Starting late, how to be great?

[Aeggie]

I'm 18 and I really want to pursue boxing. I don't know how far I can take myself, but I'm willing to work hard and I'm very interested to at least find out. Physically, I am in good, not great, shape as I have been thinking on this and following a regimen of running, push-ups and crunches 5 days a week for a couple of months now. I have not ever been in a ring, but once the school year kicks off I will look into finding a trainer in my area. Looking around online it looks like the nearest boxing gym will be at least 40 miles away from my home this fall. As a not-rich student that idea, frankly, terrifies me. Does anyone have any ideas on how I might be able to cope with this? I am thinking about aiming at the 2008 Golden Gloves tournament, for now, but how do I get there if I don't have the gas money to see a trainer regularly? And what comes next, assuming I'm not a total failure? How does the progression from nobody to amateur to somebody/ranked fighter work in boxing? I am not looking to make the jump in less than a couple of years or anything crazy, I just want to set my sights high right from the gate and see how close to them I can get.

Does anyone have any information/advice/whatever for me? Anything you feel is relevant would be appreciated.

[SpeedKillz]

I'm 18 and I really want to pursue boxing. I don't know how far I can take myself, but I'm willing to work hard and I'm very interested to at least find out. Physically, I am in good, not great, shape as I have been thinking on this and following a regimen of running, push-ups and crunches 5 days a week for a couple of months now. I have not ever been in a ring, but once the school year kicks off I will look into finding a trainer in my area. Looking around online it looks like the nearest boxing gym will be at least 40 miles away from my home this fall. As a not-rich student that idea, frankly, terrifies me. Does anyone have any ideas on how I might be able to cope with this? I am thinking about aiming at the 2008 Golden Gloves tournament, for now, but how do I get there if I don't have the gas money to see a trainer regularly? And what comes next, assuming I'm not a total failure? How does the progression from nobody to amateur to somebody/ranked fighter work in boxing? I am not looking to make the jump in less than a couple of years or anything crazy, I just want to set my sights high right from the gate and see how close to them I can get.

Does anyone have any information/advice/whatever for me? Anything you feel is relevant would be appreciated.

well, if u want it, it wont matter how far the gym is away, you'll find a way. as far as 2008 golden gloves, get in the gym ASAP, it its very very hard to compete with top amateurs. as for the ladder, u get to a gym, spar alot, get better, get AM fights, turn pro (if ur ready), keep winning fights and movin up the ranks.

pushups and situps are good, try do so some pullups as well. run sprints and intervals as well. do lots of conditioning drills.

good luck.

[elizer07]

i would also say if there is a will theres a way keep ur head up stay motivated nobody says the long road is easy

[Aeggie]

I wanted to throw in another question: Should I fight before the Golden Gloves or should I just train and have my first fight at the tournament? I heard they separate fighters based on experience so I could go in with no fights under my belt or I could get into two or three before then. I'm sure having a couple of fights under my belt by then will make me more comfortable, but I also suspect that the competitiveness of the field will increase very sharply. Any advice?

[SpeedKillz]

I wanted to throw in another question: Should I fight before the Golden Gloves or should I just train and have my first fight at the tournament? I heard they separate fighters based on experience so I could go in with no fights under my belt or I could get into two or three before then. I'm sure having a couple of fights under my belt by then will make me more comfortable, but I also suspect that the competitiveness of the field will increase very sharply. Any advice?

yes definitely fight. also u should spar in the gym as much as u can. sparring is the best way to prepare, but it is nothing like a real fight, so going into the golden gloves tournament with no experience is like jumping into a shark tank with a bad cut, u'll get eaten up in no time. train hard, spar as much as possible, and get into some real AM fights before u go into the tourny...

[msagrain]

i will take abit for you to get your first fight and then you have to beat better fighter to get reconised and then they might let you in the golden gloves

[nedcmk1]

2008 might be a bit soon if you are just starting training, and wont be starting until the school year takes off. starting training in august and going for the gloves starting around jan?

my advice would be too start training as soon as possible. when your trainer says your ready start taking AM bouts. stay as active as possible. then shoot for 09

[Aeggie]

2008 might be a bit soon if you are just starting training, and wont be starting until the school year takes off. starting training in august and going for the gloves starting around jan?

my advice would be too start training as soon as possible. when your trainer says your ready start taking AM bouts. stay as active as possible. then shoot for 09

I don't know how much difference this makes, but in Indiana the tournament doesn't start until March. Unless you have to fight to qualify.

I think I may need to do some more research. Thanks for the advice so far, anyone else that can offer anything else is welcome to do so.

[BodyW8]

40 miles away? man there HAS to be a closer gym than that... And boxing requires about 5 or 6 days of training a week so unless your ready to journey 80 miles 5 days a week, i'd look for a closer gym... I don't box much but the closest gym to my house is about half a mile away/ a mile

[phallus]

I'm 18 and I really want to pursue boxing. I don't know how far I can take myself, but I'm willing to work hard and I'm very interested to at least find out. Physically, I am in good, not great, shape as I have been thinking on this and following a regimen of running, push-ups and crunches 5 days a week for a couple of months now. I have not ever been in a ring, but once the school year kicks off I will look into finding a trainer in my area. Looking around online it looks like the nearest boxing gym will be at least 40 miles away from my home this fall. As a not-rich student that idea, frankly, terrifies me. Does anyone have any ideas on how I might be able to cope with this? I am thinking about aiming at the 2008 Golden Gloves tournament, for now, but how do I get there if I don't have the gas money to see a trainer regularly? And what comes next, assuming I'm not a total failure? How does the progression from nobody to amateur to somebody/ranked fighter work in boxing? I am not looking to make the jump in less than a couple of years or anything crazy, I just want to set my sights high right from the gate and see how close to them I can get.

Does anyone have any information/advice/whatever for me? Anything you feel is relevant would be appreciated.

focus on learning the fundamentals, how to cover up, how to throw a good jab. remember son, the jab is the most important punch in boxing. spar with guys who are better than u, it'llm force u to get better as a fighter. but most important is the fundamentals, a fighter can have a long career if his technique is good