the long and lonley road, why do athletes choose to box?

okay, rhetorical question. your a young, gifted athlete confident you will do well in any sport you turn your hand to, would you choose to box, or go for another sport. points to consider:-

money: a major factor for most people. Floyd is reportedly being paid $250 million for 6 fights, the highest paid sports star ever. but the vast majority of boxers, even world champions don't make anywhere near that much, Peterson was recently paid just $35 thousand for a title defense.

training: boxing training is much tougher than most other sports, without the comradery of team mates and training often miles away from family and everything else (big bear for example) it can be very isolating. often boxers are kept separate from sparring partners and focused purely on the fight. with some camps lasting 16 weeks i imagine this could be really difficult.

health: nobody gets into boxing for health reasons, its a tough physical sport, punching somebody repeatedly in the head has major ramification long term (parkinsons etc) and deaths occur every year in the sport. not to mention the mental damage if your were to seriously hurt or kill and opponent in the ring.

performing: whilst the attention is solely on you when you fight, and winning is a hugely satisfying experience it could also be a huge dent to the ego getting knocked out so publicly, the pressure is much higher than football for example. also the fact that 3-4 fights a years is about average, compare that to football who play in front of thousands every week i could imagine it been hard to keep motivated.

personally i love boxing enough that if i were talented i would be happy been paid peanuts and just performing. however i would have to admit if it was somebody else asking my advise, i'd tell them there's no money, its a lonely road and you won't be the same at the end of it physically- so go play fussball or tennis and milk it for all its worth.

thoughts?

The thing is people often get into whatever sport they do/choose to do at a young age whether its a combat sport/martial art, team sport or racket sport. If they really enjoy it and are good at it they take it more seriously, dedicating time to it & competing in various levels of in club or amateur competitions. If they are really good then there's the option of turning pro. I think your question was a little to hypothetical, its like asking why take up judo over boxing as there is little chance if at all of a pro career, at best winning gold at the olympics!

You say if you were talented enough you'd box pro for peanuts, I don't imagine there's many that go into the pro game with that idea. Do you box amateur at the moment? If not then I'd recommend taking up boxing or another combat sport I'm sure you'd have a different opinion then.

1. They probably like violence........
2. They watch guys on the TV and idolise them.
3. Maybe they are being bullied and want to defend themselves.
4. One of their friends goes..
5. They are hyperactive and want to lose that energy.
6. like me maybe their Brother started and I tagged a long..
7. It's somewhere they feel accepted..
8. They try it and like it.

Poverty, a liking of pain, the obsessive nature of training...

Poverty in backward Countries like Mexico and the Philippines is a good one...Davide.

They can't get enough of being slated by the faceless masses on internet forums?

They get tired of making...

DAVE667 wrote:They can't get enough of being slated by the faceless masses on internet forums?

haha

training: boxing training is much tougher than most other sports, without the comradery of team mates and training often miles away from family and everything else (big bear for example) it can be very isolating. often boxers are kept separate from sparring partners and focused purely on the fight. with some camps lasting 16 weeks i imagine this could be really difficult.

Watch these 24/7 shows and all your see is how the training camp is like one big family with everyone sitting down and eating meals together, watching movies and generally hanging out. Is that all for the cameras then?

They get tired of making...

They clearly don't know how do do it properly. Like fighting, it's an art that needs to be refined. Some have it, some don't.

I think it depends on the circumstances. If your talented at several sports, you'll probably end up pursuing a career in the one your the best at or the one that is likely to generate you the most amount of money.

Because it's better to feel pain than nothing at all.

guys like curtis woodhouse have come from professional football into boxing, for less money and attention, so it must have something over other sports to draw in the athletes.

davidemore wrote:Because it's better to feel pain than nothing at all.

Idiot...if you want to feel pain, don't take up boxing...go out with my ex. Not only will it be an emotionally excruciating experience constantly, you also get to play my favourite guessing game "What have I done wrong now?" Once played that for three days straight...didn't win though.

Maybe she didn't like tea..........

Lol @ dave667!

She must have been one crazy box.

All those Megadeth concerts must have fried her brain..........

sohotnot wrote:The thing is people often get into whatever sport they do/choose to do at a young age whether its a combat sport/martial art, team sport or racket sport. If they really enjoy it and are good at it they take it more seriously, dedicating time to it & competing in various levels of in club or amateur competitions. If they are really good then there's the option of turning pro. I think your question was a little to hypothetical, its like asking why take up judo over boxing as there is little chance if at all of a pro career, at best winning gold at the olympics!

You say if you were talented enough you'd box pro for peanuts, I don't imagine there's many that go into the pro game with that idea. Do you box amateur at the moment? If not then I'd recommend taking up boxing or another combat sport I'm sure you'd have a different opinion then.

naw i don't box, i used to when i was a kid (never had a real boxing match), but then moved to karate then rugby and played through my late teens early 20s (im 25 now). i did go back boxing for 2-3 months last summer and really enjoyed it but a new job put a stop to that.

i've recently discovered bomber graham has a gym (or at least in name) near me however and i think i'll check it out.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:All those Megadeth concerts must have fried her brain..........

Mine too, they're far too tame for my taste. More of a Misery Index man myself

eddyfightfan wrote:guys like curtis woodhouse have come from professional football into boxing, for less money and attention, so it must have something over other sports to draw in the athletes.

Maybe he wasn't that great a footballer, wasn't he in the lower leagues? I think in football there are a lot more politics involved on a personal level as well as with club & management. I think in some respects they have less freedom & more people to answer to. He probably thought he could make it as a pro boxer as well as make more money than in any other pro sport.

DAVE667 wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:All those Megadeth concerts must have fried her brain..........

Mine too, they're far too tame for my taste. More of a Misery Index man myself

i had you as a cliff richard fan dave, most suprising

sohotnot wrote:

eddyfightfan wrote:guys like curtis woodhouse have come from professional football into boxing, for less money and attention, so it must have something over other sports to draw in the athletes.

Maybe he wasn't that great a footballer, wasn't he in the lower leagues? I think in football there are a lot more politics involved on a personal level as well as with club & management. I think in some respects they have less freedom & more people to answer to. He probably thought he could make it as a pro boxer as well as make more money than in any other pro sport.

whoa...... calm down, he was part of the finest team ever to grace a pitch, the mighty sheffield united (yes i am from sheffield). im not sure how good he was, but i would have thought he would receive considerably less from his boxing, he was living in shared housing around the time of the gavin fight so can't have been rich.

Carrie, Wired for Sound, Congratulations, Power to all our friends...stone cold classics the lot of 'em but I'm afraid Cliff just loses out to the metal brigade.

DAVE667 wrote:

training: boxing training is much tougher than most other sports, without the comradery of team mates and training often miles away from family and everything else (big bear for example) it can be very isolating. often boxers are kept separate from sparring partners and focused purely on the fight. with some camps lasting 16 weeks i imagine this could be really difficult.

Watch these 24/7 shows and all your see is how the training camp is like one big family with everyone sitting down and eating meals together, watching movies and generally hanging out. Is that all for the cameras then?

this is nothing like what 99% of boxers train like.
only established successful boxers have 'camps'. the rest wake up, go running alone, go to their local gym and train alongside other fighters, go home to their house alone or with their family.

they get paid very little, especially after costs for trainer, promoter etc.

they can also have months between fights. this is months without any money. then a fight comes around, training has gone well, you're 6 months without a fight or a pay day and living off sponsors if you're lucky to have them and....your opponent gets injured. another couple months until your next pay day.

look at john murray. great unbeaten run, 2 high profile fights on the bounce including one in the US for a world title. he was working digging up roads over Christmas as he suddenly failed a medical and his fight with rees fell through.

its such a hard game and i've got nothing for respect for everyone who steps through the ropes.

keiren farrell is a prime example of how hard a life in boxing is. you can be left with nothing.

i heard the guy who won prizefighter recently was a part time plasterer.

and history is littered with ex-champions who are fogotten and penniless.

Cliff Richard...The UK's David Cassidy

OasisBFC wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:

training: boxing training is much tougher than most other sports, without the comradery of team mates and training often miles away from family and everything else (big bear for example) it can be very isolating. often boxers are kept separate from sparring partners and focused purely on the fight. with some camps lasting 16 weeks i imagine this could be really difficult.

Watch these 24/7 shows and all your see is how the training camp is like one big family with everyone sitting down and eating meals together, watching movies and generally hanging out. Is that all for the cameras then?

this is nothing like what 99% of boxers train like.
only established successful boxers have 'camps'. the rest wake up, go running alone, go to their local gym and train alongside other fighters, go home to their house alone or with their family.they get paid very little, especially after costs for trainer, promoter etc.

they can also have months between fights. this is months without any money. then a fight comes around, training has gone well, you're 6 months without a fight or a pay day and living off sponsors if you're lucky to have them and....your opponent gets injured. another couple months until your next pay day.

look at john murray. great unbeaten run, 2 high profile fights on the bounce including one in the US for a world title. he was working digging up roads over Christmas as he suddenly failed a medical and his fight with rees fell through.

its such a hard game and i've got nothing for respect for everyone who steps through the ropes.

keiren farrell is a prime example of how hard a life in boxing is. you can be left with nothing.

"and training often miles away from family and everything else" So this isn't strictly accuate then? One person saying you're not with your family and another saying you are. Course, if you don't have a family, it's gonna be lonely going home if you're a boxer or you work in a call centre.

eddyfightfan wrote:i heard the guy who won prizefighter recently was a part time plasterer.

and history is littered with ex-champions who are fogotten and penniless.

Yup, Eddie Hearn trawls the building sites and soup kitchens looking for guys to enter the fray. Still, that's what Mick Hennessey did for the vast majority of his fighters too.

If they're forgotten, how can history be littered with them?

Hearn just trawls boxnation instead..

fighters like froch and bradley go home every day and live a normal live, much like a 9-5 job but thats not the norm.

other fighters need to be away from it all, or have to move to another country to chase there ambitions and that no doubt is lonely and isolating. besides nobody else around them has to get in the ring, whereas a team sport you have 15 guys around all sharing the burden

Its the ultimate one on one sport. The ultimate test of your skill, character and nerve.

I loved the training, sparring and the few bouts I had. Wasn't dedicated enough and hated being punch in the stomach.

i think you need that love to even be a fan of the sport, imagine how many kids would stop playing football in they got punched in the face every time they scored. it is a tough tough sport

for boxing you really do give up your body for it in the long run.

Still remember the last fight I had..........Sure the timekeeper let the rounds go longer than he should...........

you cant really say the pressure or the motivation is greater for boxing then in other sports unless you have done them both at a top flight level and can there for make a fair and balanced comparison.

Normally the people who get in to boxing and other sports who excel often have a passion for their chosen sport, focusing on the financial gains to be had usually comes later when making career decisions.

The injury side of boxing while very serious it is not as prolific in the terms of career ending injury's when compared to sports such as american football.

The training for a fight is intensive but in between fights the boxers can often relax which can be a fair amount of time when some fighters only fight 2/3 fights a year, most other athletes and sports personnel have to train year round, even when the season ends most training does not.

I think the pressure and motivation is greater in Boxing.........

1. Most Boxers are determined to get out of a poor background..

2. Defeat means more to a Boxer's future earning capacity than If say Federer loses in Miami....or if Rooney misses an open goal....

3. You can get seriously hurt everytime you enter the ring.

RingMasterDave wrote:you cant really say the pressure or the motivation is greater for boxing then in other sports unless you have done them both at a top flight level and can there for make a fair and balanced comparison.

Normally the people who get in to boxing and other sports who excel often have a passion for their chosen sport, focusing on the financial gains to be had usually comes later when making career decisions.

The injury side of boxing while very serious it is not as prolific in the terms of career ending injury's when compared to sports such as american football.

The training for a fight is intensive but in between fights the boxers can often relax which can be a fair amount of time when some fighters only fight 2/3 fights a year, most other athletes and sports personnel have to train year round, even when the season ends most training does not.

well maybe we should ask freddie flintoff which was easier cricket or boxing.

i'd say the chance of a career ending injury is just the same, and alot more people play football, and anyways they don't count because they all wear armor during games.

mostt boxers keep year round fitness and just focus on the opponent in camp.

DAVE667 wrote:

OasisBFC wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:

training: boxing training is much tougher than most other sports, without the comradery of team mates and training often miles away from family and everything else (big bear for example) it can be very isolating. often boxers are kept separate from sparring partners and focused purely on the fight. with some camps lasting 16 weeks i imagine this could be really difficult.

Watch these 24/7 shows and all your see is how the training camp is like one big family with everyone sitting down and eating meals together, watching movies and generally hanging out. Is that all for the cameras then?

this is nothing like what 99% of boxers train like.
only established successful boxers have 'camps'. the rest wake up, go running alone, go to their local gym and train alongside other fighters, go home to their house alone or with their family.they get paid very little, especially after costs for trainer, promoter etc.

they can also have months between fights. this is months without any money. then a fight comes around, training has gone well, you're 6 months without a fight or a pay day and living off sponsors if you're lucky to have them and....your opponent gets injured. another couple months until your next pay day.

look at john murray. great unbeaten run, 2 high profile fights on the bounce including one in the US for a world title. he was working digging up roads over Christmas as he suddenly failed a medical and his fight with rees fell through.

its such a hard game and i've got nothing for respect for everyone who steps through the ropes.

keiren farrell is a prime example of how hard a life in boxing is. you can be left with nothing.

"and training often miles away from family and everything else" So this isn't strictly accuate then? One person saying you're not with your family and another saying you are. Course, if you don't have a family, it's gonna be lonely going home if you're a boxer or you work in a call centre.

id argue only the very high level fighters shut themselves away from their families in some cabin in the mountains. the 24/7 makes fight camps out to be social and inviting affairs but most boxers train like john smith goes to the gym - as part of a regular day then back to the house to feed the kids and watch eastenders.

who would be able to pay for 6 weeks in big bear with their trainer, s&c coach, chef, manager etc? only the people with a profile enough to warrant a 24/7 series made about them.

most brits have to go on the road to get the big fights, so would be isolated anyways

For the top guys it's a choice whether they want to be surrounded by sycophantic acolytes or live as hermits. Hagler, for example was meant to be a completely alone shut in during camps when he wasn't physically training. Then on the other side of the coin you have Leonard who wouldn't train with less than three cameras present!

eddyfightfan wrote:

sohotnot wrote:

eddyfightfan wrote:guys like curtis woodhouse have come from professional football into boxing, for less money and attention, so it must have something over other sports to draw in the athletes.

Maybe he wasn't that great a footballer, wasn't he in the lower leagues? I think in football there are a lot more politics involved on a personal level as well as with club & management. I think in some respects they have less freedom & more people to answer to. He probably thought he could make it as a pro boxer as well as make more money than in any other pro sport.

whoa...... calm down, he was part of the finest team ever to grace a pitch, the mighty sheffield united (yes i am from sheffield). im not sure how good he was, but i would have thought he would receive considerably less from his boxing, he was living in shared housing around the time of the gavin fight so can't have been rich.

Ah now we have the answer, playing for one of if not the finest team in Europe the pressure was to much & he opted an easier ride as a boxer! Strange that he was living in a shared house, maybe his wages as a footballer were pretty low.

sohotnot wrote:

eddyfightfan wrote:

sohotnot wrote:

eddyfightfan wrote:guys like curtis woodhouse have come from professional football into boxing, for less money and attention, so it must have something over other sports to draw in the athletes.

Maybe he wasn't that great a footballer, wasn't he in the lower leagues? I think in football there are a lot more politics involved on a personal level as well as with club & management. I think in some respects they have less freedom & more people to answer to. He probably thought he could make it as a pro boxer as well as make more money than in any other pro sport.

whoa...... calm down, he was part of the finest team ever to grace a pitch, the mighty sheffield united (yes i am from sheffield). im not sure how good he was, but i would have thought he would receive considerably less from his boxing, he was living in shared housing around the time of the gavin fight so can't have been rich.

Ah now we have the answer, playing for one of if not the finest team in Europe the pressure was to much & he opted an easier ride as a boxer! Strange that he was living in a shared house, maybe his wages as a footballer were pretty low.

Frak THE BLADES!!! UP THE OWLS!!! "WE ARE ALL WEDNESDAY ARNT WE"

"WEDNESDAY TILL I DIE! I'M WEDNESDAY TILL I DIE! I KNOW I AM YOU SAID I AM I'M WEDNESDAY TILL DIE"

eddyfightfan wrote:most brits have to go on the road to get the big fights, so would be isolated anyways

you mean like thompson based himself over here for weeks before price?

more like rees and murray kind of fights actually