Boxing (sport) - Because who doesn't want to punch bassomatic in the face

[Bassomatic]

Long story short I'm going to be doing a lot of distance running this upcoming year and want to kill myself to avoid it.

I don't enjoy running and not really wanting to learn how to bike for sport to be a triathlete. After some research, I found boxing would be a pretty good match up to fulfill my training as, big ass squats and dead lifts with 8 mile runs don't quite mix.

My brother has been on off with sport boxing (no fights just the work out and sparring) for a while so I have a helper and can join his gym.

So I figured I'd ask if anyone else does this or has any tips. Thankfully I'll have a good starting support system and gear to bum. I'm a pretty big fan of pro and met iron mike (and gushed like a school girl). So I thought for anyone who takes part this could be a nice thread.

 

[cypocraphy]

 

[Bassomatic]

Talk about comical beat downs

 

[cypocraphy]

 

[RI 360]

lol men are so reta

rded, they punch each other in the face for fun

 

[nad7155]

So I figured I'd ask if anyone else does this or has any tips

Yes, try not to get hit.

 

[Varg Did Nothing Wrong]

Do all your training bare-knuckle so you can condition your hands in case you get into a real fight.

 

[Boss HM-2]

Do people honestly care about boxing anymore after Mayweather-Pacquiao was marketed as the biggest fight of the modern era, if not all time, and then the fight actually happened and it was total dogshit?

Five million people actually paid a hundred bucks to see that bullshit and 90% of them were so disappointed that they swore off boxing forever. That fight was pretty much emblematic of the corruption and other problems with modern boxing and MMA (UFC in particular) has been growing in popularity in part because all of the major MMA promotions realized how bullshit boxing had become and took measures to keep it from happening to their sport.

 

[Some JERK]

Do people honestly care about boxing anymore after Mayweather-Pacquiao was marketed as the biggest fight of the modern era, if not all time, and then the fight actually happened and it was total dogshit?

Five million people actually paid a hundred bucks to see that bullshit and 90% of them were so disappointed that they swore off boxing forever. That fight was pretty much emblematic of the corruption and other problems with modern boxing and MMA (UFC in particular) has been growing in popularity in part because all of the major MMA promotions realized how bullshit boxing had become and took measures to keep it from happening to their sport.

There's plenty of good fights that happen without all the hype, scandal and huge PPV price tags. I saw Ike Ibeabuchi hit Chris Byrd so hard that I was surprised he didn't die. One of the most amazing and brutal hits I've ever seen. (you could hear it all the way back in the 5th row.)

Spoiler: checkout the hit @1:57

 

[Bassomatic]

Professional is a whole different game,

I'm more wondering here for anyone do it for sport/exercise. Being I'm running now too this is something I'll probably never do a single match heck I'm far away from sparring.

I've joined the gym my brother goes to, and got a 100lb bag for home (price was right as it was donated by a buddy).

 

[cypocraphy]

When Mike Tyson fought Glass Joe irl.

 

[Hollywood Hulk Hogan]

Boxing is awesome. I did Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) for 7 years but we often did boxing work as well. It's an amazing workout and it builds confidence knowing that you could mess people up if it came down to it.

 

[grumbleBum]

I'd much rather get punched in the face than go for an 8 mile run.

 

[nad7155]

I did Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) for 7 years

If you actually trained in Muay Thai for seven years, I must commend you.

 

[Hollywood Hulk Hogan]

If you actually trained in Muay Thai for seven years, I must commend you.

Thank you; I did. I ended up having to quit due to injury.

 

[grumbleBum]

Thank you; I did. I ended up having to quit due to injury.

Muay Thai is so much fun, but so much injury. Goodbye knees.

 

[Hollywood Hulk Hogan]

Muay Thai is so much fun, but so much injury. Goodbye knees.

And shoulders. And breaking yout hand. It's brutal on your body

 

[xyrichard]

Hey Bassomatic, how old are you? If you're still in high school, it's probably not too late to get good at boxing.

It's extremely tempting to newcomers to want to jump in and do exciting stuff right away. You'll need to consciously avoid that and just learn the routines by repetition, which, in the beginning, will basically be all footwork (lots of cardio too of course). If you start heavy sparring too early ... and you're like 99% of people ... you'll not only learn nothing but kill any and all interest you have in the sport forever.

Oh, and watch lots of James Toney. I truly do believe he's the most natural boxer to have ever lived, even if he was usually operating at a severe handicap caused by old age/obesity/poor conditioning/lack of training.

Oh, and if you must use the heavy bag, record yourself for critique afterwards. Actually I don't think it's a very good idea to use a heavy bag until your technique is perfect, otherwise you're just ingraining bad habits. Try shadow boxing instead ... very slowly at first.

 

[LulzKiller]

this is a 11 year old fight but it's one of my favourites; i'm nicking a bbc retrospective because i'm lazy fuck it

Never mind the fight of Joe Calzaghe's career, his super-middleweight demolition of an American hailed the 'next Mike Tyson' is arguably the best performance ever by a British boxer.

"Forget Britain, I have never seen a better performance than that in the world," said Jeff Lacy's renowned trainer Dan Birmingham in the immediate aftermath of the points destruction when Calzaghe threw an incredible 1,006 punches.

It is 10 years on Friday since Calzaghe unified his division in a boxing "masterclass" that will live long in sporting folklore - and it was the night the world and lucrative American audiences woke up to British boxing's best kept secret.

Calzaghe may have brought the curtain down on a glittering unbeaten career fighting two American legends in boxing's spiritual homes of Las Vegas and Madison Square Garden - but it is the schooling of another American that defines his 25 years as a professional boxer.

Already a world champion for nine years, the Welshman was a huge underdog with bookies and pundits alike - add to that, he was desperate to pull out of the unification bout because of a long-standing wrist injury.

But he battled through on the advice of dad and trainer Enzo Calzaghe. And it paid off handsomely.

Crossroads
Calzaghe had been WBO champion since shocking the great Chris Eubank in 1997 but his star was on the wane - and he was dismissed by the influential American media as another overhyped European fighter.

"Joe was injured all the time, fighting domestic fighters and was doing it on satellite TV, people weren't interested in him," Enzo recalls.

Calzaghe Jr added: "The fight before Lacy, I got booed out of the Cardiff Ice Rink for my fight against Evans Ashira, when people didn't know I was injured. I was a frustrated champion for eight years but knew the Lacy fight could put my career to another level. "

Injured and ready to pull out
Less than a month before the fight, Calzaghe damaged his wrist sparring.

"I bought into the hype, I didn't think I could beat him injured, I underestimated myself and my ability," he told BBC Radio Wales.

"It was my dad who convinced me to take the fight. I was in the best shape of my life and dad could see that.

"The doctor told me not to fight, but dad wasn't having it. The special relationship we had, nothing demonstrated it better. He said I could beat him with one hand - and he was right."

Enzo added: "I told him he might as well retire if he pulled out because people would think he was a joke. I was harsh with him. I needed to be."

Career-defining, expectation-defying
Only a few pundits backed Calzaghe against Florida's finest while bookies gave him no hope but the Welshman recalls: "On the day of the weigh-in all the nerves melted away, I looked in his eyes. I knew.

"Lacy looked stiff, he looked tight, he looked tense. It was a big leap for him. How relaxed and confident I was, I could see that was bothering him, he probably wasn't used to it."

'Left Hook' Lacy was undefeated in 21 contests and had knocked out 18 and as the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard recalls: "Calzaghe was supposed to be an easy opponent for Jeff Lacy to annihilate and that was a huge, huge upset for the boxing critics and historians and even myself."

Destruction
Calzaghe's performance was majestic. He landed over a thousand punches while Lacy's reply was 444, landing just 116.

Calzaghe won every round and put Lacy on the canvas for the first time in his career. Lacy just about survived to the final bell.

"That for me was the best performance by a British boxer that I have been involved with," said long-serving promoter Frank Warren. "He took him to school."

Gratitude towards Lacy
Lacy last fought in January 2015 and lost four of his last six contests, a total contrast to Calzaghe who retired in 2009 with an unblemished 46 and 0 record and finished his career beating greats like Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr.

Calzaghe owes Lacy and concedes: "I am grateful because he came to the UK and laid it all on the line.

"My popularity after fighting Lacy was great, it was the fight that changed my career. Ten years on and I am really proud of it. That was the fight when I made boxing history. It was my masterclass."

 

[xyrichard]

Good fight but Calzaghe was far too untested to be proclaimed a great. A real great at his peak shouldn't even come close to losing to a 43 year old Bernard Hopkins.

And I fuckin' hate the way he fights too. But that's just aesthetic.