the weight all right,
but the long siege of thirst Slapped his
vitality and brought about his decline
as a fighter, in spite of the fact that
he weighs more to-day than ever be-
fore in his career.
rangers experience during his week
of abstinence is stfl food for much
comment in the West. He could not
sleep for more than an hour at a time.
Each night he tossed feverishly on his
pillow. drink being rigidly refused. al
though half dozen times each night
his trainer would put the neck of
bottle to his lips and allow him to
rinse his mouth without swallowing a
drop.
Kid Mccoy says that his decline as
pugilist Is due 10 the drying out"
process and that Il should be eliminat-
ed from training altogether He con-
tends that better success can be OBJ
tanned by allowing the boxer 10 take
on men Of heavier weight and tight
az his best
Building up is just as bad ~ reduc-
ing," continued Mccoy AT least Il