Danny O'Connor - Weight Class

Weight Class: A Fighter’s Life-or-Death Battle with an Eating Disorder by Danny O’Connor In Weight Class: A Fighter’s Life-or-Death Battle with an Eating Disorder (Bite Like A Man; February 17, 2026), former Olympic boxer and professional champion Danny O’Connor delivers a searing, deeply personal memoir that confronts one of sport’s most overlooked crises: eating disorders in male athletes. From high school wrestling to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team and a decade-long professional career, O’Connor lived in a world where extreme weight-cutting—starvation, dehydration, purging and physical collapse—was common practice. What began as discipline slowly became self-destruction, culminating in a public failure to make weight for a world title fight and a private medical emergency that nearly cost him his life. Told with unflinching honesty, Weight Class traces O’Connor’s 20-year battle with an eating disorder fought largely in silence—hidden from coaches, fans and even family. His story challenges the misconception that eating disorders are a “female issue” and exposes how weight-regulated sports can reinforce dangerous behaviors when education and early intervention are absent. More than a sports memoir, Weight Class is a powerful account of survival and recovery. O’Connor examines the physical, mental and emotional toll of life on the scale, while also documenting the long, difficult work of reclaiming health, identity and purpose beyond competition. For parents, coaches and athletes entering weight-class sports, Weight Class serves as a necessary warning. For the millions of men and women struggling with eating disorders in silence, it offers something rarer: recognition, understanding and hope. Since retiring from professional boxing, Danny has become a leading advocate for awareness of eating disorders among men and athletes worldwide. Danny O’Connor is a former elite professional boxer who grew up outside of Boston and was a member of the 2008 United States Olympic Boxing Team. As an accomplished amateur, he captured multiple national titles, including the US National Championships and the National Golden Gloves, establishing himself as one of the top fighters of his generation. O’Connor turned professional in 2008 and competed at the highest levels of the sport for more than a decade. He compiled a professional record of thirty-one wins and held the WBC International Silver Super Lightweight Championship. Over the course of his career, he fought on major televised platforms, including ESPN, Showtime, CBS Sports, and Fox Sports 1, and competed in prominent venues across the United States. Following his professional career, O’Connor became a vocal advocate for weight-class sports and eating disorders in men. Through his book, Weight Class, he gives a voice to the millions of men who suffer in silence, drawing directly from his career in boxing and his firsthand experience battling an eating disorder in and out of the ring. Weight Class: A Fighter’s Life-or-Death Battle with an Eating Disorder by Danny O’Connor Bite Like A Man LLC; February 17, 2026 ISBN (paperback): 979-8-9945283-0-3 ISBN (eBook): 979-8-9945283-2-7 Weight Class: A Fighter’s Life-or-Death Battle with an Eating Disorder by former Olympic boxer Danny O'Connor. O’Connor provides a voice to the millions of men who suffer in silence from one of sport’s most overlooked crises: eating disorders in male athletes. From high school wrestling to the Olympic Games, to a professional boxing career at the highest level, extreme weight-cutting—starvation, dehydration, purging, collapse—was not only tolerated but normalized as preparation. Over time, discipline became self-destruction