Most people overestimate what they can accomplish in 1 yr and underestimate what they can accomplish in 5 yrs.
No one ever said it was going to be easy, and that is fair, but they also don’t tell you what it is going to take.
I’m here to tell you it is not going to be easy but I’m also going to tell you what it’s going to take.
Life is a progression, constant adaptation, and full of challenges. Sounds alot like boxing. I started when I was 17 turning 18 exiting high school, I’m a pretty late bloomer in the eyes of the boxing world.
Nevertheless, I persisted to become a successful amateur and professional, and I’m here to tell you, you can do it.
Let’s get to work!
What Does Becoming A Boxer Mean?
It means fame, glory, medals, and all the ice cream you can eat because you are in amazing shape. It also means it’s a job but a fun job if you like fighting for a living.
All jokes aside it takes alot of hard work, to make a living off boxing you will need to make it to the top and spend most of your time in the gym training.
Job Description
You are an extreme athlete and entertainer at the same time. As an athlete you will be training in the gym working on fighting skills, building strength, endurance, and fighting IQ.
You will train for weeks to months leading up to one fight showcasing your skills and talents inside the ring. The objective is to win by decision, technical knockout, or knockout.
As an entertainer, you will need to be able to sell yourself to the public as a hero or a villain. Show your characteristics be fun be mean be whatever it is that you want to be, just be yourself.
The entertaining point is that you will create a fan base to want to see you fight. The more people that want to see you fight the better chances you have to make it to the top.
Requirements
You must be a healthy individual cleared by your doctor to participate in this combat sport. You should be in tremendous shape to compete otherwise you will be risking your health.
As an amateur, you must register with the boxing organization to compete in sanctioned events that count towards wins, losses, and the Olympics if you decide to go that route.
Professional boxers must be medically cleared, register their hands, and be licensed in the state they fight in. If they fight in another state they will have to repeat this process to compete.
Education
A School degree is not required to fight.
Money
As an amateur, you do not get paid. You can get sponsors to help cover costs for your fights.
Professional boxers start at different levels of pay. Considering what background you come from you get paid really on how many ticket sales you can produce.
Olympians usually get paid more because they have a following of people who want to watch them.
If you are signed by a promotion company you can agree to a contract of what you will make each fight.
How Long?
It should take at least a minimum of 3years to turn professional. Again depending on how dedicated you are and what type of work ethic you have, you will grow at a certain pace that should give you a chance to compete.
1st year training hard building your body and mind.
2nd year is competing in amateurs applying your skills.
3rd year if you are ready and can hang with some top talent you might be ready for the pros.
A quick tip: once you become a pro you can’t go back to being an amateur.
Is It For You?
There is only one way to answer this question and you have to step inside that ring and see if you can take a punch and come back for more, can you lose and still want to come back for more, can you endure all the countless hours of training and come back for more?
Weight classes are made so you don’t have to worry about height or weight.
You must be 18 years old to compete in the USA as a professional but other countries have different rules, for example, in Mexico, you can fight at 16 years old.
The real questions you must ask yourself are can you commit, can you be consistent, can you maintain a balanced diet?
What Steps Do You Need To Take?
Find a gym
There are two types of gyms, cardio fitness boxing gyms and then there are professional boxing gyms.
How do you know which is which?
Ask if they have a boxing program for amateurs before you join, ask if the coaches are certified to compete in the competition.
Find a coach
There are two types of coaches, amateur and professional coaches. The reason is that they both have different styles of fighting.
Amateur style fighting is a fast-paced point style fighting with only 3 rounds and professional style is to break your opponent mentally and physically at a slower pace with as many as 12 rounds.
Find a coach that fits your style of fighting and is willing to work with your strengths and level out your weaknesses.
Start raining to gauge your level
Some of us are natural-born killers! You can fight and it just comes naturally, others though, well they aren’t.
Find out where you are at and start with footwork we always need more footwork than anything else trust me on that one!
Amateur Boxer
You have two options as an amateur in what career path you want.
Mail a completed amateur boxing application, signed physical form, two passport-sized photos, the original or a notarized copy of your birth certificate, and registration fee to your local boxing committee.
Compete as an amateur and go straight to the pros once you feel ready, or compete to go to the Olympics.
After the Olympics, you can choose to stay an amateur or go pro.
If you choose to shoot for the professional ranks right after being an amateur you will need to develop pro-style fighting.
Olympics is still pointed fighting and fast-paced.
Each has there benefits and downfalls.
Olympics
Pros
- Gain alot of experience
- More likely to be signed by a promoter
- Start off making more money
Cons
- Have to wait for the Olympics every 4 years
- Can get hurt before turning professional
- You don’t make any money
Professional
Pros
- Skipping the Olympics to build your professional resume
- Can make money
Cons
- Have less fighting experience
- Less likely to be signed by a promoter right away
- Make less money with no amateur resume
Professional Boxer
Sharks are born swimming. Some may not agree with going straight to the pro ranks with only some amateur fights to back them up but it can and has been done.
Train Smarter & Harder
Hit the grind button not the snooze button. Get up and put that work in, as a pro, you will need to ramp up your training.
Increase your training while being smart, give your body rest and stay disciplined to come back and hit the gym hard again.
Hard doesn’t mean killing your body, it means with intent and purpose to get better in the craft of boxing and not just to get a workout in.
Professional Coach
Find a boxing coach that teaches the pro-style of boxing. It is very much different than amateurs.
The gloves are smaller and there is no headgear, so the fight gets more intense and alot more painful if you don’t switch up.
With a slower pace and less energy wasted, find a coach that teaches strategy and how to identify what is going on in the ring. You need to bring your fighting IQ up a notch.
Find A Manager
One of the biggest mistakes I see is fighters thinking they can manage themselves. They don’t have to take on that responsibility of boxing fights dealing with promoters but they do so because they don’t want to pay the fees of having one.
it is with it trust me it is!
A good manager will move you at the right place and build you up and not just try to make a quick buck off of you.
Managers make your job only about boxing when you find a good one.
Get Licensed
There are certain state requirements to get a professional boxing license. You will need to be physically tested and provide an application. Usually, medical tests such as an EKG, blood test, neurological exam, and drug test are required.
Climb The Ranks
Last but not least in any career paths you choose in boxing you start to climb the ranks and make a name for yourself!
As an amateur, you fight for belts in your region, your state, nationally and face the best boxers put theirs in tournaments.
Professionals fight the best of the best to get a shot at the major titles. Smaller belts can help you get recognized and help you move up on the ladder.
The better competition you face in either form of boxing the better-ranked you get.
Conclusion
Those are some of the best boxing tips on how to become a boxer and a successful one.
You have to be talented but you also have to sell yourself to get attention. Skills are only half of what pays the bills. You need to be exciting or have a mouth and back it up.
You need patience, consistency, and effective training. Build on good habits early so you don’t have to tear down the foundation and rebuild all over again.
If you want more in-depth knowledge on specific questions checks out our home page for more tips. Let me know what other tips I may have missed or you'd like me to cover by leaving a comment.
I cant wait to see you in the future on the next one, keep swinging champs!