Hey, Dave. As much as I like fighting and having boxed for a lot of years in the amatuer ranks from the time I was a kid. I would never encourage any one to pursue a professional career in our sport.
Times have changed.
With all the money that can be make in other sports today, it makes little sense for a guy to spill his blood and to risk his brains for money boxing now days.
I only, encourage people and most especially youngsters to take up boxing (that is, amatuer boxing) for reasons it such a great fitness and confidence builder.
It will toughen you in body, and will toughen you in mind.
As for the professional ranks in boxing, its for money, not glory.
The amatuer ranks is for glory.
There are much easier paths in sports than boxing today to fortune and fame that has been and is attracting the most talented of Amercia athletes.
I only encourage others to take up boxing as a fitness and confidence builder is all. Boxers in peak physical conditon are over all the most physically fit athletes in the world. At least they were in my time there any way, and most especially before my time there in the 1940s and 1950s when they were for reasons of the way they trained, and the training discipline they had to have at that time for reasons the sport attracted the most talented of American athetes in those days, and they had better sparring partners for reasons there was was talent in the sport then, and its the stronger competition then that is what made for there being over all better and more well-conditioned and talented fighters in both the amateur and professional ranks in those days.
If you don't have time to go to gym now. At least you can get out there very early in the mornings which will take some mental discipline to do of course, and get your road work (running) in and build upon that as you get yourself into better physical condition.
At age 55, I'm not boxing in competition any more of course, but I still do my roadwork to get out there in the mornings and to run a 2-3 miles every day.
Also if you know how to exercise you can have at least an hour workout at home in the evenings and do some hard or intense calisthenics, stretching, and resistence exercises (without use of weight lifting and get stronger). I still do that as well.
You can also get you a heavyweight bag, and a pair of training gloves and get a good workout in punching the bags in your home. I still do that too.
Then as you come to have more time you go to a gym some where and start getting do some sparring too.
Now that I don't do as often as I use to do. But I still do it sometimes as I have more time I do. I still like to get out there and to do some sparring to this day.
I boxed amatuer through out the 1960s until the early 1970s, from age 9, up until age 22.
I stopped boxing in competition, but I never did really stop training and working out.
I guess its just because I formed the habit of training at such a young age and came to be a kind of conditioning freak I guess.
But even now at age 55, my height being five ten (5' 10 1/2" actually), my weigh the same as I did when I was boxing as a light heavyweight in the early 1970s. My weight never varies more than about 4 pounds (168-172 lbs), and I contribute that to my continued training discipline.
But for a short time I did lay off continuing to train for a while and got fat and gained weight up to 220 pounds, and I felt lousy, lazy and sluggish, and its that which put me back into training again.
Today, I feel great for reasons of it too.
I'm an old guy, now. But still salty!
I just share this with you to encourage you to get out that and to do something.
You get out there and get yourself in shape, and you'll come to be of a different and better frame of mind, and you'll look better and feel better too.
Get out there and start doing something!
JJC
__________________ "The more I sweated in the gym, the less I bleed in the ring."
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 experience.
I guess they do things different today, of course, I know they do.
But when I first took of boxing when I was a kid, it wasn't a kind of thing like some may do today, of just taking boxing lessons, and all the training I received cost me nothing. For I enrolled on the boxing team in the juniors, and my sparring began the very first day, and training for an upcoming inner city tourament fights against other clubs.
Sparring was always something I did every day, for there was always plenty of sparring partners.
But of course, boxing as sport was still very popular in those days, by far more so than today.
Today, most kids will take up some form of martial arts, but martial arts wasn't so popular back in those days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bill1234
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.
Well, that wasn't right! You should have been matched up if possible with a more equally experienced sparring partner.
I was just more fortunate I guess in being there was always a lot of sparring partners on any given day in the gym back in those days.
Its best to have a lot of different sparring partners but of course, to be equally matched if possible as for experience and ability.
For you'll learn more about how to box and to fight guys who has different styles.
I had regular sparring partners, but its better to have different sparring partners and not the same ones all the time, for that will help you to better develop as fighter.
As for getting your butt whipped some times can be good for you too, if you learn somethings from it.
My advice would be every time you go to the gym go wanting to learn something you didn't know.
As for physical training and conditioning, and getting yourself into peak physical condition. That's great! But you want to develop your boxing skills too.
Always be asking yourself, how can I improve my boxing skills? What can I do to fight better?
Watch the more experienced fighters in the gym, and learn, and practice some of the things that you see them do.
You want to develop your skills daily, not yearly, monthly or weekly, but daily.
You want to leave the gym always a better fighter than you were the day before.
There's much to know, much to learn.
JJC
__________________ "The more I sweated in the gym, the less I bleed in the ring."
I guess they do things different today, of course, I know they do.
But when I first took of boxing when I was a kid, it wasn't a kind of thing like some may do today, of just taking boxing lessons, and all the training I received cost me nothing. For I enrolled on the boxing team in the juniors, and my sparring began the very first day, and training for an upcoming inner city tourament fights against other clubs.
Sparring was always something I did every day, for there was always plenty of sparring partners.
But of course, boxing as sport was still very popular in those days, by far more so than today.
Today, most kids will take up some form of martial arts, but martial arts wasn't so popular back in those days.
Well, that wasn't right! You should have been matched up if possible with a more equally experienced sparring partner.
I was just more fortunate I guess in being there was always a lot of sparring partners on any given day in the gym back in those days.
Its best to have a lot of different sparring partners but of course, to be equally matched if possible as for experience and ability.
For you'll learn more about how to box and to fight guys who has different styles.
I had regular sparring partners, but its better to have different sparring partners and not the same ones all the time, for that will help you to better develop as fighter.
As for getting your butt whipped some times can be good for you too, if you learn somethings from it.
My advice would be every time you go to the gym go wanting to learn something you didn't know.
As for physical training and conditioning, and getting yourself into peak physical condition. That's great! But you want to develop your boxing skills too.
Always be asking yourself, how can I improve my boxing skills? What can I do to fight better?
Watch the more experienced fighters in the gym, and learn, and practice some of the things that you see them do.
You want to develop your skills daily, not yearly, monthly or weekly, but daily.
You want to leave the gym always a better fighter than you were the day before.
There's much to know, much to learn.
JJC
I just scared off my sparring partner (for the 6th freaking time!). In the beging I was going to spar about 2-3 months in, BUT the person left and never came back, then the same thing happened over and over again, they were all exactly my experience lelel too. Well, this person challenged me into a match, the trainers told me to go way easy on him, so I did. This person was my height, just very fat. I am rather skinny with some muscle and weigh 90lbs, but this person is my height, fat, and around 150lbs (yeah I knowrolleyes: ), and anyways, they only did 2, 2 min rounds because they didn't know if the other person could handle the usual 3, 3 minute rounds. The bell rang, we went out, and we tapped gloves. I like to get the first shot in, so about 2 sec after we tapped gloves I got into my stance and jabbed him. He simply walked forwards with his hands completely covering his face, so I would jab him in the gut. Then he would take a wild swing literaly starting from his butt. Obviously when he threw it I would duck, or knock it down. Then I would jab him again in the face. The round went like that, then they told us to go back to our corners because the 2 min was up. Then the 2nd round he was more agressive, but I still kept him off with my jab. Then once the round ended, we shook hands, the trainers told us good work out, then we went about are business. The next week he challenged me again, so I reluctantly said yes, but he told everyone that he was going to kick my @$$, so I was going to beat the crap out of him and use more than a 6 outta 10 punch, and go more then 7 outta 10. Then ever since the day he challenged me he hasn't been back. So I'm pissed that I lost another sparring partner. But whatta are ya gonna do?
__________________
MEMBER OF BOXINGFORUM.COM HALL OF FAME-JANUARY, 2008
Yup, ashame too, I was really looking forwards to pounding him into the ground.
I remember a time back when I was boxing amatuer and one of my most regular sparring partners that I had for a few years who was really a good fighter. He much later turned pro in 1969, but didn't stay long there but only for a couple of years, and had like 8 or 9 fights, and only lost 1 or 2 I think as best I remember.
In the amatuer ranks he was very successful, and had won the golden gloves state title a few times, and went on later from there to the nationals and may have won there too. I'm not sure. I'd later heard he did any way.
Any way, he and I were both open-class fighters and had won titles, and were evenly matched. Only, I carried just a little more weight than he did. He was my most regular sparring partner for a few years. But one day at the gym, he really got me good, and on that day, he really made me look bad.
He had gotten to the gym late that one evening. I had already be working out in the gym hard for about two and half hours, and when he finally did get there. We sparred a few rounds. But he was fresh and I was toast too tired.
He really gave me a good whipping that day too, and I never forgot it.
I think it was the worst beating I had ever gotten boxing then or at any other time sparring or out of all the fights I had ever had was on the particular evening at the gym.
That just goes to show just how important STAMINA is in boxing.
Boxing is a grueling sport and in order to make it and even all the more so in the professional ranks it would be because the rounds are longer; a fighter has to really be in shape and well-conditioned and most especially in going long rounds.
A fighter is in peak condition or at least should be the night of the fight when he steps into the ring and that first bell rings.
Within the three minutes of the first round he gets his first test.
Then its an alternating cycle of three minutes exertion followed by that precious sixty seconds he gets in between rounds to recover.
With every round move energy is spent and less is recovered, until the fighter is pushed to the very limit.
Many lack the stamina to go long rounds, especially heavyweights.
For them especially, its always been hard for them to go long rounds.
When you first start boxing, you come to can come to learn pretty fast what your short comings are when you get tested in the ring, whether it be sparring or in a contest.
Interestingly, it seems that usually always in boxing that the puncher. That is, the slugger, who will often tire more quickly than the boxer.
Hey, Bill. One example of it is the Holmes-Shavers Fight ... the link to that fight you recently shared here on another thread.
Shavers near had that fight won by near knocking Holmes out. But he didn't have enough left to finish off Holmes when he got back up after being knocked down. And by the eleventh round Shavers was toast. It was all he could do to defend himself, and the referee stopped the fight for reasons of seeing Shavers was toast and could no longer defend himself.
Power and speed are good, and they are tools. But Stamina is a tool too. Very, very important I'd say.
It was Shavers lack of stamina that caused him to lose that fight.
JJC
__________________ "The more I sweated in the gym, the less I bleed in the ring."
I remember a time back when I was boxing amatuer and one of my most regular sparring partners that I had for a few years who was really a good fighter. He much later turned pro in 1969, but didn't stay long there but only for a couple of years, and had like 8 or 9 fights, and only lost 1 or 2 I think as best I remember.
In the amatuer ranks he was very successful, and had won the golden gloves state title a few times, and went on later from there to the nationals and may have won there too. I'm not sure. I'd later heard he did any way.
Any way, he and I were both open-class fighters and had won titles, and were evenly matched. Only, I carried just a little more weight than he did. He was my most regular sparring partner for a few years. But one day at the gym, he really got me good, and on that day, he really made me look bad.
He had gotten to the gym late that one evening. I had already be working out in the gym hard for about two and half hours, and when he finally did get there. We sparred a few rounds. But he was fresh and I was toast too tired.
He really gave me a good whipping that day too, and I never forgot it.
I think it was the worst beating I had ever gotten boxing then or at any other time sparring or out of all the fights I had ever had was on the particular evening at the gym.
That just goes to show just how important STAMINA is in boxing.
Boxing is a grueling sport and in order to make it and even all the more so in the professional ranks it would be because the rounds are longer; a fighter has to really be in shape and well-conditioned and most especially in going long rounds.
A fighter is in peak condition or at least should be the night of the fight when he steps into the ring and that first bell rings.
Within the three minutes of the first round he gets his first test.
Then its an alternating cycle of three minutes exertion followed by that precious sixty seconds he gets in between rounds to recover.
With every round move energy is spent and less is recovered, until the fighter is pushed to the very limit.
Many lack the stamina to go long rounds, especially heavyweights.
For them especially, its always been hard for them to go long rounds.
When you first start boxing, you come to can come to learn pretty fast what your short comings are when you get tested in the ring, whether it be sparring or in a contest.
Interestingly, it seems that usually always in boxing that the puncher. That is, the slugger, who will often tire more quickly than the boxer.
Hey, Bill. One example of it is the Holmes-Shavers Fight ... the link to that fight you recently shared here on another thread.
Shavers near had that fight won by near knocking Holmes out. But he didn't have enough left to finish off Holmes when he got back up after being knocked down. And by the eleventh round Shavers was toast. It was all he could do to defend himself, and the referee stopped the fight for reasons of seeing Shavers was toast and could no longer defend himself.
Power and speed are good, and they are tools. But Stamina is a tool too. Very, very important I'd say.
It was Shavers lack of stamina that caused him to lose that fight.
JJC
That and he was completely outboxed and telegraphed his punches.
__________________
MEMBER OF BOXINGFORUM.COM HALL OF FAME-JANUARY, 2008
For any of you guys who are Amateur Boxers... are any of you thinking of somehow competing in any of the upcoming Summer Olympics and/or Turning Professional?
For any of you guys who are Amateur Boxers... are any of you thinking of somehow competing in any of the upcoming Summer Olympics and/or Turning Professional?
Not quite yet, I have only been boxing for a year now. Although 2 guys in my gym are going for that goal, and let me tell you if you make it, and they make it, and you are in the same weight class, be prepared to get hit a thousand times, and try and catch them.
__________________
MEMBER OF BOXINGFORUM.COM HALL OF FAME-JANUARY, 2008
How athletic are you?
Well, this person challenged me into a match, the trainers told me to go way easy on him, so I did. This person was my height, just very fat. I am rather skinny with some muscle and weigh 90lbs, but this person is my height, fat, and around 150lbs (yeah I know
rolleyes: ), and anyways, they only did 2, 2 min rounds because they didn't know if the other person could handle the usual 3, 3 minute rounds. The bell rang, we went out, and we tapped gloves. I like to get the first shot in, so about 2 sec after we tapped gloves I got into my stance and jabbed him. He simply walked forwards with his hands completely covering his face, so I would jab him in the gut. Then he would take a wild swing literaly starting from his butt. Obviously when he threw it I would duck, or knock it down. Then I would jab him again in the face. The round went like that, then they told us to go back to our corners because the 2 min was up. Then the 2nd round he was more agressive, but I still kept him off with my jab. Then once the round ended, we shook hands, the trainers told us good work out, then we went about are business. The next week he challenged me again, so I reluctantly said yes, but he told everyone that he was going to kick my @$$, so I was going to beat the crap out of him and use more than a 6 outta 10 punch, and go more then 7 outta 10. Then ever since the day he challenged me he hasn't been back. So I'm pissed that I lost another sparring partner. But whatta are ya gonna do?
