What Makes a Good Boxer Great?
Boxers spend hours in the gym to improve their technique because it’s a tough, demanding career, and one of the sports that is most difficult to even survive. Many fighters are drawn to it in the first place because they have a passion for one-on-one competition and may have seen their champions emerging successfully from a bout stacked against them. Having the desire to win is only a tiny part of what makes a good pugilist a great one, however.
Punching Accuracy
You need to hit a moving target in this sport, and at the very same time that you’re sizing them up and preparing to punch them, they are doing their level best to avoid you being able to do so! If you throw a punch and miss you’ll have expended vital energy and will have also given them a chance to land a blow on you. If you don’t miss, however, you’re not just emboldened, but have successfully weakened your opponent at the same time.
Punching Power
Boxers need explosive levels of strength to develop their punching power, but it’s not all about lifting weights at the gym or following strict diet and exercise regimens. It has a lot more to do with developing first-rate coordination, excellent timing, and being able to sense an opening coming up.
Quickness
This is the skill that goes the longest way to determining success in the ring, although it’s quite a different thing from the quickness you need to win big in a Blackjack, Craps, or Poker game at any of the first-rate casinos! You need to be faster than your opponent since if you can get out of the way before he or she can hit you and you can land a punch before they move, you will have gained a significant advantage.
Defence
You need to defend yourself every moment that you’re in the boxing ring, stopping your opponent from getting at your most vulnerable areas and trying to land punches of your own in theirs. Developing a strong defence means being able to block and avoid their blows, and practising movement and how your arms and body are positioned is the best way to do this.
Conditioning
It’s not enough for a pugilist to develop the skills necessary to throw accurate, powerful punches. And being able to defend yourself and being quick on your feet is good, but it’s far from enough.
Great fighters have great endurance, and you need to build yourself up to the point where you can keep going for as long as you need to so that you win the fight.
An athletic boxer could well dominate for a couple of rounds, as could one who punches accurately and powerfully, but when that fighter gets into the 10th or 11th round, exhaustion can reduce the advantage that these talents bestow. This increases their vulnerability to getting badly hurt, so conditioning is vital and must be a primary focus when it comes to training.
