JCC

I think so ... I'm you and your me. Only, your a youngster, and I'm an older man, and an ex-fighter, amatuer boxer. I loved it. I did only because I guess I was good at it. I won most all my fights. I was a champ. If I hadn't have been good at it. I don't think I would have been there as long as I was. I likely would have dropped out if I hadn't have been able cut it.

What does it take to be a fighter? That is, a boxer?

What does it take to be a good fighter?

The answer I would offer for the first would be something that's in you.

All who have ever taken up boxing basically in a certian sense all recieve the same training.

Yet not all can hack it, I think its genetic!

I think it has more to do with your genes, genetically just how you are by nature put togather and some people are just by nature are tougher than others.

For example, when I was a kid, my younger brother took up boxing at the gym at a boy's club when I was a kid.

Only, I continued with it, but he dropped out not long after he started.

In his fight contest in his first fight he took a hard punch, and he started crying and quit.

Yet he had the same training I did and the others did.

Its just that he didn't have it in him that's all.

I'll offer this as my answer to the second thing now I had mentioned.

What does it take to make a good fighter a champion?

Power and rage!

Its something that's within you that drives you.

Call it a temperament if you will.

Its a certian temperment, and its pride, determination and guts.

Some people just naturally have that more than others.

Some people don't have it at all.

That's the foundation that a good fighter builds upon.

Its a attitude you could say.

Pride, determination and guts is in the mind.

Its the spirit and mind that drives the body to perform and to a winner and to be the best out there.

For example, Muhummed Ali said he was the greatest. I think he really believed that or in time he did come to believe that. That is what I believe that really enabled him to be the best out there in his time there.

Other greats I think did also and they weren't so vocal as Ali, but of course, the reason he was it was draw attention to himself and to build the gate to his fights.

Now that I didn't like about Muhummed. Like those before him I think he should have done all his taking with his fists in the ring.

But I think you understand over all what I'm trying to say.

I think all the greats thought they were the greatest or else they wouldn't have ever came to be on top to begin with.

Being a good fighter, or even a great fighter begins in the mind, attitude is every thing.

JCC

__________________
"The more I sweated in the gym, the less I bleed in the ring."

daveDaboxingfan

not athletic at all, i think
but when i get into my sports even at my weight.
i do really well
just not as a boxer.LOL

bill1234

LOL yeah well, I think we are all a little like that.

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JCC

You got to be about half nuts to want to be a boxer any way I think. Its just that your smarter that's all.

JJC

__________________
"The more I sweated in the gym, the less I bleed in the ring."

bill1234

Hey! You just called me half nuts!

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MEMBER OF BOXINGFORUM.COM HALL OF FAME-JANUARY, 2008

JCC

So what? You are nuts!

We both are!

JJC

__________________
"The more I sweated in the gym, the less I bleed in the ring."

bill1234

Yup, I knew I was after my friend and I would perposely climb to the top of tall tree's, take chances and go out on the skinny, wobbly limbs with nothing to hold onto when we would obviously fall. We both would fall, lay there about a minute or two groaning, get back up, and do it all over again! I remember last summer I was bouncing up and down on a limb about 10ft up, then I trun around and my friend was flying down on a branch that broke! The branch along with my friend, slammed into me, and I go a little bruised up but was ok, and my friend and the limb had a nice landing on me.

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JCC

Yeah, I did stuff like that too, jumping off the roofs of vacant houses in the neighbood with other kids and all kinds of crazy stuff like that.

Its a wonder I never broke a leg or something, but I never did.

Yeah, had that kind of stuff to happen too.

I guess the most crazy thing I ever did was one day at the gym, my regular sparring partner wasn't there and I was wanting to get some rounds in sparring at the end of my workout before hitting the showers.

All I saw was this one BIG HUGE GUY availble. He out weighed me about 40 pounds or more, and was near a foot taller than me, and had the longest arms I had ever seen on a kid. But I didn't care. I would have fought any body.

It was really impossible for me to box that kid, for his arms were so much longer than mine. And he was too good and effective in sticking and moving using his jab that I can't ever get inside to get a punch on him.

Every round he was able to keep me at a distance with his jab. He just kept jabbing, jabbing and jabbing, sticking and moving. He like to have beaten me to death with his jabbing me.

See that's what happens if you get to cocky, you do stupid stuff.

I didn't have all that much boxing experience then. But if I had? I think I would have gotten inside his jab and to have really given it to that kid but good.

JJC

__________________
"The more I sweated in the gym, the less I bleed in the ring."

bill1234

The first time I ever sparred, I was training for about 6 months, and the closest match up for me was a kid who weighed 50lbs more, was about 7inches taller, and had 3 years of expeirience. He went easy on me, but still beat the crap out of me, then the next month we sparred again, and he went as hard as he could, and he whacked me into the ground.

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MEMBER OF BOXINGFORUM.COM HALL OF FAME-JANUARY, 2008

daveDaboxingfan

Thanks for the good word JCC
My big problems are
I like to fight in the ring.
If I had more time to train I would go for it all the way.
But between current work and trying to start another business it’s hard just to not gain more weight so training is a very long shot.
Plus I have NO support from the wife and my big kid.
I just hope that if and when the new business takes off ill have time to at least be a punching bag for some hungry teen ager. I think just doing that and getting in shape would kill my hopes of going pro at 33, 34 or 35
But I would like to have at least 10 pro fights even if its 0-10
So that I don’t grow old being like so many of my older friends “I wish I would have tried it”
I think that would haunt me more then anything else.
The worst part of my emotions is that at 15 or 16 I got beat up really bad by a 20year old drunk amateur boxer in an Involuntary street fight.
So my older Bro asked me “do you want to beat him up or do you want me to it for you”
I immediately said go beat the @#$%%#@ his a$$. But I thought about it for about a week then I said NO I want to do it on my own just train me for it.
I year later I walked over to his house in the morning and told him DON’T GET DRUNK TODAY I WANT TO FIGHT YOU DOWN BY THE SAME CORNER WERE YOU KICKED MY A$$ THE LAST TIME.3 hours later I dropped him 2 times and my brother didn’t let me hit him any more.
So after that I lived in the gym I was in great shape and I was going in with long record amateurs and a few small time short record pro’s then I got whipped by a girl and I couldn’t even remember where the gym was. So now I still have that what if thing stuck in my head.
I just hope I start training and realize it’s over and not try to pursue it any further then a good work out and some fun.