How far would you go to chase a dream?

its up to you mate don't ask us because after all its YOUR dream and YOUR decision that counts. you gota ask yourself is it worth it. it seems like your unsure

I've been training for a while now...i'd say 6 months maybe longer at LA boxing and have found a couple trainers willing to sign with me and take me amature then pro. One trainer was prominent in south america when his last fighter won a south American title but the other trainer has one fighter who's current professional record is 4-1 (4 K.Os). I want to sign with one of them but my parents say that if i sign with either then i'm out of the house. i'm currently 18 years old but still finishing my last year in high school. I could leave and continue training and have a job at the sime time while finishing school and go to a community college...but i'm not sure if it's really worth it. FOCUS: Would you leave your house, family, security, to chase your dream to become a boxer? and what advice do you have for my situation? A lot of dreams require great personal sacrifice, you just have to be willing to make that choice.

If you think you got what it takes than go ahead and do it. But if your're uncertain about being succesful in boxing than just keep doing what you're doing. You don't want to rush it and dedicate your whole life to boxing only to find out after a couple of fights that you don't have "it", a job, or a family.

go to big tournaments without a trainer? i'm nto sure how this whole thing works. do i pay for a trainer? no i said when you can, dont fight without a trainer

Some of the main trainers at the gym know of some people like that so i'm going to see if i can hook up with them. The actual trainers at the gym say they don't have time to train an amature so they're going to give me a few lessons for money then hook me up with a trainer who just does it on their free time.

Oh, and as far as going to big tournaments, you can't just jump into big tournaments with zero fights. 5 months experience is nothing. Just find a good trainer who is trustworthy, unlike this guy who you are working with right now, and your trainer will find you bouts that will help you develop and will maybe get you entered into some novice tournaments after you've had 2-3 fights if your ready.

I think you should find yourself a completely different gym and different trainer alltogether. There are many trainers who are volunteers when it comes to amateur fighters and a lot of them are extremely good. Personally I only pay gym dues at $25/month and that is just fees to keep the place up and running since it is operated out of a building with high rent. My trainer doesn't make a cent and he happens to be excellent.

go to big tournaments without a trainer? i'm nto sure how this whole thing works. do i pay for a trainer?

so i SHOULDNT sign a contract with anyone until i'm thuroughly in my amature career? aight i think i'm going to go on that advice... not sign anything and just pay for personal training and get my 10 amature fights out of the way before doing anything. fight in all the big tournaments that you can

so i SHOULDNT sign a contract with anyone until i'm thuroughly in my amature career? aight i think i'm going to go on that advice... not sign anything and just pay for personal training and get my 10 amature fights out of the way before doing anything.

That coach is talking NONSENSE to you. You have to stay with him when u go pro????? Listen, you are like a someone at the White House telling a third grader they will let him work there in the summer emptying waste baskets provided that when he gets out of college in 17 - 20 years he will come to work there as a legal aide or something. Tell that coach to chill, show you the basics and relax. Don't sign ANYTHING....AT...ALL ...other than membership to the gym ( I teach 2 classes at LA Boxing here in CT. so I know how it works and I also know the pro and amateur game inside and out. If what you are saying is true then that guy you are dealing with is an IDIOT

5'-10".......................Rockin':boxing: oh..... .

yeah, but we ruled you out because of your height..........Rockin':boxing: how tall are you Rockin?

Smokin' the fact that you ruled this dude out based on his age just shows how full of shit you are. Ps Bernard Hopkins started at 16 I understand. Explain.

You are so full of shit. Eubank never had great skills. He was always subpar with a great chin and knockout power. Benn was a beast..natural talent..I don't think so. How about just tough and a puncher. Mesi got beat by Jirov. Nuff said. Audley picked on young'ins at the olympics. Again, nuff said What rubbish, Eubank was a very special talent according to the experts who followed him on Ringside (Steve Farhood and Randy Gordon told his then-manager Adonis Torres that he had a future world champion on his hands after the Brown and Cannida fights) and Screensport. And it's plain to see http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif And if Benn didn't have natural talent, how do you explain his talent? Because he didn't spar - he didn't need to! Within weeks of first starting boxing he was training others in his regiments boxing team who had been boxing for years and years!

didnt hopkins start in his 20s? Nah, he started when he was six apparently.

What do all of these guys have in common? No skill. Oh and Rocky's competition wasn't great and he had one of the weakest HW era's of al l time. Chris Eubank was good, but not great at top level and Nigel Benn was an exciting brawler with a few good wins...nothing more. And don't get me started on Mesi and Harrison. Fact is, you learn skills and tricks as you gain tons of experience in the sport. IT is extremely rare to find a world-class athlete in any sport who didn't start young. Eubank showed some of the best skills I've seen in boxing from 85-90, and Benn had natural talent coming out of his fucking ears. Mesi was top-drawer - at his best a few years back he'd take all today's HW's, and Audley clearly has top-drawer tools. There is such thing as natural talent, as in Benn's case, though it is very rare, and there is such thing as obsessively training your ass off and having no friends as in Eubank's case, though that's probably even rarer.

What do all of these guys have in common? No skill. Oh and Rocky's competition wasn't great and he had one of the weakest HW era's of al l time. Chris Eubank was good, but not great at top level and Nigel Benn was an exciting brawler with a few good wins...nothing more. And don't get me started on Mesi and Harrison. Fact is, you learn skills and tricks as you gain tons of experience in the sport. IT is extremely rare to find a world-class athlete in any sport who didn't start young. didnt hopkins start in his 20s?

well i just turned 18 abotu a month ago so i trained for 5 months while 17 years old...if that helps any...

You won't make it because all of the top amateurs/boxers in America started when they were like 10. You are down like 7 years and it's hard to makethat up. There are plenty of exceptions. Just off the top of my head, Rocky Marciano didn't start until he was in his 20's, Chris Eubank didn't start until he was 16 and Nigel Benn until he was 17. Joe Mesi, who was tipped to be the next great white heavyweight before brain injuries, didn't start until his 20's and Audley Harrison, now set to be Britain's next world heavyweight champ, started at 19. Age is just a number. Infact I wish I started boxing later, because I started at 14 and actually lost my hunger for the game by the time I was in my early 20's. It's all about hunger.