Real Boxing Gym - Las Vegas:

[Sinister]

As some of you may know I work in Vegas as a full time Boxing trainer. Unfortunately the gym I was at (which was the oldest gym in Vegas) is closed down. Right now I'm at Real Boxing, and working on a gym venture of my own. I currently have a team of Amateurs, a few who want to go Pro, and lately my Son has shown some interest in competing, though he also plays baseball. Tonight we had an open sparring night at the gym, it was his first time sparring in front of a crowd (and in front of guys like "Mama's Boy" Denis Douglin, and Hasim Rahman). The kids were doing 1 minute rounds, I only got some of the rounds with this other kid who I dont train. He also sparred another 9 year-old who I do train:



BTW that's his YouTube channel. Feel free to subscribe. My other Son has one, too but he wants to be a race car driver and only works out at the gym to keep fit.

 

[Hagler]

That’s good footwork and a sneaky right lead.

 

[Sinister]

That’s good footwork and a sneaky right lead.

I detest boxing by way of hanging out directly in front of the opponent and doing what I call "breakdance battles." Twitchy jerky movement where you rely on trickery to create an opening. I try to teach my fighters to be consistently trying to improve their positions in the ring, to control where skirmishes happen and when, if they can. Sal and Ian (the other youngster I train) are my first attempts at instilling this in ones so young.

 

[Hagler]

I detest boxing by way of hanging out directly in front of the opponent and doing what I call "breakdance battles." Twitchy jerky movement where you rely on trickery to create an opening. I try to teach my fighters to be consistently trying to improve their positions in the ring, to control where skirmishes happen and when, if they can. Sal and Ian (the other youngster I train) are my first attempts at instilling this in ones so young.

I assume quality positionning is one of the toughest things to get. Good for them to learn it early, especially if they get big and fight guys who don’t seem to care in higher weight classes.

 

[Sinister]

I assume quality positionning is one of the toughest things to get. Good for them to learn it early, especially if they get big and fight guys who don’t seem to care in higher weight classes.

This used to be very prominent in American boxing in the 80's and prior. Canizales was phenomenal at using position changes to create openings. But it has dwindled in the last 30 years. Whereas the Soviet schools made it a bedrock of their teaching in that same time period.

What Lomanchenko and Ucyk do with their angles and turns arent magic, it comes from Anatoly

 

[Sinister]

Here's a treat, this is the kind of conversations we have at the gym:

 

[Sinister]

Here's Ian, the other youngster I train. I also train his older Brother, and had his eldest Brother before he went off to College. They all fight the same way, Terminator style:

 

[Sinister]

I posted this short of Sal hitting the bag yesterday, it hit the algorithm and now has over 2k views:

 

[RedGloves]

It's always great seeing younger kids getting into the sport.
Kid in red can slip nicely - he should do it more often, set up some nice counters.

 

[Sinister]

It's always great seeing younger kids getting into the sport.
Kid in red can slip nicely - he should do it more often, set up some nice counters.

That's my Son. We work on slips and evasion a lot, but at the end of the day its about a kid's skepticism. Slipping and rolling punches takes trust in the technique and themselves. But that he tries is a great sign.

 

[RedGloves]

That's my Son. We work on slips and evasion a lot, but at the end of the day its about a kid's skepticism. Slipping and rolling punches takes trust in the technique and themselves. But that he tries is a great sign.

Given how much he knows already, it looks like you're doing a great job. Confidence will come with time.

 

[Sinister]

Given how much he knows already, it looks like you're doing a great job. Confidence will come with time.

Much appreciated. I treat the situation very gingerly. Not trying to be one of THOSE Boxing Dads. Week before last he got upset with me for stopping a session he was having a hard time in. I told him if I dont pull him when I see the time is right I'm not doing my job.

 

[Nova44]

That's my Son. We work on slips and evasion a lot, but at the end of the day its about a kid's skepticism. Slipping and rolling punches takes trust in the technique and themselves. But that he tries is a great sign.

I remember when i started doing muay thai as a kid, i learned to slip and roll, and yet when it came to sparring and my first fight i felt embarrassed doing that stuff, so i just blocked punches with my gloves instead.

Seems silly thinking back on it.

 

[Sinister]

I remember when i started doing muay thai as a kid, i learned to slip and roll, and yet when it came to sparring and my first fight i felt embarrassed doing that stuff, so i just blocked punches with my gloves instead.

Seems silly thinking back on it.

That is the EXACT kind of skepticism I was referring to. Addressing it isnt easy. Kids that young are either terribly shy about doing things that seem fancy, or are completely cocky the other way. They have to very honestly be taught risk assessment for both executing the move, and not executing the move. Then we work on how and when, after the why is established.

 

[Sinister]

Here is my LHW Marcos (black headgear). He doesnt have any fights yet due to COVID and other circumstances after, but will make his tournament debut in May. This session is using 1:30 rounds because the other guy was going into a tournament where the rounds are that short, and they were both working on increased output, not so much power:

 

[RedGloves]

Here is my LHW Marcos (black headgear). He doesnt have any fights yet due to COVID and other circumstances after, but will make his tournament debut in May. This session is using 1:30 rounds because the other guy was going into a tournament where the rounds are that short, and they were both working on increased output, not so much power:

He moves well, he's got good punch combinations and inspired angle changes - but he's a little too cocky with the slipping and moving without defense. I know this is low-impact light sparring, but he's open more often than he's not, and a talented amateur will lay a trap that he'll walk into facefirst. That's stuff that's learnable though. Otherwise looking good, good luck to him in May.

 

[Sinister]

He moves well, he's got good punch combinations and inspired angle changes - but he's a little too cocky with the slipping and moving without defense. I know this is low-impact light sparring, but he's open more often than he's not, and a talented amateur will lay a trap that he'll walk into facefirst. That's stuff that's learnable though. Otherwise looking good, good luck to him in May.

Believe it or not Marcos isnt cocky at all. In fact he's incredibly high-strung and proned to panic. Hes also hard on himself, and will mentally admonish himself repeatedly for a bad session. He and his Brother started in soccer and their Father was a Coach and was incredibly tough on them. So my main priority with him is that he thinks of boxing as fun, and can show me he will relax. Grayson has 23 (between the US and Canada) or so Amateur fights, Marcos has none.

He sparred with Tervel Pulev once, believe me he wasnt nearly as loose lol.

Also notice he WILL cover up if he feels threatened.

 

[RedGloves]

Believe it or not Marcos isnt cocky at all. In fact he's incredibly high-strung and proned to panic. Hes also hard on himself, and will mentally admonish himself repeatedly for a bad session. He and his Brother started in soccer and their Father was a Coach and was incredibly tough on them. So my main priority with him is that he thinks of boxing as fun, and can show me he will relax. Grayson has 23 (between the US and Canada) or so Amateur fights, Marcos has none.

He sparred with Tervel Pulev once, believe me he wasnt nearly as loose lol.

Also notice he WILL cover up if he feels threatened.

Perhaps cocky wasn't the best word to describe what I meant - I didn't mean cocky as in 'in having an inflated belief in oneself', but more in the sense that the trust placed in his evasion and his opponent's inability to reach him while evading may be 'overstated'. Basically, he seems pretty sure he's not going to get hit. Which is fine - I was taught not to take any chances and assume your opponent is better than you; but that doesn't mean it's the only way. I wasn't trying to make a value judgement as I don't even know the kid, and it would be stupid to do so. Just sharing my 2 cents regarding what I saw.

What you say about lack of fight experience and relaxation is right on the money, and that's probably a good approach. Fight jitters will make a talented boxer look like a rank amateur. That's pretty cool he's sparred Pulev already, must have been good experience.

 

[Sinister]

Perhaps cocky wasn't the best word to describe what I meant - I didn't mean cocky as in 'in having an inflated belief in oneself', but more in the sense that the trust placed in his evasion and his opponent's inability to reach him while evading may be 'overstated'. Basically, he seems pretty sure he's not going to get hit. Which is fine - I was taught not to take any chances and assume your opponent is better than you; but that doesn't mean it's the only way. I wasn't trying to make a value judgement as I don't even know the kid, and it would be stupid to do so. Just sharing my 2 cents regarding what I saw.

What you say about lack of fight experience and relaxation is right on the money, and that's probably a good approach. Fight jitters will make a talented boxer look like a rank amateur. That's pretty cool he's sparred Pulev already, must have been good experience.

It's mainly because he knows Grayson. They've sparred a lot. So it's a situation where I highly encourage having fun and feeling secure in the ring. Feeling like he has a modicum of control.

Pulev was rough work. It's easy to form opinions of guys like that when you're watching them fight in high-pressure situations, as opposed to having to put a fighter in with them. When his Brother was training to fight Dos Santos, my Cruiserweight was one of the chief sparring partners. Kubrat might look old and brittle to some people, but seeing him in person and how hard he hits, as a trainer you're gripping the ropes tight lol

 

[Sinister]

This is Diego, who is Ian's older Brother. From the same session as Marcos. Diego will be making his Amateur debut within the next couple of months: