{"id":313,"date":"2025-04-17T11:59:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T10:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sidelinesmag.co.uk\/?p=313"},"modified":"2025-06-06T14:26:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T13:26:48","slug":"boxing-nutrition-pete-bell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/sidelines\/2025\/04\/17\/boxing-nutrition-pete-bell\/","title":{"rendered":"Fuelling a fight: how nutritionists get boxers in knockout shape"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From temperature testing boxers\u2019 baths to flying out with them to Abu Dhabi, Pete Bell lifts the lid on his work feeding up top boxers<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muhammad Ali\u2019s \u2018Fight of the Century\u2019. Mike Tyson\u2019s brutal 91-second dispatching of Michael Spinks. Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano\u2019s historic contest at Madison Square Garden. Boxing is known for its displays of power and strength, but the sport\u2019s iconic moments are at the mercy of the scales and rely on a fine scientific art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(In other sports) nutrition is more about optimising things, but boxers really need you,\u201d says performance nutritionist Pete Bell, who runs Qualified Nutrition<\/a>. \u201cA boxer can’t fight, can\u2019t make weight, without a nutritionist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf they\u2019re not making weight, they\u2019re not getting paid, they can\u2019t feed their families and pay their bills for that month if they don\u2019t fight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other athletes might want dietary support to optimise strength or speed – but in combat sports, the demands of weight classes make nutritionists a must-have. Since getting his MSc in sports nutrition, Bell has worked with hundreds of fighters including unified welterweight world champion Lauren Price, former Commonwealth and European super-featherweight champion Zelfa Barrett, and super-middleweight world champion Savannah Marshall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pete Bell with Lauren Price, unified welterweight world champion, as she holds her belts. Photo courtesy of Gavin Jose Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never been good enough to make it as a pro boxer, so what\u2019s the next best thing? For me, it\u2019s helping them and being part of the team going to the fights, being part of that environment – but I\u2019m not getting punched in the head, so that\u2019s a bonus!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more: Boxing cutman Dr Ian Gatt reveals what it’s like to be in the corner of top fighters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Instead of getting in the ring, Bell\u2019s job involves putting boxers through a painstaking diet programme. He talks Sidelines <\/em>through an example where our imaginary boxer starts working with him eight weeks out from their fight and will weigh in the day before the bout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first phase is fat loss, achieved through a carefully handled calorie deficit. He tracks the breakdown of the boxer\u2019s food to make sure they have enough protein and fats, and no valuable lean body mass and strength is lost – but the cuts can still be challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hate that they come to me late and I\u2019ve got no choice but to put them on so little food,\u201d Bell admits, \u201cbut otherwise they\u2019re not making weight.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPsychologically, starving a boxer – you feel very responsible for that. That\u2019s almost (about) being brave enough to say no when you need to.\u201d He recently refused to help a fighter lose 12 kilos in four weeks: \u201c(I said) you shouldn’t do it yourself, but the reason why I\u2019m not is I won\u2019t sleep at night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that gruelling fat loss, fight week is even more extreme. Boxers weighing in the day before a fight will have a target weight for the start of fight week that is slightly above their class limit. They will lose the extra pounds in time for the weigh-in, then bulk back up for the fight during an intense reload period of about 30 hours. To achieve this, a nutritionist\u2019s job becomes scientific to a point most fans could not imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve only got a few days, we\u2019re not going to lose much body fat in that time,\u201d Bell explains. \u201cSo what we do is we empty out the body of all its stores.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before weighing in, Bell explains how carbohydrates are cut – dropping not only the weight of glycogen, but the water that is stored with it. Fibre is slashed so that residue doesn\u2019t build up in the intestines and add extra weight. Cutting salt tricks the body into storing less water to maintain its electrolyte balance. Even the actual weight of foods comes into play – Bell encourages boxers to swap in nutrient-dense foods, like raisins rather than blueberries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An extraordinary level of scientific detail goes into making weight. Bell explains the technique of \u2018water-loading\u2019 in fight week – drinking about 100ml of water per kilo of bodyweight, around 7 litres a day for a middleweight fighter. This suppresses anti-diuretic hormone and tricks the body into losing more fluid, before cutting intake right down the day before weighing in. \u201cThe body doesn\u2019t catch up straight away,\u201d Bell explains, \u201cso it\u2019s still excreting more fluid.\u201d That means more weight lost by the time the fighter hits the scales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, boxers get a sweat on to shed the pounds. They can exercise in heavy layers or get in a sauna or bath. Bell supervises to make sure this is done safely, which brings an unexpected quirk of the job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe biggest danger when people are cutting weight is heat exhaustion and heatstroke. One of my roles is making sure they\u2019re not making their baths too hot – so I\u2019ve seen a lot of boxers in baths!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After making weight comes a race to refuel before the fight. \u201cI like to aim for around 10g of carbs per kilo of bodyweight in that reload. If you weighed 70kg, I\u2019d aim for nearly 700g of carbohydrate, which is a ton of food.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what might a post-weigh-in menu from Bell look like? After the first hour, which is focused on fluids, fighters start with simple sugars like Jaffa Cakes, pineapple, and sweets. Next is chicken and rice with a pitta and wrap. After some jam on toast with sweets and a flapjack, fighters would hit an Italian or Wagamamas for a meal, and a few hours later dig into a giant bowl of cereal. All of this, he explains, is separated by careful intervals to help manage digestion. The boxer will have their final meal four or five hours before a fight. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to make sure they don\u2019t feel sick and throw up, but you also want to get their muscles nice and full, so it is challenging.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gruelling process of making weight and the breathless reload are work enough – but Bell admits the psychological toll of the sport is his job\u2019s biggest challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re watching boxing on the telly, it seems lovely and glamorous. It doesn\u2019t seem dangerous at all\u2026 But when you\u2019re up close and seeing these big, strong people punching each other in the head, you feel every shot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February, the boxing world was shaken when 28-year-old boxer John Cooney died after a title fight. The Irishman suffered an intracranial haemorrhage – bleeding in the skull – and despite surgery, tragically passed away a week after the bout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bell worked with Cooney for years and described him as a close friend. He admitted his loss has impacted how he feels ahead of fights. \u201cGoing back to when I first started – being ringside, being in changing rooms, it\u2019s incredible and you\u2019re buzzing. But then you get to a point where you\u2019re sat ringside watching people you love and care about, because you\u2019ve worked with them and been through stuff with them, you\u2019re watching them take shots to the head. And I\u2019m not naive to it any more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot more to the sport than people think. It can be dark at times – but the flip side is the highs when you win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bell during a nutrition seminar, photo courtesy of Cristina Navarro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The good moments, he says, are beyond compare. \u201c(Boxing) is very lonely, they take a lot of damage, they put themselves through a lot – so when they do get a win and they change their lives, it just feels monumental.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporting Lauren Price on her journey to becoming unified world champion is a glittering highlight, but others aren\u2019t so obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(Some of my favourite memories) might not be as big a magnitude of a fight, but because I\u2019m very close to the individual, they\u2019re career highlights. One of the best moments of my career was going to Abu Dhabi with Zelfa Barrett for a world title fight. It was surreal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s boxing. It\u2019s a tough old sport, but the highs are pretty special – hence why I\u2019m still in it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when you tune into the next box-office showdown, remember the work that goes in before the ring walk to whip these fighters into shape\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cFighting without a nutritionist is like fighting without an arm\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the most important things is nutrition, because if you\u2019re not making weight you can\u2019t fight,\u201d pro boxer Taz Nadeem tells Sidelines. <\/em>\u201cIt\u2019s important to have a nutritionist so that you\u2019re doing it properly. You\u2019re eating the right food, you\u2019re dehydrating in a healthy way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nadeem is unbeaten in his first five fights, and says working with a nutritionist for his last few bouts has been crucial to his preparation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his second fight, he explains: \u201cI did (the nutrition) on my own blindly. Because I didn\u2019t know how much you had to intake, I didn\u2019t really do a big rehydration after weighing in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t put as much weight back on, and that made a big difference on fight night. I also didn\u2019t have as much energy as I would do now because I didn\u2019t eat or drink enough.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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