How fit are boxers?

How does boxing fitness levels compare with other sport?

When watching the Martinez vs Dzinziruk, it was commented on Martinez's style that it is very energy intensive and if not for his grounding in cycling and soccer he would find much more difficult to fight at that level.

How does boxing compare with these sports in terms of endurance?

I know boxing covers a range of fitness levels but for cardio and endurance are sports like football and cycling much better or did the commentators have no idea what they were talking about?

Watch the episode of Superstars" with Hatton where he came last in practically everything.

People say boxers have to be supremely fit but how many of them REALLY exert themselves for the full 36 minutes of a fight. Most of the hard slog is done in training.

I marvel at the endurance of the cyclists, but I think we need to remember that being hit - especially in the body - is very draining, and on that basis alone I'd reckon that the top fighters probably possess equal, though different, levels of fitness, stamina and endurance.

In fairness anybody who's beeen an amateur and gone in the ring knows how knackered they feel after about a minute of the fight.....

God knows how these guys went 15 hard rounds and 12 now..

For me they are at a highhigh fitness level..

HumanWindmill wrote:I marvel at the endurance of the cyclists, but I think we need to remember that being hit - especially in the body - is very draining, and on that basis alone I'd reckon that the top fighters probably possess equal, though different, levels of fitness, stamina and endurance.

Perhaps the Tour de France and the Olympic cycling could be livened up by having the participants punched in the ribs at regular intervals

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:In fairness anybody who's beeen an amateur and gone in the ring knows how knackered they feel after about a minute of the fight.....

God knows how these guys went 15 hard rounds and 12 now..

For me they are at a highhigh fitness level..

Yes it is a high level of fitness, but the top of all other sports?

DAVE667 wrote:

HumanWindmill wrote:I marvel at the endurance of the cyclists, but I think we need to remember that being hit - especially in the body - is very draining, and on that basis alone I'd reckon that the top fighters probably possess equal, though different, levels of fitness, stamina and endurance.

Perhaps the Tour de France and the Olympic cycling could be livened up by having the participants punched in the ribs at regular intervals

And my vote for ' Post of the day ' is cast.

The fitness level needed for boxing is very different to other sports. No other sport requires ou to take punches as you go.

azania wrote:The fitness level needed for boxing is very different to other sports. No other sport requires ou to take punches as you go.

I see you are as sharp as the modern fighters today, az.

HumanWindmill wrote:

azania wrote:The fitness level needed for boxing is very different to other sports. No other sport requires ou to take punches as you go.

I see you are as sharp as the modern fighters today, az.

With modern nutrition and brain training, this lad could be the new "Gazza"

DAVE667 wrote:

HumanWindmill wrote:

azania wrote:The fitness level needed for boxing is very different to other sports. No other sport requires ou to take punches as you go.

I see you are as sharp as the modern fighters today, az.

With modern nutrition and brain training, this lad could be the new "Gazza"

azza the Gazza.

Azza the spazza Gazza?

azania wrote:The fitness level needed for boxing is very different to other sports. No other sport requires ou to take punches as you go.

You don't need to be fit to take a punch.

You hear about some athlete are so fit that there heart only need to beat round 30-40 times a minute when resting.

Does boxing make boxer super fit? Not for me.

Lord Coe's resting heart beat was once measured at 29 beats per minute...course, it shot up when he heard the Olympic Logo was racist!

Rugby League guys have to be supremely fit. Surprisingy, i think Alan Baxter, the skier, seemed to perform well on superstars which would suggest that perhaps skiing could be up there with the most demanding sports.

D4thincarnation wrote:

azania wrote:The fitness level needed for boxing is very different to other sports. No other sport requires ou to take punches as you go.

You don't need to be fit to take a punch.

You hear about some athlete are so fit that there heart only need to beat round 30-40 times a minute when resting.

Does boxing make boxer super fit? Not for me.

Of course you need to be fit to take a punch.

To start with, cardio performance, and the return of blood to the brain, is crucial to a boxer's ability to recover from a heavy punch. That's part of the reason punch resistance declines with age.

Secondly, it's the oldest tactic in boxing to sap a man's strength and stamina by hitting his body.

Pekchenko wrote:Rugby League guys have to be supremely fit. Surprisingy, i think Alan Baxter, the skier, seemed to perform well on superstars which would suggest that perhaps skiing could be up there with the most demanding sports.

Yeah skiers have incredible endurance, I remember seeing a program about some cross country skiers from Scandinavia that had a gene that made able to carry more oxygen in there blood, and that was one of the reason why they excelled at the sport.

Micheal Phelps is a genetic freak, his body does not build up lactic acid.

D4thincarnation wrote:

azania wrote:The fitness level needed for boxing is very different to other sports. No other sport requires ou to take punches as you go.

You don't need to be fit to take a punch.

You hear about some athlete are so fit that there heart only need to beat round 30-40 times a minute when resting.

Like Henry Armstrong? 40 isn't that remarkable though, have had mine below 50 before. You get club runners with pulses under 40.

You get the odd boxer like Armstrong who had supreme fitness but overall must fall some way short of the skiers, cyclists, rowers, rugby league and some others

Anyone willing to predict how long it is before the question"Who do you think is the fittest boxer today?" rears it's ugly steroid-fuelled head?

Scottrf wrote:

D4thincarnation wrote:

azania wrote:The fitness level needed for boxing is very different to other sports. No other sport requires ou to take punches as you go.

You don't need to be fit to take a punch.

You hear about some athlete are so fit that there heart only need to beat round 30-40 times a minute when resting.

Like Henry Armstrong? 40 isn't that remarkable though, have had mine below 50 before. You get club runners with pulses under 40.

Most of Manny's recent opponents hardly have a pulse at all.

DAVE667 wrote:Anyone willing to predict how long it is before the question"Who do you think is the fittest boxer today?" rears it's ugly steroid-fuelled head?

Since you asked it probably Pacquiao, and you are the one who brought him into the conversation or was it Windy

D4thincarnation wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:Anyone willing to predict how long it is before the question"Who do you think is the fittest boxer today?" rears it's ugly steroid-fuelled head?

Since you asked it probably Pacquiao, and you are the one who brought him into the conversation or was it Windy

It was a joke, D4. Nothing more and nothing less.

My apologies. Let's get back on topic.

sure tyson fury would do well in 'superstars',he would crush the cross country skiers easy :huh:

How fit are boxers..

A young christy martin was alright..

D4thincarnation wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:Anyone willing to predict how long it is before the question"Who do you think is the fittest boxer today?" rears it's ugly steroid-fuelled head?

Since you asked it probably Pacquiao, and you are the one who brought him into the conversation or was it Windy

Awww, bless....face it son, every article you do is an attempt to turn the topic toward your diminutive object of unrequited lust. Kerry Katona seeks less attention than you!



A young christy martin was alright..
____________________________________________________________
"The Coalminer's Daughter/Son is making a comeback...wonder if Manny will offer him/her a fight?

terribble choice trussy! mia st john,now your talkin

Was Hatton in training when he went on the programme superstars?
Never heard of this programme before.

Apparently Christy Martin wouldn't agree to catchweight!

Lance Armstrong who had supreme fitness in cycling was quoted saying that the marathon he did was one of the hardest things he had done.

Boxing can be quite stop start, not sure if this is right but doesn't that work on anaerobic training more.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Apparently Christy Martin wouldn't agree to catchweight!

So SHE'S ducking him as well??????????????

I think the long gaps between fights these days, resulting in boxers generally spending less time in intensive training than in other sports, probably means that in general (I say in general because there are always exceptions to any rule) boxers probably aren't quite as fit in the cardio-vascular sense as other sportsmen. However, that's only one way of looking at it, and if you used the ability for the body to absorb punishment as one of your criteria, then a case could be made that boxers are at the tip of the ice berg. I'd personally say that, in general, the fitness of a boxer in this day and age will be slightly less than that of a world class cyclist, rugby league player or decathlete.

Rugby league is pretty stop start to be fair, how many are involved in all stages of the game? Time is taken out for conversions, lineouts, scrums etc.

Golfers do all that walking and swing of clubs...Tiger has his extra curricular activities...he must be knackered!

DAVE667 wrote:Golfers do all that walking and swing of clubs...Tiger has his extra curricular activities...he must be knackered!

Nonsense.

Tiger is supremely fit and can never get enough holes.

I'm not sure Superstars should be used as a barometer of fitness. Obviously it varies from boxer to boxer, depending on level weight etc, as with all sports. I disagree with D4 that you don't have to be fit to take a punch, as I think proper conditioning is key to punch resistance.
Also, stop-start, as opposed to constant exertion is a different kind of fitness to continuous sports, it requires just as much training to have the ability to have your cardio system deal with the changes in pulse and heart rate.

Scottrf wrote:Rugby league is pretty stop start to be fair, how many are involved in all stages of the game? Time is taken out for conversions, lineouts, scrums etc.

There aren't any lineouts in League, only in Union, the latter of which is more stop-start. League is pretty free-flowing most of the time, and having played both codes I can safely say that playing as a back in League takes some serious doing. Tackling, having to instantly retreat ten yards as the ball is played to the dummy half and then pushing upfield over and over again is aerobically very tough.

All about opinions, though. As I said, boxing takes a different type of fitness to some other sports, I just reckon that in terms of general cardio-vascular performance it's a wee bit behind some other major sports, although obviously there's no real proof either way.

So do people think Kellerman's comments about Martinez are valid?

Learn something new every day. Didn't know they had no lineouts, union fan.

Scottrf wrote:Learn something new every day. Didn't know they had no lineouts, union fan.

Good stuff, I like Union too, arguably the more 'complete' sport in terms of all-round skill. Just prefer watching and playing league. Out of interest, do you play yourself, Scott?

No mate, just spectator.

Rugby is for wimps......Men holding eachother in a scrum.....

Do me a favor.....

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Rugby is for wimps......Men holding eachother in a scrum.....

Do me a favor.....

Spoken like a true couch potato, Truss.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Rugby is for wimps......Men holding eachother in a scrum.....

Do me a favor.....

Whereas grown men spraying themselves with creosote, liberally dousing themsleves in mazola and flexing at each other in a pair of child's underpants is masculine?

Armchair? Reinforced bed more like.

truss quick question? why do they have 4 players from each team at the coin toss in a nfl game?? always bugged me that one

I'm not going to pretend I have loads of experience in the ring, but even when sparring I feel it is more energy consuming than football and basketball.

tommyhearns wrote:truss quick question? why do they have 4 players from each team at the coin toss in a nfl game?? always bugged me that one

Because one guy on his own couldn't be trusted to remember if it was heads or tails?

Couch potato one minute, creosoted and flexing the next...

Just think rugby is a bit girlie......

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Couch potato one minute, creosoted and flexing the next...

Just think rugby is a bit girlie......

You're just afraid that they're whispering about you in the scrum.