Things you wished you knew before your first fight ? (6 weeks out/ boxing match)

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VanteMMA

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Hi guys, I am 6 weeks out from my first boxing match!! I am starting to feel the jitters to be honest.

Generally speaking, what are the things you guys wished you knew before your first fight?


Some personal details (those who don't give a shit can skip this and stick to the general topic)

Height - 5'6''
Weight - 160 lbs

I am training 3 - 4 times a week. Generally 1 - 2 hour sessions. Upcoming sessions will focus on sparring - alot of light sparring and some medium and hard sparring too.

I hit the gym atleast 2 times a week, mainly callisthenics for upper body (I avoid heavy weight training as they tend to flair up my previous shoulder injuries) and squats and deadlifts (maintenance work).

I haven't incorporated running into my training of late. If I do, should I focus on steady pace (jogging) or HIIT (sprinting)?

Any other tips, suggestions, things I should be focussing on?
 
I know this is cliche but for me I just wasn't ready for those first time nerves. It all became real walking down. I kinda got over it once the fight got going, but I think that initial adrenaline dump didn't do my cardio any favors.

I guess my advice would be to just really visualize the fight a lot in your mind and keep in mind on fight day that this is what all the training was for and you are in fact ready.

Best of luck!
 
Wished I trained harder lol
I always wished I trained harder whether I won or lost.

Are you fighting 2 0r 3 mins rds ?
 
I would personally start putting in as much roadwork and cardio training as possible. Also, only 3-4 training sessions a week seems a bit low to me.
 
Never fought, so a complete amateur.

That said, definitely incorporate HIIT and/or LISS in your exercise regime.
The adrenaline dump will happen, as Caramon said, but your training/sparring/muscle memory as well as cardio level will (hopefully) overcome that.

Good luck
 
Caramon said:
I know this is cliche but for me I just wasn't ready for those first time nerves. It all became real walking down. I kinda got over it once the fight got going, but I think that initial adrenaline dump didn't do my cardio any favors.

I guess my advice would be to just really visualize the fight a lot in your mind and keep in mind on fight day that this is what all the training was for and you are in fact ready.

Best of luck!
Click to expand...

lol, I remember my first fight...I was in the best shape of my life and felt super confident going into it. The night of the fight, my team mate get's KO'd badly in the first fight on the card and all of a sudden I realized that it could have just as easily been me. It was strange that losing didn't even seem possible until that moment.
 
I believe this is something GSP said.

"You're opponent is never as strong or as weak as you think he is."
 
I wish I knew how to cut weight & diet properly, my first time competing I did the starvation dumbass approach. Its a miracle I didn't die. I've been focusing on this for the past half year, and things are better than ever. Feeling stronger, gas tank is good, and I look great as well. I knew something was wrong the first time around because my lifts dropped tremendously. I'm not a strong guy, but when my bench averages 180-200 and I struggle with 150, something's wrong. It was basically low calorie + low carb. Now I think about it, if I had a time machine, I'd bitch-slap my older self for being retarded

Not knowing how to breathe properly is something I know now, and wished I had my first time around. I was gassing heavy especially because I didn't breathe in while in clinch (constant pummeling wars, grinding it out while not breathing in is definitely a gas tank killer).
 
good luck. im surprised you havent been doing roadwork, maybe you should do it now and itll help with cutting weight.
 
Know how to box. Does that count? :)

Nah, probably just wanted to have taken training more seriously.

Don't sweat it. The first fight is always hard. As others have said, show up at practice, concentrate, work and just do your best. Don't think too hard on it, when you are in the ring you will forget everything else. Just try to relax and have fun on the day, as much as possible. The work will be done there.

No one expects perfection in your first fight. But focus yourself and just do your best! Good luck man!
 
Relax, think as it as just sparring before you go in so no biggy. It's being tensed up and people feeling pressure that tires them and loading up punches so they don't land.

Don't overtrain yourself, if you start feeling worn down, still train but take it easy that day.

In my opinion there is no need for running, you should get getting most of the cardio you will need from sparring or just warming up , hitting the bag/pads for 3x2 min rounds if that's what you are doing is the best way to get fit for it. Working up the volume of punches you throw in that 2 mins, really push yourself for those 2 mins. You could sprint a couple of steps then jog afew for 2 mins instead but i prefer punching since that is what you are doing.

Anyway just go and enjoy it.
 
Don't worry about winning, losing or even putting on a good show. It's almost guaranteed that you will start to "panic" and gas towards the middle of the 2nd and completely in the 3rd.

Just don't forget to keep your hands up and move with your legs, especially when you start to get tired. Not sure what your style is but I recommend jabbing to keep distance and frustrate your opponent into opening holes.
 
taurus said:
Never fought, so a complete amateur.
Click to expand...

You're not even an amateur.


There's nothing you can be told that will really help you, it's all down to your training. You'll likely not be there mentally. If you're a phenom and are cogent I recommend remembering to breath.
 
andy-pandy said:
Relax, think as it as just sparring before you go in so no biggy. It's being tensed up and people feeling pressure that tires them and loading up punches so they don't land.

Don't overtrain yourself, if you start feeling worn down, still train but take it easy that day.

In my opinion there is no need for running, you should get getting most of the cardio you will need from sparring or just warming up , hitting the bag/pads for 3x2 min rounds if that's what you are doing is the best way to get fit for it. Working up the volume of punches you throw in that 2 mins, really push yourself for those 2 mins. You could sprint a couple of steps then jog afew for 2 mins instead but i prefer punching since that is what you are doing.

Anyway just go and enjoy it.
Click to expand...

I am assuming it's an amateur match because that seems like way too little training for a pro fight. Even then, I don't think you're putting enough work with 4 days of training per week. I don't think TS has to worry about overtraining at all with that amount of training.

While I didn't do a lot of roadwork or extra conditioning for my first amateur fight, I did train 6 times a week and was at the gym for about 3 hours at a time. Did a lot of sparring as well. I think TS should train more, but also learn to relax and have fun.
 
Too much (hard) sparring and strength training, concentrate mostly on 400-800m running intervals as far as conditioning goes (and maybe some 2-5 km runs here and there), spar 1-2 times a week (not more than one hard session a week), incorporate a lot of bag/pad work.
 
Pugilistic said:
While I didn't do a lot of roadwork or extra conditioning for my first amateur fight, I did train 6 times a week and was at the gym for about 3 hours at a time. Did a lot of sparring as well. I think TS should train more, but also learn to relax and have fun.
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for how long did you do 6/week before your fight?

btw if I was OP, id be freaking out right about now reading these comments lol
 
Practice centering, breathing techniques. If done correctly can lower anxiety before the fight.

I trained for 5.5 weeks for my first fight(last sunday) and the fight got pulled an hour or so before the event started. My opponent didnt make weight. Hopefully that doesn't happen to you.
 
You can never be in too good of shape. Obviously, listen to your body and don't over train, but the nerves of your first fight can be draining. I learned that 3 rounds in the gym isn't 3 rounds in the ring. Luckily my opponent learned that same lesson with me, but for the crowd's sake, we probably could have skipped the 3rd round all together haha.

Other than that, just enjoy the ride. Take it all in. You will learn a lot about yourself & where to go with your training moving forward. Best of luck!
 
andy-pandy said:
In my opinion there is no need for running, you should get getting most of the cardio you will need from sparring or just warming up , hitting the bag/pads for 3x2 min rounds if that's what you are doing is the best way to get fit for it. Working up the volume of punches you throw in that 2 mins, really push yourself for those 2 mins. You could sprint a couple of steps then jog afew for 2 mins instead but i prefer punching since that is what you are doing.
Click to expand...

yeah that's how I feel. in an amateur debut fight you're gonna be fighting for 6 minutes getting to rest for one every two against a sloppy noob. you're not gonna gas from lack of running. IMO the most important thing for a noob is fundamentals (mostly defense and footwork);

I'm training 3x a week for 2 hours (the gym doesn't even open the other days); the days in between training days I can barely lift my leg. shouldn't you get conditioning for an ammy debut from rope skipping/bag work/sparring?
 
I wish I knew I was better than my opponent and go in with confident instead of going in like a pussy and getting smashed in the beginning.
 
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