Are 'tune ups' really that essential?

[M Bison]

No, tune-ups are for the mentally weak these are people who want to waste the fans time and make the sport of boxing a complete utter joke when you have an accomplished top level fighter like Ward saying he needs 3-4 bum fights to get ready you really do have to scratch your damn head...

Does a professional bike rider need to race alongside a bunch of old people when he has been out for a while to "get ready" or does he just need to get his fitness back to optimal levels?

It's a pretty damn simple question with an easy answer, it's absolute bogus fighting is like riding a bike once you've learned the art of it you never forget how to do it the only thing people like Ward needed to do was train hard in the gym get intense sparring sessions going on maybe take ONE suspect fight but a fight that should be somewhat competitive and from then on you're fine this 3/4 nothing fights to get ready is just a lie and it cons the fans sadly some Ward fans are such idiots that they believe it's neccessary not realizing all Ward is doing is making some easy cash.

If Bhop can come back after a year and a bit at 51yo and fight a top 5-10 level light heavyweight fighter then why does Ward need a full year of shiet fights against guys who are low ranked tell me that I'd love to know from these idiots who blindly follow Ward lol.

[Sparked_26]

They're essential for fighters on top, but not for the poor cab driver they're having tuneup with who has to train with scant resources. People don't normally care about these cab drivers. They're expendable.

This is my problem with tune-ups. Not just the lambs to the slaughter opponents who at least usually get a good pay day - relative to their level. But the rest of the card. So you will have the star getting top money and his opponent getting a modest wage comparatively, really. Then you'll either get a poor undercard or worse still an undercard where two fighters who are genuinely in a high risk fight relative to their level getting played absolute buttons as a direct result of 'the star'.

Garcia's team wanted to fight Sam Eggington who would have got £125k and I guess Garcia would have managed to get 10X that. Eggington said he would have fought Garcia on Saturday and Sunday for that money. What would the rest of that card looked like. Someone on it for certain is getting absolutely splattered for chump change.

So my problem is not so much that they take these tune ups but that TV companies but them on T.V.

[Elotero]

'tough guy whos boxed' alert ^

Common sense broski.

As essential as training or practice. Think of it as extended practice, that includes an audience atmosphere, smaller gloves and no headgear. Like Dominick Wade fight. I personally had no issue with this fight. If the choice was to either fight the Wade types of the world or sit on the bench, Id rather see GG fight the Wade types and keep sharp. Id rather see Rigo against bums than just rot on the sideline.

Now.. sometimes this bites a fighter in the ass. Its still a test and not a given that he will win, even if the odds are hugely in his favor. This is part is very much mental. To see if a fighter is always keeping the winning mentality or will he go soft and let himself get outworked by someone who has no business in the ring with him. Examples would include Montiel vs Sanchez? the kid who cut his face up real bad in a tuneup. JC Candelo vs Eddie Gomez, Chris Byrd vs donavan. The last Angulo fight. The last Robert Guerrero fight. etc..

[brettWall]

I always cringe when some people pontificate about how they care about fighters' well-being and longevity; that fighters need a break. Obviously, they don't. They only care about fighters on top and Salka fighters are sub-humans. Bottom line is mismatched fights should never be sanctioned, period.

[Santa_]

I would advise Froch to take a tuneup or two if he decides to come back and fight GGG.

[KillaCamNZ]

Meh, MOST fighters needing tune-ups, are no different to the guy who's got a bit of cash in his back pocket, but is too much of a p*ssy to pull the trigger and spend it. I'll do it! No, wait, keep looking...no seriously, I will do it! I've just gotta find the right one...

They're just praying something comes along and changes course without them having to nut up and do it.

[b Murphington]

A lot of people complain today about a fighter taking one tune up before a big fight, and all hell breaks lose if a fighter dares take 2 tune ups. But the reality is that the frequency of tune ups has been way watered down from what it used to be. I was not around at the time, but looking back at history and resumes of the best fighters, it looks to me like fighters took anywehre from 5 to 10 tune ups in between fights. You take one now and you're gonna hear it from the fans, it's crazy, and don't even think about taking 2-3 tune ups unless you're trying to get death threats from fans even if you're preparing for a killer, they don't wanna hear it. I think as boxing progresses like this, boxers careers will be shorter, eventually we will be seeing UFC-like resumes, with fighters having 10 fights and already near their experation date, and the absolute best and most durable fighters going for pro 20.

It has already begun with Joshua, Lomachenko, Inoue, these guys are pioneers of the new generation of shorten careers with more big names and less filler/tune ups. For Joshua there's a lot of pressure on him to fight Wilder, Klitshcko, Fury, Ortiz right NOW and he only has 17 fights

I would not be surprised if Lomachenko finishes his career with 15 fights and still ends up being a borderline HOF'er especially if he beats Walters and Pacquiao, followed by 3 more big names like Bradley, Crawford, etc.

I think a lot of that just had to do with pay and their situations at that time. A lot of fighters back then, were full time fighters, regardless of the stage in their careers. Plus, their purses were not inflated like they are now. They had to fight for money.


Think about it. In the present, you're a top fighter and you just had a fight. Say you pocket 5 mil. Why would you fight for the rest of the year? You just made 5 mil.

Back in the day, top fighters didn't get those paydays, so they fought all the time to keep steady cash coming in, and to stay active too.

Right now, low level boxers don't make ****. A lot of guys box and have full time jobs cuz pay is ****. That's why boxers have less fights. Boxing don't put food on the table.

And top level boxers make too much money now, so they couldn't be bothered to fight more than 2 times a year.

Also, back in the day people didn't understand the long lasting effects of concussions. They would get KTFO and fight 2 weeks later, still concussed. They just didn't know.

A lot of reasons for why the overall number of fights per fighter have decreased over time.

[b Murphington]

No, tune-ups are for the mentally weak these are people who want to waste the fans time and make the sport of boxing a complete utter joke when you have an accomplished top level fighter like Ward saying he needs 3-4 bum fights to get ready you really do have to scratch your damn head...

Does a professional bike rider need to race alongside a bunch of old people when he has been out for a while to "get ready" or does he just need to get his fitness back to optimal levels?

It's a pretty damn simple question with an easy answer, it's absolute bogus fighting is like riding a bike once you've learned the art of it you never forget how to do it the only thing people like Ward needed to do was train hard in the gym get intense sparring sessions going on maybe take ONE suspect fight but a fight that should be somewhat competitive and from then on you're fine this 3/4 nothing fights to get ready is just a lie and it cons the fans sadly some Ward fans are such idiots that they believe it's neccessary not realizing all Ward is doing is making some easy cash.

If Bhop can come back after a year and a bit at 51yo and fight a top 5-10 level light heavyweight fighter then why does Ward need a full year of shiet fights against guys who are low ranked tell me that I'd love to know from these idiots who blindly follow Ward lol.

I got to disagree with this. Tune ups, or soft touches, to an extent, are essential to top fighters, as long as they are not abused.

If you just went to war and had a fight of the year type fight, you've earned the right to take time off, or to take a soft touch in your next fight. You've given fans a fight they will not forget. They earned that layoff or soft touch.

Now if you aren't making big fights, or are getting easy work, no. You need to keep fighting and staying busy. And if you are just fighting guys who are clearly below your level, you need to step up and challenge yourself.

I don't expect any top fighter to fight 3 or 4 HARD fights consecutively.