Do you guys believe that ANYONE can become a great boxer given enough will and proper training or do you think that great boxers were just born to fight?

IMO genetics does play a big factor in being the worlds- best. Natural Power, build , chin etc. But training and the mental attitude/desire to succeed is also a huge factor. Talent and genes can only take you so far IMO. The hard work must be done to get to the top.

As a percentage i'd say 80% training etc and 20% Genetics , natural talent.

Just my rookie opinion

IMO genetics does play a big factor in being the worlds- best. Natural Power, build , chin etc. But training and the mental attitude/desire to succeed is also a huge factor. Talent and genes can only take you so far IMO. The hard work must be done to get to the top.

As a percentage i'd say 80% training etc and 20% Genetics , natural talent.

Just my rookie opinion


I agree to an extent, But I think in boxing the skill is trained but like you said the natural abilities is genetic.....Prime Example Laila Ali, It is just to damn bad he didnt have a son....

However, look at Ray Leonards 1st son, big slop of **** probably gets fatigued on an escalator.

Ray Robinsons 1st son as well.

For someone like Morales who I heard was living on top of a boxing gym and took up the sport when he was 8, that dedication and background help tremendously on what he became today. Now expose someone else to the same situation, would this person be as good?

In terms of percentage, I would say Genetics plays 10%
Natural Talent 20%
Determination 20%
Proper Training 50%
Luck may also come into play but take any one of the above factors and you will never have a good champion.

Genetics plays a huge factor in everything. Take an average skinny guy with a good work ethic and great heart, train the hell out of him and toss him in the ring with Roberto Duran. Duran will kill him.

You need Natural Talent, Heart, Training. Neither is more important than the other. Like ispayder said, you need all three to even have a chance.

This is true in every arena of life. No one would say that Einstein just worked harder than other scientists, he was also born with a superior mind. To be a great boxer, you have to be born with a superior potential.

Genetics plays a huge factor in everything. Take an average skinny guy with a good work ethic and great heart, train the hell out of him and toss him in the ring with Roberto Duran. Duran will kill him.

You need Natural Talent, Heart, Training. Neither is more important than the other. Like ispayder said, you need all three to even have a chance.

This is true in every arena of life. No one would say that Einstein just worked harder than other scientists, he was also born with a superior mind. To be a great boxer, you have to be born with a superior potential.



While I agree, The "good" genetics have to start somewhere...

For example, I train to box and train my ass I am nothing superior but im the average joe boxer. Then I have a son and push it on him and train his ass off, he is a bit better then I was and then he passes it down....It has to start somewhere though, whether it be a small dose or a large injection....I think genetics play little in the sport of boxing (minue the chin and such)


I dont really like to get into the whole genetic debate, I am proof bad genetics mean ****.

i don't know much about genetics but i know i am not an athlete, no one who's ever known me has ever accused me of being an athlete, but several people who've seen me fight say i am a talented boxer ( but i'm no Roy Jones Jr )... how much is talent, how much is determination?

Genetics plays a huge factor in everything. Take an average skinny guy with a good work ethic and great heart, train the hell out of him and toss him in the ring with Roberto Duran. Duran will kill him.

You need Natural Talent, Heart, Training. Neither is more important than the other. Like ispayder said, you need all three to even have a chance.

This is true in every arena of life. No one would say that Einstein just worked harder than other scientists, he was also born with a superior mind. To be a great boxer, you have to be born with a superior potential.
Completely agree. Genetic component in the elite boxers (or elite Olympic athletes, NFL stars, scientists, or politicians (well, maybe not the last one ;) ) is a very big factor. That's not to say a great boxer is guaranteed to have great boxer progeny, but he'll have a better chance than say, a Web geek (like us).

i dont think its really genetics,i think its jus to do with whther you're born with it or not.some ppl jus have a natural talent at certain things,doesnt necessarily have to come from genes.
You have to have that talent in boxing to be a real champ,couple the talent with training and only then can you get a world champ.
A good examle of natural talent- a boxing trainer was once walking past a school where he saw a small skinny kid fighting a much bigger boy,the skinny kid was too fast for the bigger boy and showed excellent reflexes for a 6 yr old. The trainer spoke to the skinny kids parents and got this 6 yr old to come to the gym. This trainer was bren ingle and the child....Naseem Hamed.

Well, whether you call it genetics, natural talent, athletically gifted or whatever, basically it boils down to the fact that some people are born with the potential to be great. That doesn't mean they start off great, but they have the potential to go way farther than the average guy.

I agree to an extent, But I think in boxing the skill is trained but like you said the natural abilities is genetic.....Prime Example Laila Ali, It is just to damn bad he didnt have a son....

However, look at Ray Leonards 1st son, big slop of **** probably gets fatigued on an escalator.

Ray Robinsons 1st son as well.


I thought I heard that Leonard's son was an awesome football player ?
Anyone ever heard that ?

The human antomi is 40%invirorment and 60% genetics, im sad to that not every one is built fore it.
Too be champ you need great geneics as well as proper training.

I thought I heard that Leonard's son was an awesome football player ?
Anyone ever heard that ?


I wouldnt say he was great, He played for OU but was nothing spectacular and has put on a good amount of weight.

Talent plays a big part in boxing no doubt. But u gotta have heart and training too. Just like Ali said, u gotta have the skill and the will, but the will has to be stronger then the skill.
But talent could be a lotta things too. Some people are just born with quick reflexes, others are born with an iron chin, others have a big punch etc.
But if it were in percentages I'd go:
Talent/genetics- 15%
Training - 50%
Heart- 35%
I just don't think talent means much if u dont have the balls to actually fight your fight.

i gotta agree with you, Rocky Marciano had the least talent but the most determination of any champion

If you see Tszyu's little boys, you can see they have ability at less than 10 years old. Whether this is from watching dad or not, who knows. But they have to have good genes to be that co-ordinated so young.

I think chins are inherited, and although you can teach power to a certain extent, real leveridge & power is something that is not taught.

I'd take talent over everything else any day, although somebody brought up a good example of the heart playing a bigger role than the talent in the case of Rocky Marciano. Going back to my point talent cannot be achieved,it cannot be learned however having the "heart" is a decision. I mean do any of you see multi-millionaires or billionaires giving away multi-million dollar contracts to 18-20 something year old men because of their heart..... I DON'T THINK SO! But I totally agree with that famous Muhammad Ali quote of "the will being stronger than the skill" I think that especially holds true when you are going up against other TOP TALENTED athletes.

I think chins are inherited, and although you can teach power to a certain extent, real leveridge & power is something that is not taught.
yea is there any real way to build up a chin?

yea is there any real way to build up a chin? I'm not really sure, but I see this with some Mexican fighters especially with Julio Cesar Chavez and Oscar De La Hoya, while in their dressing room warming up and in between rounds I see Chavez and Oscar open up their mouths and do a biting motion rapidly, I guess its suppose to strenghten the jaw, I mean why else would they do it.

no idea maybe it was to loosen the jaw up or something

Yeah, there are training techniques to make your jaw muscles stronger. Much like running building stamina. But the ability to take a punch varies from person to person which could only point to genetics.

Commentators always say that a boxers fitness helps them recover from punches - why would that be?

Being in shape will make it easier to take punishment to a point. I mean a guy can be rocksolid in shape but if he goes in to a fight receiving more punishment than he is handing out he will more than likely lose. There is also skill level, heart and determination that would factor in there as well. Having an even combination of these things is what seperates average to below average fighters from the champs.

The ability to take punishment would probably cause a fighter to become punchy, I spose.