Are Champions born or made?

[Hyper Knuckles]

Through hard work alone, can any boxer become the best in the world? Or does it take natural gifts to survive at the very top?

[Barry Halls]

depends on the competition.

If someone with better physical attributes work as hard as the guy with less "talent" then he will probably be better.

It's also not only about hard work. It's about being efficient.
As the saying goes "Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect".

To think someone is born to do something. Talking about god given talent etc is quite absurd however.
The best athletes in the world are more often than not also the hardest workers.

Talent is real. It does exist. But i really think it's not as large a factor as most people believe.
It's mostly so widespread because people want an excuse to not work hard enough. They want to quit and give up because "they don't have that talent thats needed".

[SBleeder]

As is the case in any sport, and really any endeavor period, the answer is "both".

There is no amount of work I could have ever put in which would have made me a world champion.

[New England]

Through hard work alone, can any boxer become the best in the world? Or does it take natural gifts to survive at the very top?

i hate to say it but if you dont have talent you'll end up on the recieving end in boxing


hard work is a necessary ingredient in the creation of a great boxer, certanly
and i'd argue it's the only commonality in every great boxer, but you need physical talent that you brought into the sport to make it to the top and be successful


not everybody is going to be blindingly fast, or a murderous puncher, but to be a professional boxer you need to be supremely durable
you have to make it through training without sustaining injuries

your average joe wouldnt last a week in the gym and running.
maybe when he's in his teens but not when he's into his 20's and 30's

you have to be an athlete, if that means anything (kind of like using the word in the definition)

talent is necessary to be successful in boxing.
you dont have to be the most talented to be the best
but you do need talent.

[IronDanHamza]

I think so.

Just going by basic terms. I think great fighters are born.

Guys like Robinson, Greb, Charles all the way to Mayweather and Pacquaio, were born to be great fighter, I believe. The second they left the womb they were going to become great fighters.

And all the great fighters, Lamotta, Louis, Duran, all of the greats.

Of course, these guys had to put the dedication and work into it to achieve that greatness. You need both.

But as another poster said, a long long long list as people could work as hard as Floyd Mayweather but they will never be Floyd Mayweather. Even if they worked even harder than he does, 5 times as hard even, they still wouldn't be able to even make as a fighter in general.

You need to 'have it' to be a great. IMO.

[Scott9945]

As is the case in any sport, and really any endeavor period, the answer is "both".

There is no amount of work I could have ever put in which would have made me a world champion.

Of course. Just like thousands of high school baseball players. No matter how hard they work and how much PED's they consume, they'll never get a sniff of the big leagues. It's not like the entertainment business where you can be at the right place at the right time. Boxing in particular reveals the truth pretty quickly.

[F l i c k e r]

Individual sports.... Made.


Team sports.... Born.



Reason being. No matter how much talent you have, if you don't work hard at individual sports, you will suck.

Ex: Roger Federer, born with crazy talent. Worked hard as hell as a junior and a pro, until he become unfathomable. While David Nalbandian, born with crazy talent, beat Fed as a junior. Never worked hard at the pro level, not half the professional Federer is.

Or.... Zab Judah. More talent than just about anyone. Didn't work hard as a youngin' and is weak minded.... crap. Rocky Marciano, no talent, still became a champion winning every fight.


Team sports is different because you need an extra edge over the hundreds and thousands of other people playing the same sport and working just as hard as you. Something that makes you stand out. Due to multiple people playing at once, rather than you looking out for yourself.

So kinda both.

[The Surgeon]

Natural talents can make it and hard workers with good trainers can make it too, combine the two and u have champions like Floyd Mayweather who despite his natural god given ability and the longevity of his career STILL trains like an animal

[SBleeder]

Or.... Zab Judah. More talent than just about anyone. Didn't work hard as a youngin' and is weak minded.... crap.

Judah made it farther than 99% of everyone who has competed in the sport, which would include all the club fighters who train like maniacs.

[Miburo]

A matter of degrees, and also varies between sports. I think hitting in baseball may be the most talent-dependent ability in sports. If you're not born with that physical potential you will never have it no matter how hard you work.