One of the enduring puzzles in boxing is how some guys are able to shoot up through the weight divisions and stay competitive, while others can’t “carry” the extra weight and struggle with stamina and power as they move up.
Bad Left Hook has a fascinating analysis of this very topic, focusing on Manny Pacquiao, since he’s taken titles in no fewer than eight weight division. He’s won the lineal title in four. Amazing stuff.
How does he do it? Well, Manny has huge wrists.
You see, wrist size is associated with overall skeletal mass. So someone who has large wrists probably also has a large skeleton and, all things equal, probably weighs more than average.
Manny’s 8-inch wrists dwarf the expected 6-something wrists of the ‘average’ fighter his height.
The thing that’s amazing, then, isn’t how high up he can go in weight (Manny’s calculated ‘optimal’ weight is 150lbs), but rather how low he started! He must have been emaciated at 109lbs when he started out.
In other news, I found out what happens when you overtax your calves running in your fancy new ‘shoes’: you damage your Achilles tendon. I stopped running a week ago and did a quick 4k this morning. Still have pain.
I am furious with myself. This is destroying my training schedule.
Not Unreasonable 
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