The Myth That Boxers Don't Fear Other Boxers Put To Rest..

I don't think in most cases boxers are afraid of their opponents as much as they are simply losing the fight. Realizing they are back to square 1 after all their hard work, time, and dedication. However with that being said, I have never seen anyone look as scared as Mike Spinks was when he fought Mike Tyson. He was terrified.

nothing much lefty..just catching up on the boxing news...trying to find threads not filled with racism I will let you in on a secret Larry I am color blind....Lefty

"fear fuels the fire" some people fight better with fear Whuts good Larry??? I have been quite for a few weks busy here at the office but I had to get in on this thread....Lefty

Bat I love that post ......Lefty Thanks lefty. You yourself made some great efforts earlier in this thread. :fing02::fing02:

When HW champion Floyd Patterson packed his gear for his first fight with Sonny Liston he included sunglasses and a fake beard. Patterson of course was KO'ed in less than a round. He wore the sunglasses and the fake beard as a disguise on his way out of the building. So he knew pretty well that he'd lose and he knew it would be embarrasing. I dont know if one would call it fear? Bat I love that post ......Lefty

When HW champion Floyd Patterson packed his gear for his first fight with Sonny Liston he included sunglasses and a fake beard. Patterson of course was KO'ed in less than a round. He wore the sunglasses and the fake beard as a disguise on his way out of the building. So he knew pretty well that he'd lose and he knew it would be embarrasing. I dont know if one would call it fear?

david haye fears no man He looked pretty wussed out after Vitali punched him on the arm. :D

cus said it best ... the hero and the coward I was looking around on boxing scene and saw a thread about this topic and thought I would write a blog about it. I saw in the post where one of the other members wrote how they read or saw on a documentary that Muhammad Ali said he was really afraid of Frazier. When I think of fear I think of being so scared that you just want to run and hide. To me a boxer can’t have that type of fear. When I think of the type of fear a boxer has I think of fear on a different level. Fear for a fighter is adrenalin pumping in your body. It is fire and you have to be able to react accordingly when you are "fired up" it is not natural to not get pumped when you are going to fight. It is when the adrenalin runs out and the body slows and you can think and react that you are relaxed in the ring. Yes fighters get pumped or fired up before a fight. Some act hard and do the stare down and start acting badass others just chill and hold it back and talk in the ring. I don't think you are a fighter you can be afraid in the way that you are stating or you wouldn't get in the ring at all. In regards to Ali being afraid of Frazier… Frazier had the meanest Left hook in the game Ali did nothing but insult the man for months leading up to the fight. If Frazier wasn't motivated to kill Ali in the ring I don't know what would motivate him. Also Ali was coming back from his biggest battle of all with the US Government and a 3 year layoff. He had two quick fights with Jerry Quarry 10/26/70, Oscar Bonavena 12/7/70 and then fought Smoking Joe in March of 1971. Unsure of his skills and rusty from his lay off he may hve been a little bit more nervous. So if Ali was bit more nervous than usual I would imagine this would be the fight he would nervous or scared for. But by being scared it can help you if you are too confident you make mistakes fear keeps you honest. All of us being the loyal boxing fans we are have watched the Rocky movies. In that movies Rocky describes a boxers fear. I think that description of fear is the best and closest you can get to how you feel before you climb in the ring with a dangerous man. Fear is like this fire burning inside you and if you don’t control it, it will burn you up…. but if you can control it can be the fuel that drives you to do great things the only difference between a hero and a coward is what they do when they get afraid. A coward turns and runs away a hero rises to the challenge and fights his way to the top… So to answer the question of the thread and to solidify the point of this blog the answer is yes fighters do have fear but like I said before not in the sense of being afraid but in the manner in which I described in my blog. If a fighter was truly afraid he would not climb in the ring at all. Sometimes you hear the term shot fighter or past his prime maybe some say he lost his desire to fight or maybe the fear turned on him?? ....Lefty

I will admit was a little shocked when I heard Ali say that.. Then again, Frazier was a beast. frazier was one tough sob. even foreman was scared of him. i remember watching a video and george foreman said when he was staring frazier down he was afraid his knees would shake. he said he was swinging for the fences in the 1st fight because frazier threw this left hook and it barely missed him but it had some bad intentions behind so george tried to take him out asap before he got warmed up. (joe was a slow starter)

All one has to do is see Tysons fight against Alex Stewart to see how one man feared his opponent.

Michael Spinks was grey with fear when he fought Tyson. Seldon was KO'ed by a Tyson miss.

I think more are afraid of losing then the actual opponent in the ring. Co-sign homey.

Yeah, sometimes I don't get nervous at all just really pumped up to fight but then other times I am nervous. Watch the docu on ESPN though, not sure when it comes on again but you'll hear Ali say it was actual fear. Frazier had the meanest Left hook in the game. Ali did nothing but insult the man for months leading up to the fight. If Frazier wasn't motivated to kill Ali in the ring I don't know what would motivate him. So if Ali was bit more nervous then usual I would imagine this would be the fight he would nervous or scared for. But by being scared it can help you if you are too cofident you make mistake fear keeps you honest....Lefty

Ali was feeling "scared" because he knew he was in over his head and was not back to 100% since the layoff and was likely going to lose...

I would call it more like the butterflys in the stomach type of thing, or nervous. I wouldn't call it fear or scared. But what do I know I'm not a boxer but whenever I've gotten in a fight I wasn't scared just a little nervous. Yeah, sometimes I don't get nervous at all just really pumped up to fight but then other times I am nervous. Watch the docu on ESPN though, not sure when it comes on again but you'll hear Ali say it was actual fear.

i heard that ali met liston right before he died, and ali told him" man, you scared me"

I don't think they actually fear them.Maybe the fear stems from the fear of losing not their opponent actually making them afraid.Fighters knows what happens in a fight, they know they can get hurt and the other things that come with fighting.Its probably more their nerves or anxiousness to fight.

I would call it more like the butterflys in the stomach type of thing, or nervous. I wouldn't call it fear or scared. But what do I know I'm not a boxer but whenever I've gotten in a fight I wasn't scared just a little nervous.

Its rediculous to say that if you're a boxer, you have "NO FEAR" of another boxer. You're right. Fear is something that comes natural. You can do your best to hyde it, and use you mind to control it, but there is no such thing as not having fear. Fear is adrenilan pumping in your body. it is fire and you have to be able to react accordingly when you are "fired up" it is not natural to not get pumped when you are going to fight. It is when the adrenilan runs out and the body slows and you can think and react that you are relaxed in the ring. Yes fighters get pumped or fired up before a fight. Some act hard and do the stare down and start acting bad ass others just chill and hold it back and talk in the ring. I don't think you are a fighter you can be afraid in the way that you are stating or you wouldn't get in the ring at all.....Lefty