Read it

Boxing food rankings

The best fish and fish products for boxers

All 228 fish and fish products from the official UK food dataset, ranked by all-round score. Prawns, Shrimps, Crab lead the group. Open the full explorer to rank them for making weight, bulking or maximum protein instead.All 228 fish and fish products, ranked by Super Score (%Protein per kcal x Nutrient Density x estimated Satiety, each normalised 0 to 100). Switch goals in the explorer to re-rank for cutting, bulking or maximum protein.

Fish is the single best food group for boxers: it delivers the highest protein per calorie of any natural food, a wide range of micronutrients, and almost no wasted calories from fat or carbohydrate.

Shellfish lead the ranking. Prawns and shrimps score at the top of the dataset not because of hype but because nearly all their calories come from protein and they carry a strong micronutrient profile. Oily fish such as tuna, mackerel and sardines sit just behind them, adding omega-3 fats that support the joint health and recovery a boxer demands over a long training camp.

White fish (cod, haddock, pollock) are the weight-cut workhorses. They are almost pure protein with very low calorie density, which means you can eat a satisfying portion while staying well under your calorie target in fight week. Pair with vegetables rather than heavy sauces and the meal does a lot of nutritional work for very few calories.

One honest caveat: processed and battered fish products (fish fingers, fish cakes, fish in batter) score poorly here because the coating adds calories and fat while reducing the protein share. Choose plainly cooked fish as your baseline and treat the processed options as occasional convenience food, not the group standard.

#	Food	All-Round score	% Protein/kcal	Nutrients	Fullness
1	Prawnsstandard, dried	89.0	88%	71	100
2	Shrimpsdried	81.4	91%	74	84
3	Crabwhite meat, purchased cooked	57.4	97%	53	79
4	Roecod, hard, raw	47.9	83%	52	78
5	Tunaflesh only, baked	47.8	95%	42	84
6	Crabpurchased cooked	46.5	68%	64	75
7	Cocklesboiled	45.8	89%	48	75
8	Winklesboiled	45.6	85%	52	73
9	Tunaflesh only, raw	44.9	94%	41	82
10	Lobsterboiled	44.8	86%	47	79
11	Langoustineboiled	44.0	92%	42	80
12	Haddockflesh only, grilled	43.7	97%	39	81
13	Coleyflesh only, grilled	43.7	90%	41	84
14	Haddockflesh only, poached	43.6	95%	40	80
15	Coleyflesh only, poached	43.6	88%	43	81
16	Coleyflesh only, baked	41.5	88%	41	81
17	Coleyflesh only, steamed	40.5	88%	40	80
18	Haddockflesh only, smoked, steamed	40.3	95%	38	78
19	Haddockflesh only, steamed	39.9	95%	37	80
20	Codflesh only, microwaved	38.9	96%	35	81
21	Haddockflesh only, smoked, poached	38.8	95%	36	79
22	Bombay duck	38.2	87%	36	85
23	PollockAlaskan, flesh only, baked	37.9	91%	35	83
24	Codflesh only, baked	37.8	96%	34	81
25	Whelksboiled	37.7	88%	39	77
26	PollockAlaskan, flesh only, steamed	37.3	91%	35	82
27	Tunacanned in brine, drained	36.9	92%	35	81
28	Crabbrown meat, purchased cooked	36.8	52%	70	71
29	Codflesh only, grilled	36.8	93%	34	81
30	Cuttlefishraw	36.4	92%	36	77
31	Crayfishraw	36.4	90%	37	77
32	Haddockflesh only, raw	35.8	95%	34	79
33	Squiddried	35.6	81%	35	88
34	Plaiceflesh only, baked	35.4	85%	37	78
35	Haddockflesh only, smoked, raw	35.2	94%	33	79
36	Plaiceflesh only, steamed	34.6	86%	36	78
37	Codflesh only, steamed	34.5	93%	33	80
38	Oystersraw	34.2	66%	49	74
39	Squidraw	33.8	76%	41	76
40	Sardinesflesh only, grilled	33.4	59%	52	76

40 of 228 fish and fish products. Open the full interactive explorer to search and switch goals. Satiety is an estimate. It is modelled from the known drivers of fullness (protein, fibre, water, low energy density, low fat), not measured directly.

Common questions

What are the best fish and fish products for boxers?

Prawns (standard, dried), Shrimps (dried), Crab (white meat, purchased cooked) score highest in this group on the all-round measure, which combines protein per calorie, nutrient density and estimated fullness.

How is the ranking worked out?

Each food is scored from the UK Government CoFID 2021 dataset and ranked by an all-round score. Switch goals in the full interactive explorer to re-rank for making weight, bulking or maximum protein.

General information for boxers, not medical or dietary advice. For a plan built around you, speak to a registered dietitian or your GP. Food data from the UK Government CoFID 2021 dataset, used under the Open Government Licence.

New to all this? Start with our free 10-week boxing nutrition course or book a free trial session.