best age to start boxing/when you started

[Southpaw16BF]

Here is a list of boxers who didn't start at a young age...
.Jeff Chandler-19
.Glen Johnson-20
.Harry Greb-18
.**** Tiger-19
.Kermin Cintron-19
.Dwight Muhhamed Qawi-25
.Nate Campbell-24
.Choi Tseveenpurev-22
.Earnie Shavers 21/22
.Manuel Ortiz-20
.Rocky Marciano-23
.Ronald Hearns-24
.Kevin Johnson-18
.James "BoneCrusher" Smith-Mid 20's
.Ron Lyle-29
.John Davison-25
.Hasim Rahman-20
.DaVarryl Williamson-25
.Ken Norton-22
.Sonny Liston-18
.Max Bear-18
.Audley Harrison-19/20
.David Banks-20's
.Jess Wilard-30
.Jorge Barriors-23
.Jamel McCline-25
.Ola Afolabi-19
.Jesse Ferguson-25
.Martin Rogan-28
.Jimmy Young-19
.Scott Pemberton-26

[dchampishere]

Here is a list of boxers who didn't start at a young age...
.Jeff Chandler-19
.Glen Johnson-20
.Harry Greb-18
.**** Tiger-19
.Kermin Cintron-19
.Dwight Muhhamed Qawi-25
.Nate Campbell-24
.Choi Tseveenpurev-22
.Earnie Shavers 21/22
.Manuel Ortiz-20
.Rocky Marciano-23
.Ronald Hearns-24
.Kevin Johnson-18
.James "BoneCrusher" Smith-Mid 20's
.Rony Lyle-29
.John Davison-25
.Hasim Rahman-20
.DaVarryl Williamson-25
.Ken Norton-22
.Sonny Liston-18
.Max Bear-18
.Audley Harrison-19/20
.David Banks-20's
.Jess Wilard-30
.Jorge Barriors-23
.Jamel McCline-25
.Ola Afolabi-19
.Jesse Ferguson-25
.Martin Rogan-28
.Jimmy Young-19
.Scott Pemberton-26

very nice research, i started boxing when i was 7 years old 236 am fights. starting young has advantages and disadvantages but what really matters is your willpower, if you think you can you can. my advice is when you get the urge than that was the right age for you to start, remember this is a personal journey of self-discovery never compair yourself with others.

[Ogecca MaMa]

best age to start..at 5-6 yrs old

[Alkie]

Started when I was 11. Not too seriously. 17 now, taking training a lot more seriously now.

[Warrior25]

i started at 25 just to keep fit my trainer saw potential and pushed me to fight at the south african pro trials my perfomance earned me my pro ticket now i got my first fight coming up in june. so i am only on the first step but age matters not i think. once you get to 30 the last thing you want is the younger guys punching your head off.

[PR Boxer]

Here is a list of boxers who didn't start at a young age...
.Jeff Chandler-19
.Glen Johnson-20
.Harry Greb-18
.**** Tiger-19
.Kermin Cintron-19
.Dwight Muhhamed Qawi-25
.Nate Campbell-24
.Choi Tseveenpurev-22
.Earnie Shavers 21/22
.Manuel Ortiz-20
.Rocky Marciano-23
.Ronald Hearns-24
.Kevin Johnson-18
.James "BoneCrusher" Smith-Mid 20's
.Rony Lyle-29
.John Davison-25
.Hasim Rahman-20
.DaVarryl Williamson-25
.Ken Norton-22
.Sonny Liston-18
.Max Bear-18
.Audley Harrison-19/20
.David Banks-20's
.Jess Wilard-30
.Jorge Barriors-23
.Jamel McCline-25
.Ola Afolabi-19
.Jesse Ferguson-25
.Martin Rogan-28
.Jimmy Young-19
.Scott Pemberton-26

Add to that list Wilfredo Vazquez -21, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. - 21 and Sergio Martinez, 20.

[bbos]

started when i was 16, in my opinion its best for a kid to start in the teens, boxing causes brain damage, not a good thing for a young kid thats still growing.

[REMOVED SHARK 97]

Starting young has limited advantages, someone starting at age of 8 with average talent getting in the ring at the age of 23 with someone else aged 23 when he started at 19 who has tremendious talent...

well you know the outcome, it aint football(soccer), you need to be born with it to be succesful and time to hone it.

[glidesmack]

Great list of fighters who started not too young. Look at greb and marciano.

All you really need to know is there's a guy named bernard hopkins who might be the best fighter in the world and is 44 and there was a guy named george foreman who almost definitely wasn't the best fighter in the world and was still world heavyweight champ at 45.

[j]

i started contact sparring in karate before i was ten. it made me definitely comfortable during anything physical when i was a teenager.

so, i would say getting a kid introduced lightly to contact arts at an age like 7 or 8, and take him a bit farther when he is in his mid teens or so may be best.

u dont wanna help make a kid to be a bully or a bad-ass person though.


so mental maturity helps a great deal, and is why i consider this to be a personal measure more than a general measure.

i have met am boxers when i was a late teen, who, at 3 or 4 years younger than me, thought they were so tough and had the exact wrong attitude that a real fighter should have.

problem is that i doubt that most boxing clubs spend time on developing a person's attitude, spirit, and mental faculties.

the best fighters, as i always say, strive to compete with themselves. not with other people.