amateur fights

Originally Posted by globetrotter

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I'm 43, I'll be 44 when the fight time comes. the guy that I might be matched against is a little older, and about the same weight, but about 8 inches taller, with substantially better reach. he retiered young, and trains every day, and has been boxing for 7 or 8 years regularly. so I have strength on him, he has reach and skill and wind. I can build up my skills and my wind over the next few months, but we'll see if enough.
It sounds like you are going to have your ass handed to you on a plate. Learn things about yourself that you can't in any other way and do it! Also, watch Rocky Balboa for inspiration.

Originally Posted by Dedalus

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It sounds like you are going to have your ass handed to you on a plate. Learn things about yourself that you can't in any other way and do it!

Also, watch Rocky Balboa for inspiration.

thanks for the vote of confidence. actually, this won't be an easy project - they guy has been around the gym a lot longer than me, and I am a little concerned that I am being set up as an easy win for him. but I may be wrong. on the other hand, if I loose and make it out with all of my teeth intact, then I didn't really lose anything and had the experience.

Originally Posted by Matt

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mouthguard and headgear...highly unlikely.

fwiw - I've lost a bunch of teeth. Bike accident when I was 12. That hurt too.

Originally Posted by globetrotter

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yeah, I was really calm about this until my wife chimed in, and I wanted to get some other opinions on it - cause their are a lot of guys in my gym without teeth, and it wouldn't kill me to loose a tooth, but I know that the process can take 1-2 months to replace a tooth with an implant, and they are about 5 K a piece, so I don't want to be on the job for 2 months with a gap in my smile.

anyway, thanks all for the input.

Yeah, just be sure about the headgear and mouthguard. Broke 3 teeth (lost 1) in a bike accident last year and it's been more like a year to get back to a full mouth.

Originally Posted by globetrotter

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thanks for the vote of confidence. actually, this won't be an easy project - they guy has been around the gym a lot longer than me, and I am a little concerned that I am being set up as an easy win for him. but I may be wrong. on the other hand, if I loose and make it out with all of my teeth intact, then I didn't really lose anything and had the experience.

Unless you know him to be a dick, he probably wouldn't do that. That said, it does sound like you're at a huge disadvantage. I'm sure that your coach has said this before, but I'd start focusing on closing distance immediately. As far as teeth are concerned, don't worry about them. I have veneers on my front teeth, which can (one has before) come off with the force from biting an apple, and have not had any issues in the ring.

Either way, go for it!

Originally Posted by HgaleK

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Unless you know him to be a dick, he probably wouldn't do that. That said, it does sound like you're at a huge disadvantage. I'm sure that your coach has said this before, but I'd start focusing on closing distance immediately. As far as teeth are concerned, don't worry about them. I have veneers on my front teeth, which can (one has before) come off with the force from biting an apple, and have not had any issues in the ring.

Either way, go for it!

thanks - he's a nice enough guy, although very competative. he did some big high tech deal and retired young, and spends the day at the gym. the owner of the gym is a dick, though, and I wouldn't put it past him, although he does have an interest is keeping the fights interesting.

my coach is an ex-pro fighter, and I've worked with 2 other ex-pros, and our focus has been on that issue of closing distance and getting to the body. I think that in a fight (non-sparing) I have a little advantage over sparing in that I can really let loose on the body. but, yeah, this isn't going to be a cake walk. on the other hand, it will focus me to improve some of the things that I know I need to improve. seriously, as long as nobody gets hurt, this can be a fun process.

Originally Posted by globetrotter

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thanks for the vote of confidence. actually, this won't be an easy project - they guy has been around the gym a lot longer than me, and I am a little concerned that I am being set up as an easy win for him. but I may be wrong. on the other hand, if I loose and make it out with all of my teeth intact, then I didn't really lose anything and had the experience.
Hah, I didn't mean that in a bad way at all. To have the opportunity to be "too old" for something, to have the odds stacked against you, give it your best, and then go down with arms swinging, that's the kind of "real man" stuff that I fantasize about. After all, a winner can never know if he was put to the test to his full potential, but a loser can know whether he was a ***** or if he gave it his all.

Didn't think there would be so many amateur fighters around on a board like this. As a bad fighter, 1-4 kickboxing and 0-1 boxing, I can tell you it's a whole lot of fun and really quite safe. The most serious injury I had was a broken nose in sparring but it was no big deal. It's darn rare for anyone to get seriously hurt in today's amateur fights. Safety comes first and they will not let you get knocked out unless you just happen to take a one off shot that drops you. Plus, anecdotally, fighters are class acts, super polite and respectful which I dig in people.

Anyone thinking about it at all, give it a shot. You have nothing to lose.

Yes. Golden Gloves in nYc...
How does it compare??? Sometimes sparring is used to stay in shape.....a fight is someone trying to knock you out!

It sounds to me as though your being set up.

The other guy has a vast size and training advantage. From your description if you were each younger, I'd say you were boarding on being a serious armature and he was boarding on being elementary professional. The gap is just too large. Pass.

I boxed on an amateur level for about 5-6 years. walked away with a 17-2 record.

I was pretty good too, but my last fight i shattered my nose and suffered a collapsed nasal cavity. My nose looked like a science project for about 4 months, then had reconstructive surgery. Took 2 major surgeries, and now i have a piece of cartilage from my ear to help support my nose. (my nose looks normal now, surprisingly)

Its an addicting sport though, the rush that you get when you step into that ring, i haven't been able to find something that matches it. It was very hard walking away.

i do amateur boxing. im 5-0. your first fight is always a **** show. my advice is to just run, run and run more. cardio is usually the difference because many dont have knock out power and will get tired before the fights over. it does sound like your being set up. if that doesnt bother you then go for it. i highly doubt youll get seriously injured. dont worry about teeth, ive never seen anyone lose them. the only thing i really worry about is breaking my nose. you cant really help it and a random hit and its broken. but i also wouldnt really worry about it. just go in. think about it as 6 minutes of your life and its over. when i run i always visualise knocking my opponent out. over and over in my head, bell rings i go and its over. it helps me run longer, and its worked well for me as all my fights have ended in the first round

Originally Posted by West24

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i do amateur boxing. im 5-0. your first fight is always a **** show. my advice is to just run, run and run more. cardio is usually the difference because many dont have knock out power and will get tired before the fights over. it does sound like your being set up. if that doesnt bother you then go for it. i highly doubt youll get seriously injured. dont worry about teeth, ive never seen anyone lose them. the only thing i really worry about is breaking my nose. you cant really help it and a random hit and its broken. but i also wouldnt really worry about it. just go in. think about it as 6 minutes of your life and its over. when i run i always visualise knocking my opponent out. over and over in my head, bell rings i go and its over. it helps me run longer, and its worked well for me as all my fights have ended in the first round

cool - ok, specific question: sprints, jogging or mix?

what I am really working on now is jogging, with a little mix of sprinting in it. I am also working on standing in position, crouching (trying to get the crown of my head 6 inches lower) for 3 X 3 min rounds while moving around the ring. it might sound stupid, but I think that if I can make it that much more difficult for him to hit me it can only help me, and put him off guard.


this might sound stupid, but breaking my nose doens't bother me as much as loosing a tooth. I've really hurt my nose a few times (got kneed in the nose a couple of years ago that hurt like a mother ******) and got popped in the nose a few weeks ago, and broke it in a fight as a kid, a little bump won't kill me, and a week or two of black eyes won't kill me. 15K in dental bills and a gap in my smile for a few months will really piss me off.

i dont know about the whole crouching thing. do you mean ducking? i dont think youre going to use it that much. i would really concentrate on getting your cardio up. spar a lot, not right before the fight but leading into it. lots of rounds with guys who know how to spar not guys trying to kill you. im guessing your fight will be 3 2 minute rounds. running 3 miles should be good. also jogging for a minute and a half, and the sprinting for 30 seconds. do this 3 times. in the end theres really no secret on how do get into good shape. just work hard. its only 3, 2 minute rounds. its not a long time but youre going to get tired as ****. just get into shape. id bet if in your first few fights if all you had was amazing cardio and very basic knowledge of boxing, and werent afraid to take a few hits in the beggining youd probably win almost all of them. especially getting into the heavier weights. most heavy weights are at probably 50% after the first round, and most will die in the 3rd.

Originally Posted by West24

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i dont know about the whole crouching thing. do you mean ducking? i dont think youre going to use it that much. i would really concentrate on getting your cardio up. spar a lot, not right before the fight but leading into it. lots of rounds with guys who know how to spar not guys trying to kill you. im guessing your fight will be 3 2 minute rounds. running 3 miles should be good. also jogging for a minute and a half, and the sprinting for 30 seconds. do this 3 times. in the end theres really no secret on how do get into good shape. just work hard. its only 3, 2 minute rounds. its not a long time but youre going to get tired as ****. just get into shape. id bet if in your first few fights if all you had was amazing cardio and very basic knowledge of boxing, and werent afraid to take a few hits in the beggining youd probably win almost all of them. especially getting into the heavier weights. most heavy weights are at probably 50% after the first round, and most will die in the 3rd.

thanks - here's the thing, I figure that most people I spar with, and the guy I will be fighting, are a lot taller than me. I am also left handed. so if I can throw him off by being a foot lower than he expects and left handed, it can only be good for me.

I've been doing a good deal of sparing, both with guys from the gym and some old pros - there are 3 or 4 old retired pro boxers around the gym, and one young starting boxer that are always looking for sparing partners, so I have been doing a good deal of sparing with them.

I've been jogging 6 miles, more or less once a week, and then a mile a few times a week. I have just started sprinting. that is something that I really want to be working on over the next few months.

I think that I have a great advantage in strength, and I am pretty willing to take a punch or two. so that is sort of how it balances out.

amazing, i also fight south paw. im naturally right handed but fight south paw. this will be ur key. let me tell you my money shot. ive won so many fights and knocked down so many people this way its amazing. the straight left to his solar plex. its a killer. also start with a over exaggerated right hook to the head. a little slower so he knows its coming and then with all your power the straight left to the solar plex. this is even better for you because he is so much taller then you.

my main combo for the left straight is--jab to the face, straight left to the solarplex, right hook to the head.

but you can mix it up like i stated above etc etc. the body is so under used in amateur boxing and is so amazing because so many amateur boxers neglect it.