How Max prepares himself without sparring?

[Khaiser]

no, it isn't

Stop acting like you know shit about shit. Everywhere in the world from Muay Thai and Lethwei to Boxing they don't do hard sparring. Only in the USA has it been considered normal. In the last 10 years a lot of gyms have recognized the error of their bullshit who continued to do so.

Stop talking like you've done fuck all in combat sports.

Not true.

Hard sparring forms the basis of boxing training pretty much the world over, for better or worse. It is literally one of the defining characteristics of the sport. Boxing sparring is hard, and has always been hard.

 

[Khaiser]

The notion that there’s no need for her sparring, under any circumstances, is absurd.

You can spar across a wide range of intensities ranging from touch sparring to full contact sparring, that closely resembles a fight with larger gloves. If you ever want to sample the differences between the two, I would suggest spending time in a western boxing gym (where knockouts in sparring are a regular occurrence) and a legit Muay Thai gym, where sparring is borderline playful, typically.

If you’re not sparring in some manner then you’re not really training to fight. You can do all running, bagwork, drilling, weights etc you like, but unless you’re spending time working out how to apply that to a live opponent then you’ll limit your development massively.

 

[Herwald]

I figure he's like Lawler and doesn't want to end up retarded like many of his old rivals and just had the experience to not need it.

There are stories of Lawler not even warming up before fights - apparently, just showed up, got wrapped and went out. That's on top of not sparring much. Crazy. People can say, well, his record speaks for itself now, but he was doing this in 2015.

 

[BigGing]

Because at this point he probably won't get much out of it aside from damage/injuries

 

[ocfightfan]

Drills, drills, drills.

 

[surgeyou1]

Of course he spars. He's probably just saying that he doesn't go full Chute Box anymore.

 

[Walter Melon]

Not true.

Hard sparring forms the basis of boxing training pretty much the world over, for better or worse. It is literally one of the defining characteristics of the sport. Boxing sparring is hard, and has always been hard.

No it isn't.

The most prevalent I have seen it is in East Coast boxing gyms and parts of Japan. Almost everywhere else I've been the sparring has been about 70% at most as the norm. Including UK, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Thailand, China, and Mexico.

 

[Walter Melon]

I don't watch instructional lol. I never have. I watch fights to learn what I don't already know. Name your fighters then, how far did they go not sparring hard? I've trained with fighters from high levels of multiple combat sports. You saying there is no need for hard sparring ever, shows that you shouldn't be training anyone. Go do demos McDojo master.

There is no need for hard sparring ever. You can go full speed or close to full speed without going hard.

Sorry I've never trained a guy to a world title. 99.9% of trainers don't. Most guys don't do many amateur fights win or lose let alone go pro. You're a wannabe tough guy at best. You're more than likely a 140 lb nerd. You'd know this if you actually trained at any gym.

 

[MadHouse]

at this stage in his career i don't think he has much a need for hard sparring because he's already battle tested and knows what a war is like, having a slugfest in the gym will only degrade him physically

 

[bambammccoy]

i mean he's had so many fights i dont think sparring is gonna show him something new. maybe he does some light sparring, working on technique in certain scenarios, hitting pads, etc.

i'm trying to remember when he was acting off with bisping... i think he got a concussion in camp while sparring and then they had to reschedule the ortega fight ?

Didn't he claim he was drugged?

 

[TSK]

Sparring is crucial when you’re new as it’s the closest thing to the real thing. But when you get to Max’s level, body preservation is just as important, if not more. He’s not exactly lacking combat experience.

If it means fewer injuries and less pulling out of fights, I’m all for it.

 

[Khaiser]

No it isn't.

The most prevalent I have seen it is in East Coast boxing gyms and parts of Japan. Almost everywhere else I've been the sparring has been about 70% at most as the norm. Including UK, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Thailand, China, and Mexico.

Yes, it is.

What sport are you talking about here? What do you mean by “70% of the norm”?

Having spent years in each, there is absolutely no comparison between the intensity of sparring in your average UK boxing gym and the intensity of sparring in your average Thai based Muay Thai gym. Chalk and cheese.

Dutch style kickboxing is also known for its sparring intensity.

 

[Khaiser]

Sparring is crucial when you’re new as it’s the closest thing to the real thing. But when you get to Max’s level, body preservation is just as important, if not more. He’s not exactly lacking combat experience.

If it means fewer injuries and less pulling out of fights, I’m all for it.

Correct.

To pretend that intense sparring is simply never necessary to aid a fighters development, is wishful thinking at best, and absolute naivety at worst.

 

[koquerelle]

Shadow boxing and visualization?

 

[Paladin]

i mean he's had so many fights i dont think sparring is gonna show him something new. maybe he does some light sparring, working on technique in certain scenarios, hitting pads, etc.

i'm trying to remember when he was acting off with bisping... i think he got a concussion in camp while sparring and then they had to reschedule the ortega fight ?

I believe he still does light impact spars, drills, grapples and rolls to keep his skills and timing sharp, but has practically eliminated the hard sparring where they go toe to toe, throwing at +65% power.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

There is no need for hard sparring ever. You can go full speed or close to full speed without going hard.

Sorry I've never trained a guy to a world title. 99.9% of trainers don't. Most guys don't do many amateur fights win or lose let alone go pro. You're a wannabe tough guy at best. You're more than likely a 140 lb nerd. You'd know this if you actually trained at any gym.

You are missing my point. I'm saying you need it at first. Once you you have the rounds in of hard sparring and have the muscle memory and know how you will respond in those situations and get comfortable in those situations then you can start minimizing the amount of hard sparring. You can't get that skillset and comfort without that intensity. You don't try to figure it out in fights. That's not how it works. You figure it out in training first so you are comfortable in fights. Max doesn't spar hard anymore because he doesn't need to, that's because he's done the hard sparring for years already and has fights to draw his experience from. So hard sparring now for him doesn't do much but just add extra unnecessary damage.

The point is, it's needed in the beginning. You figure all that out before they compete, not during the actual fight. That is why a lot of people freeze up in those moments. It's completely foreign to them if they have never experienced it in training or a fight before. You can't replicate what it's like to actually fight without fighting. All the drills and touch sparring without actual hard sparring or fights don't mean shit by itself. It's that with the hard sparring and fights together. If it's only drills and light touch sparring with no hard sparring or fights, you are missing big parts of the game. Like Serra said, it's like "Being an expert swimmer that never got in a pool."

I'm not a wannabe tough guy, that's you. I actually fight and train with high level fighters from boxing/mma. I've sparred with the fighters you guys talk about and are fans of. I've trained with the coaches you guys are fans of. So your McDojo shit doesn't affect me, it affects you and your wack ass skillset and knowledge base.

 

[DatSamboKid]

I don’t buy it.
He probably doesn’t spar hard, but he spars.