Old Sparring Session at the House (Me)

[FlowchartRog]

Listen, never say never. Sports, life, it all has this stigma tied to it that if you dont do something by such and such a time, you're just done and should shill for the man until you're Dead. Plenty of kids like you two wander into gyms, confused and a tad soft, with barely a glimmer of an idea. Then with good Coaching, intelligent instruction, and confidence building, next thing you know you're fighting for an Amateur or Professional Title.

Muhammad Ali was just a kid who wanted his bike back.

Tommy Hearhs was sick of other kids stealing his coats.

You're 32 now? I didnt have a Pro fight until I was 34. And I could have kept going with different circumstances because I was in the best shape of my life. I lost, badly, but no one can say I didnt get my ass in there in front of ESPN lights and cameras and take that "L" like a man. My Mom didn't start living until she was in her 40's. Now she's been to a dozen Countries.

Do something. Amateurs has a Master's division. Just for fun. Or be a referee. USA Boxing always needs help. Help guide the next generation, the kids who are boxing in their living rooms with their Brothers right now.

One of my favorite Boxing stories is Johnny Nelson. He was a going-nowhere Amateur in England when he stepped foot into Brendan Ingle's Gym. When Ingle asked what he heard about him Johnny said "I heard you're the worst trainer in all of Sheffield." Then Ingle smiled and said "so why are you here?" Johnny said "I had to see for myself." Brendan said he had heard Nelson was unathletic, had no punch, and couldnt take a punch. No heart. He said "watch what we're gonna do."



To this day even if you just ask Nelson about Ingle it brings tears:.

Hahahahaha, I've never heard this before.

 

[FlowchartRog]

On the eve of one of the best nights of combat sports in recent years, I am going to humble myself and show an old sparring session of me and my brother from back in the day.

This was posted almost exactly 12 years ago so I was 20 at the time and my brother was 19.I know we were bad and we didn't have much room but we did our best. There's a bed we pushed away right next to us.

We taped every sparring session for years before and after but this is the only full session to survive. Edited to cut us being gassed but we were in pretty good shape back then. We're guessing we had around 200 sessions on a laptop but we lost all the footage before my brother turned ill and I became an alcoholic degenerate gambler a few years later.

I've been a reg in the boxing forum for like a decade now and I never had the balls to post this. But fuck it I'm old enough now to not give a fuck if you guys are kinda mean.

I'm in the yellow w/ all the hair and yes that is a UFC poster on the wall in the back! Shouts to Sam Stout lol!

I would flatten you in about 10 seconds tbh man, 20 tops.

Just trolling, honestly kudos to you for having the balls to post your own bedroom sparring session

 

[BluntTrauma21]

I started boxing at 19 on a whim and lost my first fight 3 months later. I then left for University abroad and sort of half assed it for 6 months, then dropped it altogether.

Thing is is I was travelling around N.Ireland sparring some pretty high level guys and not getting pasted, so I was tipped to be good or whatever.

That loss rocked me a bit for sure, but a year later my trainer died from a heroin overdose and I just couldn't get back into the sport. The rest of my 20s I just worked at my career and could barely exercise let alone box.

I've just turned 30 and in the last 4 months got back into exercising and boxing. I've changed as an athlete but there's talk about me having a run at the amateur season which starts in late August here.

So my point is - as long as you just get started doing something, that something inveitably turns into something else - and it's usually better. I'm back in shape and feeling great and getting punched in the head again and loving life again.

That's awesome, man. Glad you're getting back into it. GL in your ammy bouts keep me updated.

Btw you're right, getting punched in the head is kinda refreshing sometimes.

 

[BluntTrauma21]

I would flatten you in about 10 seconds tbh man, 20 tops.

Just trolling, honestly kudos to you for having the balls to post your own bedroom sparring session

Lool, that kinda bedroom sparring session I would never post, I've already disappointed enough in that regard hahaha.

 

[StopDucking]

BTW I dont know if you have kids or not but if you do, involve them in what you're doing. I dont care if my Sons become fighters, but them being part of what I do gives us a bond. And nothing shows kids that you can achieve your goals like them watching you go after yours in real time.

Otherwise they could either end up resenting you, or feeling sorry for you.

Speaking of leading by example, how is it ok for a coach to be fat as fuck like Crawford’s trainer? I’m not talking about being a little overweight but about being morbidly obese to the point where you can’t even cross the street without a car.

I don’t understand how anyone can tell their fighters to stay in shape with a straight face and then 5 min later gulp down 20 Big Macs while their students are busy working out.

 

[Sinister]

Speaking of leading by example, how is it ok for a coach to be fat as fuck like Crawford’s trainer? I’m not talking about being a little overweight but about being morbidly obese to the point where you can’t even cross the street without a car.

I don’t understand how anyone can tell their fighters to stay in shape with a straight face and then 5 min later gulp down 20 Big Macs while their students are busy working out.

Well, Crawford's trainer situation is a little weird. See this is the kind of information that gets lost in History and the true wizards are forgotten. Bomac wasnt Crawford's teacher. That was a man named Midge Minor. Midge was the head Coach of that gym in Omaha where Crawford first went when he was a kid, and Bomac was also young. I read a Sun article and Midge wasnt even mentioned, it acted like Bomac started training Crawford when he was a kid. But that's just not true. Every good fighter that came out of that gym was the product of Midge, who died early on Bud's career trained all those guys, Grover Wiley, Bomac himself, and Crawford's Father and Uncle. BoMac and Diaz took over after he died, before that they were essentially assistants to him.

So when you look at BoMac you're not seeing a real trainer. What you're seeing is a former fighter, and former fighters always go through this period as they age where they get fat AF. Tyson, Duran, Hamed, Morales, just off the top of my head. Oh and of course Ricky Fatton. Some of them get over that. Tyson and Duran did. But I fear BoMac has a little too much ego to humble himself, until he has a medical emergency. But that said, Diaz and BoMac never changed anything about HOW Bud is trained, which is why he didint deteriorate. They understood Midge's system and didnt alter things much.

 

[BluntTrauma21]

Speaking of leading by example, how is it ok for a coach to be fat as fuck like Crawford’s trainer? I’m not talking about being a little overweight but about being morbidly obese to the point where you can’t even cross the street without a car.

I don’t understand how anyone can tell their fighters to stay in shape with a straight face and then 5 min later gulp down 20 Big Macs while their students are busy working out.

BoMac n Cheese

 

[RabbitPunch36]

Well, Crawford's trainer situation is a little weird. See this is the kind of information that gets lost in History and the true wizards are forgotten. Bomac wasnt Crawford's teacher. That was a man named Midge Minor. Midge was the head Coach of that gym in Omaha where Crawford first went when he was a kid, and Bomac was also young. I read a Sun article and Midge wasnt even mentioned, it acted like Bomac started training Crawford when he was a kid. But that's just not true.

Showtime did a similar thing during their broadcast of the Julian Williams vs Carlos Adames fight. They said the Breadman/Stpehen Edwards started training JRock when he was 12 when he lived in a homeless shelter but Edwards himself said he started training JRock when he was 17 and already went to a national tournament. I believe Mitch Allen was his original trainer as a kid.

You mentioned this topic before but a lot of trainers dont get recognition for building fighters who go on to win world titles.

 

[Sinister]

Showtime did a similar thing during their broadcast of the Julian Williams vs Carlos Adames fight. They said the Breadman/Stpehen Edwards started training JRock when he was 12 when he lived in a homeless shelter but Edwards himself said he started training JRock when he was 17 and already went to a national tournament. I believe Mitch Allen was his original trainer as a kid.

You mentioned this topic before but a lot of trainers dont get recognition for building fighters who go on to win world titles.

Yeah, there's current trainers versus who taught someone HOW to fight. And often times those arent the same people. I make a point never to say I built someone I didnt. But I have already experienced a fighter moving on from me and their current trainers claimed to have taught them