my first fight

[neil hibbert]

just want to take my hat off to any fighters from the top to the bottom of the scale as ive agreed to fight on a charity but seerious white collar boxing show, while being a boxing fanatic and working in boxing ive never found the time to train serious but the last 3 weeks ive trained my ass off daily and can only take my hat off to the lads who do it all the time,
just looking for a bit of advice incase i get nervous on fight night as ive done a lot of doorwork the past few years so that part wont be the problem i just think being in front of 1500 people might make me lose focus, thanks in advance

[stevek3lly]

Cant offer you any advise Neil as never had a fight in my life (not even in the playground as a kid), but will wish you all the best and hope all goes well for you.

[neil hibbert]

Cant offer you any advise Neil as never had a fight in my life (not even in the playground as a kid), but will wish you all the best and hope all goes well for you.

cheers mate im more of a lover than a fighter but gotta chance to live the dream, walk out with the lights and the music so couldnt say no or id look back when i was old and regret not at least having a go

[JCB123]

who you fightin (experience wise)? what weight? how many rounds?

[Dan Dares]

Never fought myself, but this chap has. Bulla.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPwTocQ5Zt4

Have a good scrap.

[Dioufy]

Neil, lad,I have fought a few times. My only advice is that nerves are VERY common, as is the FEAR of being KO'd Prescott style in the first. Just find a jab in the first minute without being rocked and you should be in the fight. Being scared before the fight is normal; just accept that and try your best.

Then whatever happens, happens.

[demolitiondaley]

You will get feelings that youy think mean you are scared but its not that, its your bodies natural defensive mechanism. It will give you more strength and heighten your awareness to make it easier for you to fight. You may feel like you want to go to the toilet and empty your bowel and bladder, you may also feel sick and that again is normal as your body will want you to be as light as possible so you operate better. Understanding all of this will make it easier to deal with, just remember what Rocky said Frankie fear is your best friend!

[Coco]

You will feel like death before the fight, really nervous and really weak, anyone who says they don't is lying.
Do all your preparation in the gym, eat right and come fight time you will be fine, the afterglow will be fantastic

[whiskey]

Put as little pressure on yourself amongst your friends as possible. Joke with them that the tickets will be worth a tenner alone just to see you flattened. On the day, despite feeling anxious, make sure you get food inside you. Try and get a nap in the afternoon if possible.

Play the first round through in your mind, touch gloves, feint, jab and find your groove at first - then like Dioufy says, what will be will be.

[Loynesy]

For white collar boxing, sparring really is the key. Unlike in the pros, you can actually replicate the conditions you will fight in - headguards, size of gloves etc. Try and find 2 or 3 different guys in the gym with different styles - an aggressive brawler (this one is the key), someone fitter than you, someone faster than you.

I'm not demeaning what you are doing, just the contrary, I'm full of respect, but with 16oz gloves and headguards, the only way you can get hurt is to either (a) be facing someone very good, which is shameful matchmaking or (b) you freeze, meaning you are on the back foot, like a startled rabbit. The sparring I mentioned above, should minimise that risk.

Best Regards

Loynesy

[curtis wood]

good luck neil you will never foget yor first fight i admit i was a nervous wreck! id been given it the big un in the lead up to the fight about me coming from footie and that i was gunna win easily then dean powell my manager at the time told me i was fighting a bloke called dean mark antonio my heart sank because he sounded a bit too mexican for my liking he was actually a window cleaner from london but it was enough to scare the crap out of me! walking to the ring that night was the worst feeling of my life it hit me i thought holy shit im actually going to do this i scaped by on points worst and best night of my life all rolled into one good luck pal keep your hands up and your chin down

[15829]

all the best mate gutted i cant make it down

[Superheavy]

I've had a handful of white collar fights in the past 3 yrs - well done for stepping up mate, you will love it.

Here are a few observations:

- You (and your opponent) will only use a small % of what you know in the fight. I've watched the video of my first fight back and I was doing some of the things I had learnt in the gym / sparring, but only really the simple stuff that had been properly drilled in. The hours I'd spent practicing elabourate combinations on the pads / bag went out of the window.

- I would just have 3 or 4 very simple "moves" that you have mastered using in sparring (in addition to your fundamentals - i.e. jab and tight defence). I'm talking v simple stuff eg "double jab, right hand", "jab, right hook to body, left hook to head", "block his one two, throw a straight right".

- You'll feel the nerves, but think of it like a sparring session with a big crowd. I've had much harder spars than any white collar fight.

- So long as the match making is OK, fitness will decide who wins the fight. The only reason you would ever find your ar$e on the canvas with 16oz gloves is if you completely run out of gas. So focus on high intensity interval training (assuming you're boxing 3 x 2 min rounds, do 2 mins on, 1 min off - 5 or 6 rounds) on a rower / cross trainer / treadmill and do as much sparring as you can.

- Thought on sparring: it's good to spar a bit with experienced/accomplished boxers but make sure you focus on sparring people at your level. Sparring guys who are better than you is good to do, but oddly I often find it easier than sparring novices, who can be wild and unpredictable. You're going to be in the ring with someone round your level so try to get used to sparring with that kind of opponent.

Best of luck.

[Deadendgeneration]

Best of luck mate. Would love to give something like this a go one time.

[freddydoesdallas]

good luck neil you will never foget yor first fight i admit i was a nervous wreck! id been given it the big un in the lead up to the fight about me coming from footie and that i was gunna win easily then dean powell my manager at the time told me i was fighting a bloke called dean mark antonio my heart sank because he sounded a bit too mexican for my liking he was actually a window cleaner from london but it was enough to scare the crap out of me! walking to the ring that night was the worst feeling of my life it hit me i thought holy shit im actually going to do this i scaped by on points worst and best night of my life all rolled into one good luck pal keep your hands up and your chin down

That's a cracking little story. I'd have thought you might have been relaxed than most considering you've plied your trade in front of thousands of people regularly but i guess it's completely different and not many have that much attention on their first fight.

[Manchester Massive]

just want to take my hat off to any fighters from the top to the bottom of the scale as ive agreed to fight on a charity but seerious white collar boxing show, while being a boxing fanatic and working in boxing ive never found the time to train serious but the last 3 weeks ive trained my ass off daily and can only take my hat off to the lads who do it all the time,
just looking for a bit of advice incase i get nervous on fight night as ive done a lot of doorwork the past few years so that part wont be the problem i just think being in front of 1500 people might make me lose focus, thanks in advance

Had my 1st white collar / semi pro fight just over a week ago and would agree that a lot of technique can go out of the window in the heat of the fight. For me the biggest thing would be fitness, I had felt from sparring, running and training that I was fit but after 2 rounds my tank was almost empty, the added stress of a real fight saps your energy, from the fights I saw I'd say in 9 cases out of 10 the fittest fighter won.

[jBacca]

Is right Neil.

Don't let the nerves swamp you. Win or lose, you've still done yourself proud by sticking the gloves on.

Where and when, fella?

[Coco]

Technique probably will go out of the window, just try and concentrate on the jab and one two. It is very important to keep your shots straight, they are the most important shots in boxing.
It will prob come down to heart and fitness so make sure you train hard and eat right, esp on the day as while you won't feel like eating that fuel is vital.

[curtis wood]

playing footie in front of loads of people never bothered me because i knew what i was doing and i was confident in my ability making my boxing debut was the other way round i didnt know what i was doing and i wasnt very good so that just made me more nervous my advice would be to keep it simple and use the jab but most of all try to enjoy it because it will be all over before you know it

[neil hibbert]

Is right Neil.

Don't let the nerves swamp you. Win or lose, you've still done yourself proud by sticking the gloves on.

Where and when, fella?

the olympia mate 14th may

[neil hibbert]

thanks for the comments lads, im enjoying the training, got battered in my first spar but then found out the lad had won 15 of 17 amateur fights sbut i managed to tag him a few times so im not downhearted, just wanna look back and say i lived the dream and if i win i might give it another go, not enjoying the diet though how you guys do it is beyond me