Starting up boxing!

If you weight 161, and are 6'1 thats a good height for middleweight but you would have a big advantage if you could shrink down to jr.middleweight or welterweight. As far as your wrist problem goes, all boxers will have hand and wrist problems. Thats the point of taping them up because it helps protect and hold the bones and legiments together. Everyone that starts boxing will have sore hands for awhile and you will eventually get use to it and the pain will go away, at least until you hurt your hand again, but learning how to punch correctly will eliminate that even more. As far as boxing being different that fighting. Yes, boxing is different. The main difference is, once you learn how to box and how to defend and throw punches correctly, You will be much more dangerous in a street fight. Hope this helps.

LeedsLad said:

Is 17 too late to start boxing?

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No! That's just in the right age range to get started if seeking to have a professional boxing career.

But at the place your at now it's way to early to think about that now.

You got to get out there and train, learn and to enter the Golden Gloves and fight in competition and to see how good you do there: THEN you'll know if you want to chose the path or not in your life.

LeedsLad said:

Of course i dont expect to be a brilliant boxer or anything lol.

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Why not? It great to be humble that is to be admired in a person. But in your heart and mind: Don't think that! Believe you will be a great fighter. One of the strangest things in life is that YOU BECOME WHAT YOU THINK. And YOU ARE (OR WILL) BE WHAT YOU SAY.

Words have power, and thoughts have power to transform your life for better or worst.

So don't tolerate negative thoughts.

Self-doubt is like a terminal diease to a fighter.

LeedsLad said:

I'm hoping to be like good enough to be able to look after myself outside the ring, and maybe even do a little amateur boxing on a small local scale.

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Good for you! Boxing will toughen you in body and toughen you in mind. And make your physically fit. And will teach you had to fight and how to defend yourself. Boxing is a great confident and fitness builder.

LeedsLad said:

A couple of things I wanted to know.

How close is boxing to real fighting?

I mean, I had a couple of fights when I was younger, and I could always look after myself.

But most people say boxing is VERY different.

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Boxing is fighting, boxing is a fist fight with gloves on his hands, and it's a fist fight with rules. It's a real fight! Only, in a street fight there are no gloves and no rules.

LeedsLed said:

Will boxing enable you to be better able to defend yourself?

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Of course, it will.

I have never seen any one who had any boxing experience ever lose a street fight. Not saying it couldn't happen, or hasn't happened. Only, that I have never seen a boxer lose a street fight.

LeedsLad said:

The other problem I have you see, is when I was fighting with someone at school a few years ago I damaged my wrist.

Never got it checked out but my wrist is real painful when I start hitting the punchbag.

I don't wrap up though, will this solve the problem?

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Yes, it will. Never workout punching the bags in the gym or wherever you do it at home, or what ever? Without wrapping your hands first, especially when punching the heavy bag.

You need to get some hand wraps and learn how to properly wrap you hands.

I always perfer to wear the big boxing gloves (training gloves) when I worked out on the heavy bag.

LeedsLed said:

Or, will boxing just **** up my wrist even more?

If it's gonna be a problem I just don't think I'll bother.

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Working out punching the heavy bag will hurt any body's hands if the don't wrap their hands and wear boxing gloves.

That's what boxing gloves were invented for to protect a boxer's hands, and that's also what a boxer wraps his hands to protect his hands from injury.

LeedsLad said:

Im about 6'1 and 161lbs at 17, should I be looking to lose some weight or what?

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LeedsLad said:

No, that may be a good (natural) weight for you.

The greatest all around fighter in the history of boxing was Sugar Ray Robinson according to near all boxing expects. And Sugar Ray was six feet tall (or 5' 11" some say), and his weight varies between 150-160 pounds during his professional boxing career and he was a great champion. You are very, very close to be the exact over all height and weight as the great and legendary Sugar Ray Robinson.

Sugar Ray could do it all. He could box. He could punch, and also had super defensive boxing skills also, as well as other amazing boxing skills. He could even knock you out going backwards in the ring. In his early professional boxing career in the early 1940s he killed an opponent in the ring with one punch a left hook.

LeedsLed said:

Fairly fit because of squash, football and rugby which I play alot.

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Sounds like your already in pretty good shape getting started in taking up boxing. That's good, that will get you a head start in getting into shape for boxing.

LeedsLed said:

Also how would I go about improving footwork?

Cause I know for a fact it really won't be up to much.

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Nobody's is when they first take up boxing. There are several things that you can do to improve your footwork for boxing. But the best thing that you can do to improve your foot work is to skip rope.

Skipping rope will also build stamina, and strengthen your legs and ankles as well as to improve your foot work too.

Nothing will improve your foot work more than skipping rope. But you got to learn how to skip rope. Never stand in one place when you skip rope, more you feet around. When you skip rope step from side to side and step forwards, then backwards and stepping side to side move your feet around. Never skip rope standing always in one place when you skip rope for it's bad for your heart to stand in just one place when you skip rope. It's great exercise. You'll get better at it with practice.

JCC

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