Why are some fighter scared to be hit and others don't care?

[Earl-Hickey]

Case in point Anthony Joshua, he's terrified of taking a hit even off a little cruiser, and keep in mind he's never been properly knocked out, just been made a bit dizzy

Compare this to someone like Amir Khan who has been sent to the shadow realm on multiple occasions or even like a Dillian Whyte against Povetkin who had given him Rigor Mortis with one punch, they get back in and fight without fear


What's the difference?

[Tatabanya]

Case in point Anthony Joshua, he's terrified of taking a hit even off a little cruiser, and keep in mind he's never been properly knocked out, just been made a bit dizzy

Compare this to someone like Amir Khan who has been sent to the shadow realm on multiple occasions or even like a Dillian Whyte against Povetkin who had given him Rigor Mortis with one punch, they get back in and fight without fear.


What's the difference?

You just typed it: fear.

[BodyBagz]

Not sure what the benefits are of getting hit

[Earl-Hickey]

Not sure what the benefits are of getting hit

Sometimes to win a boxing fight you might have to take a shot to land one.

If you are scared of taking any punches at all it might cost you a win

[BodyBagz]

Sometimes to win a boxing fight you might have to take a shot to land one.

If you are scared of taking any punches at all it might cost you a win

Replace ''scared'' with ''elusive'' or ''evasive'' ?

Everyone gets hit. Even the most skilled. Rule of thumb is to try not to get hit. Some fighters don't have a plan after ''punch other guy as hard as I can.'' Eventually that KO artist runs into a guy who can cancel that power out.. Then what ?

As a fan, hell yeah we want to see middle of the ring slugfests
As a boxer who has brain cells, not so much.
Why give your opponent the only chance to win by him landing a Hail Mary, if that isn't your style ?

[Earl-Hickey]

Replace ''scared'' with ''elusive'' or ''evasive'' ?

Everyone gets hit. Even the most skilled. Rule of thumb is to try not to get hit. Some fighters don't have a plan after ''punch other guy as hard as I can.'' Eventually that KO artist runs into a guy who can cancel that power out.. Then what ?

As a fan, hell yeah we want to see middle of the ring slugfests
As a boxer who has brain cells, not so much.
Why give your opponent the only chance to win by him landing a Hail Mary, if that isn't your style ?

I'm more talking about guys who are getting out boxed and losing but still won't step over their front foot and go for it.

AJ vs Usyk is a prime example, what he was doing wasn't working, he was on a route to a wide points loss but instead of gamble on exploding forward and opening up, he was content to get schooled.

[BodyBagz]

I'm more talking about guys who are getting out boxed and losing but still won't step over their front foot and go for it.

AJ vs Usyk is a prime example, what he was doing wasn't working, he was on a route to a wide points loss but instead of gamble on exploding forward and opening up, he was content to get schooled.

Ahhh..gotcha.

In that case, losing on his feet may have been a better option than getting smoked.
AJ should have destroyed Ruiz in the rematch but he played it safe knowing he could cruise.

Usyk won't be that easy. He may also not give AJ a choice but to punch it out. I don't think AJ can outbox Usyk.

[Haka]

Khan is not fighting to be hit although he gets hit. Mayorga/Margarito and maybe a boxer like Rios, those are fighters that have no problems getting hit but it is part of their overal style and strategy. The do not have the intelligence/reflexes/footspeed, but they make up for that in endurance/strength/chin and cojones.

So yeah having balls is part of it but it is also the limitation of the fighters skills set.

[-Kev-]

Amir Khan clearly has a bad chin. He gets dropped by the silliest punches. It’s not that he is some fearless warrior lol.

Amir Khan has been dropped by:

Willie Limond
Rachid Drizlane
Samuel Vargas
Danny Garcia 3x
Terence Crawford
Canelo Alvarez
Julio Diaz
Michael Gomez
Breidis Prescott 2x

Being dropped 12 times in your career does not mean that you are brave or are not scared of getting punched. It means that you suck at taking a punch. And it’s okay, a lot of humans are. Our face were not meant to take such physical damage. Even fighters who can “take a punch”, are still getting their brains rattled in a way that your brain wasn’t meant to be.

Anthony Joshua can take a punch. The shots he took from Wlad, Whyte, Ruiz, and Usyk were very hard shots. While he was pretty much done vs Ruiz, the guy stood up and was in the corner, standing, thinking about wtf just happened vs Ruiz. Khan gets slaughtered, completely knocked unconscious.

If you chose pro boxing as a profession, I am sorry, you are not scared of getting punched. That is like saying that someone who is a sky-diving instructor for a living, is scared of heights. Or that an astronaut is scared of space. Or that an electrician is afraid of electricity. Defending against the dangers of your profession does not make you afraid.

Boxing definition per Merriam Webster: “the art of attack and defense with the fists practiced as a sport. boxing.”

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boxing

Notice the definition is not “the art of allowing another person to punch you in the face as hard as they can. So hard, that it knocks you down to the ground. Which you should allow to display to observers that you are not scared.”