Travellers' approach to professional boxing

[Deserter]

In the wake of watching the Fury and Saunders fights over the past week, I can't help but feel that those pro boxers who come from the travelling community are failing to make the most of their talents due to a culture that appears to favour an 'old-school' approach to pro boxing.

This is most obvious, in my opinion, when it comes to nutrition. Whether it's the aforementioned boxers or other recent examples I can think of such as Tony Doherty, there doesn't appear to be any up-to-date knowledge or application, with the result that they frequently seem to be in poor condition and end up fighting in the wrong weight class. This, coupled with the tendency to be surrounded by a very close-knit family and friends unit that appears to have negative implications on occasion for trainers and/or training camps, makes me think they are really hampering their bids to have a successful pro career.

I'm acutely conscious of not wanting this to seem like a 'witch-hunt' against a certain demographic, and of course there are other fighters who one suspects are not on top of important parts of the game like nutritition (Frankie Gavin immediately springs to mind), but these negative aspects just seem more endemic in the travelling community and that presumably can only be due to the existing culture and mindset?

I'd be interested in hearing the views of the likes of London Irish on this as they'll clearly have more insight than me into the community and how the prevailing culture impacts on making the most of a pro career...

[Khaosai-Galaxy]

In the wake of watching the Fury and Saunders fights over the past week, I can't help but feel that those pro boxers who come from the travelling community are failing to make the most of their talents due to a culture that appears to favour an 'old-school' approach to pro boxing.

This is most obvious, in my opinion, when it comes to nutrition. Whether it's the aforementioned boxers or other recent examples I can think of such as Tony Doherty, there doesn't appear to be any up-to-date knowledge or application, with the result that they frequently seem to be in poor condition and end up fighting in the wrong weight class. This, coupled with the tendency to be surrounded by a very close-knit family and friends unit that appears to have negative implications on occasion for trainers and/or training camps, makes me think they are really hampering their bids to have a successful pro career.

I'm acutely conscious of not wanting this to seem like a 'witch-hunt' against a certain demographic, and of course there are other fighters who one suspects are not on top of important parts of the game like nutritition (Frankie Gavin immediately springs to mind), but these negative aspects just seem more endemic in the travelling community and that presumably can only be due to the existing culture and mindset?

I'd be interested in hearing the views of the likes of London Irish on this as they'll clearly have more insight than me into the community and how the prevailing culture impacts on making the most of a pro career...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHh3ykPQEl4