Boxing and other Sports

[ScarletBoxer]

This is my first post but Ive been reading this forum for a while to get some tips on fitness ect and also keep up with people opinions on current and past boxing bouts.
I was wondering what other sports apart from boxing do you do and do they help your boxing at all?

Currently I play footaball (soccer) and I think it does little except give me an intense run around and afew extra training sessions a week. Ive always played Rugby and I find this and helped my boxing and vice versa not just because of the occasional fist fight but because of the physicality of the game. This is more of a mentality thing as I grew up in a sport that I knew if I didnt take care of myself I could be hurt or embarrassed by some big guy running through me!!
I know of Anthony Mundine the supermiddleweight who used to be a rugby league player in austrailia and Roy Jones apparantly played basketball as part of his training.

[Nicky_Hatton]

Jones has a **** off big basketball court at his house, he loves it.

He also plays table hockey (name? escapes me.) for reflexes, apparently.

My source being his crib.

[JayCoe]

I don't think any sport is going to specifically prepare you better for boxing, besides the fitness. All sports have their benefits, running - fitness, football, eye-feet coordination, fitness, rugby - fitness. The list is endless, christ, think about it what is one of the most common things a boxer has in his gym bag? A skipping rope...That's the stuff little girls used to do at my primary school, if a guy did it he was plain gay to his classmates. Everything has it's benefits to boxing because boxing is a very demanding sport which requires abit of everything. So just do what you enjoy, if you only want to do boxing then only do boxing, afterall no other sport will home in the skills required for boxing other than that itself. If you also want to play rugby, then play it aswell and so on.

[sukhenkoy]

I don't think any sport is going to specifically prepare you better for boxing, besides the fitness. All sports have their benefits, running - fitness, football, eye-feet coordination, fitness, rugby - fitness. The list is endless, christ, think about it what is one of the most common things a boxer has in his gym bag? A skipping rope...That's the stuff little girls used to do at my primary school, if a guy did it he was plain gay to his classmates. Everything has it's benefits to boxing because boxing is a very demanding sport which requires abit of everything. So just do what you enjoy, if you only want to do boxing then only do boxing, afterall no other sport will home in the skills required for boxing other than that itself. If you also want to play rugby, then play it aswell and so on.

Well stated. I played footy for 7 years before having to quit because of an on-going leg problem, and, despite all of that supposed stamina that I was supposed to build up over those years, it doesn't compare at all to the intensity of the exercises you perform at a boxing gym. Boxing is no doubt the toughest (both mentally and physically) sport in the world, so you have to be ready to fully commit yourself to it. Boxing is its own sport; other sports might give you an edge over somebody that's never played sports before in his/her life if you both step into the gym for the first time, but, honestly, that edge won't be so significant in my opinion.

I find rugby to be an extremely demanding sport as well, so, like Jaycoe said, do what you really want to. I do suggest that if you really want to excel in boxing, you should focus ONLY on boxing. Just my two cents. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

[TK Duncan]

If your playing midfield or something id say thatd help your stamina a fair bit seen as your always sprinting up and down the field.

[JayCoe]

The only sport you should ever "sprint" in is sprinting. Besides a sprint finish, it should never be used. Go play football and sprint for the first 5 mins, those 40 more, in the first half, you will next to useless, hovering around in your position trying to catch your breath. Or go to a punchbag and hit it for 5 mins, try going at it intense for the first 2 mins, those next 3 you'll be slapping it about as if you were 5 years old. You cannot build stamina in sprinting because sprinting is exactly what it says it is, it's a burst, you can maybe train and prolong that burst but, at the end of the day, a burst can only ever be a burst and therefore will always be short term.

[rj_ct]

i played competitive hockey from the time i was 6 years old until i was 18. i started skating when i was 3. it definitely helped me with stamina, but more so with agility, movement, footwork, etc.

also, from a mental side of things i credit hockey with teaching me to put pain out of my mind (or playing through the pain), discipline, determination, hard work, and the like.

there are definitely some drawbacks though. for example, it took me a while to stop crossing me feet when i moved, as crossovers are a huge part of hockey.

[Catmeat]

Ive played underwater hockey since i was 7, really helped with my fitness and muscular development from all the swimming you do, played rugby for around 6 years too, gave me very strong legs.

[West24]

WTF is underwater hockey??
I played basketbal in highschol and college, it helped a lot with footwork etc.

[Dick-Sucker]

This is my first post but Ive been reading this forum for a while to get some tips on fitness ect and also keep up with people opinions on current and past boxing bouts.
I was wondering what other sports apart from boxing do you do and do they help your boxing at all?

Currently I play footaball (soccer) and I think it does little except give me an intense run around and afew extra training sessions a week. Ive always played Rugby and I find this and helped my boxing and vice versa not just because of the occasional fist fight but because of the physicality of the game. This is more of a mentality thing as I grew up in a sport that I knew if I didnt take care of myself I could be hurt or embarrassed by some big guy running through me!!
I know of Anthony Mundine the supermiddleweight who used to be a rugby league player in austrailia and Roy Jones apparantly played basketball as part of his training.

I don't think that league so much helped him. He got offered a professional contract as a basketball player and turned it down. He played pro league and then pro boxing.

It sure does help though. In reflexes and that.