Do you Need to have Boxed to be a Fan?

[Deserter]

To be a fan of course not to have an opinion of course not to have an opinion where you can back it up with some first hand experiance it helps.

If we were on here debating how hard it is to drag yrself out for the last round in a tough fight or to get up of the floor and come back to win,to walk out in front of a huge crowd and control your nerves then i would listen to every body talking but i am going to give more weight to the people on here who have actualy done it.

If we were chatting about how to treat a cut and mick williamson joined in the conversation i think it would be lunacy to say that a man in the streets point held as much weight as micks.

Saying that i know boxers who are very shallow on the background of boxing and even tactics they just know how to fight cant explain how they do it.

Another example is Andrew hartley and Charly zellonoff have both boxed but i would take the experiance and knowledge of 90 percent of posters on here over them.

When i hear fans and interested parties saying what a fighter should have done in a certain situation i find it amusing sometimes.it would be like me telling a marathon runner to pick up the pace in the last three miles I havnt done a marathon I couldnt do a marathon and i would feel daft trying to tell a bonofide runner what hed done wrong from veiwing a race i thought he could have done better in.

Great post. Might seem a silly analogy, but I remember people ripping the England team for their listless performance against Brazil in 2002, as they just had no idea what it's like trying to play in real humidity - I would have probably been one of those critics if I hadn't been living in Dubai and realised quite how much those conditions sap you.

[stevieb_8006]

To be a fan of course not to have an opinion of course not to have an opinion where you can back it up with some first hand experiance it helps.

If we were on here debating how hard it is to drag yrself out for the last round in a tough fight or to get up of the floor and come back to win,to walk out in front of a huge crowd and control your nerves then i would listen to every body talking but i am going to give more weight to the people on here who have actualy done it.

If we were chatting about how to treat a cut and mick williamson joined in the conversation i think it would be lunacy to say that a man in the streets point held as much weight as micks.

Saying that i know boxers who are very shallow on the background of boxing and even tactics they just know how to fight cant explain how they do it.

Another example is Andrew hartley and Charly zellonoff have both boxed but i would take the experiance and knowledge of 90 percent of posters on here over them.

When i hear fans and interested parties saying what a fighter should have done in a certain situation i find it amusing sometimes.it would be like me telling a marathon runner to pick up the pace in the last three miles I havnt done a marathon I couldnt do a marathon and i would feel daft trying to tell a bonofide runner what hed done wrong from veiwing a race i thought he could have done better in.

great post, worth mentioning the successful boxers that don't actually like or follow boxing, just c it as a wage (list is endless)

some fans whinge and whinge that boxing doesn't get much coverage, then bleat because joe public doesn't know how to wrap hands properly

[crusader]

No, and to think otherwise is sheer stupidity in my opinion; I simply don't see how liking the sport requires having participated in.

It's simply an argument that people who have boxed like to use to discredit opinions from those who haven't boxed.

[davie]

Well we've witnessed professional boxers and trainers on here talking absolute pish, so i'd say that wraps that one up.

i've done a little boxing training and appreciate just how hard it is. but i don't see any reason why someone could not build up enough knowlegde to have a good understanding of what is required in the sport and what makes a good fighter, simply by watching.

thats not to say every armchair fan knows it all, but to dismiss their opinion because they haven't been punched in the face with 8oz gloves is rubbish

equally, to think that people who do box and do climb through those rope, automatically know what they are on about is garbage, it gives you a different insight into the sport, but it doesn't stop a lot of pros going on ringside and spouting shite!

[Parson Cross]

Never punched in anger and couldn't knock my way out of a paper bag but been around boxing since the late seventies. I'd like to think I've seen enough to have an informed opinion.

[handsofstone]

I broke my hand in my first sparring session

cool name.

keithmoonhangover,s picked me up on that before

[hurlock]

Never punched in anger and couldn't knock my way out of a paper bag but been around boxing since the late seventies. I'd like to think I've seen enough to have an informed opinion.

What!

How old are you!

I think you need some kind of involvement in order to realise what fighters have to go through etc.
Some real knowledgeable people who can be the best instructors are the worse fighters!

[whiskey]

The musical instrument analogy is unfortunately destroyed by the fact that Barbie Girl outsold Jimi Hendrix by 10/1

And correct me, but Powell did train and fight but felt he wasn't any good , and was a good fit for everything to do with boxing outside the ropes instead.

[SamWise72]

It's like most things; to understand it well, you need to be able to watch and listen closely, and to be effective at critical thinking. I absolutely think I would understand the game better if I had boxed, but if you can't think in a straight line, you're not going to understand it no matter how often you've been punched.

[milpool]

I'd say no, you don't have to have participated in any sport to be a fan. If that was the case you could argue that being severely disabled meant you couldn't be a fan of any sports...

[Roars Like Me]

It's like saying you have to play an instrument to enjoy music.

It's the same discussion though fella. No one is saying that we don't enjoy boxing having never laced up, the same with the music. I bet you like a guitar solo like the rest of us but wouldn't think for a moment how tricky the chord changes were? Just a different mindset when you've done something that's all. A typical Muso would see someone playing and think ' Damn he was only playing C,D and E all song and badly at that. Whilst us mere music mortals would be saying damn that guitar player was brilliant

[Shirow]

Good discussion. I have really been spending too much time in the current forum recently and was beginning to forget what one looked like.

I think the most important word has already been mentioned - insight. You'd expect someone to have boxed to have more/better insight into the world of boxing but the more time a non-boxer has been around or researched the sport then they will have insight too.

Personally i can't really understand anyone having a love for a sport and not participating in it on some level. I love boxing and i train, spar and have competed at a very lowly level but that i feel that has given me a taste of what it must be like at a higher level.

The music analogy doesn't work as you just listen to and appreciate music. It would be more like someone who had never sat on a picked up a guitar or sat at a piano stool telling you why <insert any name> wasn't using the correct technique and how they would do it properly if they were them.

[curtis wood]

if you have been in there and done it surly your opinion carries a bit more weight? without sounding overly arrogant ive won fights, lost fights, been knocked down, been cut, had to deal with making weight and had to deal with nerves, surly i know better than somebody who has just seen all these things on the tele? i know that sounds arrogant but that's my thoughts on it

[Gaz_73]

Problem is, no-one ever comes out with that line if the fan in question is agreeing with their own view.

[Flump]

if you have been in there and done it surly your opinion carries a bit more weight? without sounding overly arrogant ive won fights, lost fights, been knocked down, been cut, had to deal with making weight and had to deal with nerves, surly i know better than somebody who has just seen all these things on the tele? i know that sounds arrogant but that's my thoughts on it

Your opinion carries more weight in terms of knowing what the people you are watching are going through in and out of the ring for sure. Doesn't automatically mean that you can read a fight though!

[Clint Magnum]

There's a huge difference between being a boxing fan and giving opinions like you're some elite boxing expert.
Problem with a lot of forum and internet posters is that they criticise so aggressively and their expectations of what each individual human can adapt to as a fighter is unattainable.
Its not the movies its real life. On coming into a ring on any given day a fighter may also be battling problems with relationships, kids, money, training, injury succeptibility, aggressive/corrupt/poor promoters etc that all go unseen to an armchair fan but can hugely affect a fighter's performance on any given night. It no problem being a fan despite having never stepped in a ring but at least take on board that such a lack of actual experience can mean you may have too little empathy for what most fighters go through behind the scenes.
Saying that it's the same with most sports. Some fans don't seem to realise athletes arent robots but normal geezers trying their best in a hard sport.

[thepocketrocket]

if you have been in there and done it surly your opinion carries a bit more weight? without sounding overly arrogant ive won fights, lost fights, been knocked down, been cut, had to deal with making weight and had to deal with nerves, surly i know better than somebody who has just seen all these things on the tele? i know that sounds arrogant but that's my thoughts on it

Your opinion carries more weight in terms of knowing what the people you are watching are going through in and out of the ring for sure. Doesn't automatically mean that you can read a fight though!

The expert is right no more than the amateur, he is just wrong for more intelligent reasons! :)

Then again, as stated, not all fighters can read a fight. The amount of boxers who thought Alvarez had the style to beat Mayweather was astounding. Yet non-boxers I knew worked off the basis he struggled badly with Trout, and Mayweather is even slicker.

I would personally say when you get to the technical parts, then a fighter will know more. But opinions are opinions, and anyone can watch, pick up knowledge, look at style matchups, and how they blend.

[Counter-puncher]

the line 'you've never laced them up so you know nothing' is obviously a poor one

there are some things within fights, though, that unless you've been there it's difficult-near impossible to understand, and fully understanding what's going on betwen the ropes can be a lot easier for someone who's been there.

nose injuries (or fighting when you've got a head cold) are a good example, until you've done it you can't have any idea how difficult it is to keep sparring/fighting while your nose is totally bunged up and you're breathing through your mouth.

[lefty]

the line 'you've never laced them up so you know nothing' is obviously a poor one

there are some things within fights, though, that unless you've been there it's difficult-near impossible to understand, and fully understanding what's going on betwen the ropes can be a lot easier for someone who's been there.

nose injuries (or fighting when you've got a head cold) are a good example, until you've done it you can't have any idea how difficult it is to keep sparring/fighting while your nose is totally bunged up and you're breathing through your mouth.

Good point. I wonder if there are any fighters who primarily breathe through their mouth's aswell for some reason though?

[Counter-puncher]

the line 'you've never laced them up so you know nothing' is obviously a poor one

there are some things within fights, though, that unless you've been there it's difficult-near impossible to understand, and fully understanding what's going on betwen the ropes can be a lot easier for someone who's been there.

nose injuries (or fighting when you've got a head cold) are a good example, until you've done it you can't have any idea how difficult it is to keep sparring/fighting while your nose is totally bunged up and you're breathing through your mouth.

Good point. I wonder if there are any fighters who primarily breathe through their mouth's aswell for some reason though?

not if they can help it, I wouldn't think!

sidenote, i am pretty sure Froch was breathing at least partially through his mouth from quite early in the second Kessler fight.

if so, it didnt' affect him too much, so bang goes my theory........

[lefty]

the line 'you've never laced them up so you know nothing' is obviously a poor one

there are some things within fights, though, that unless you've been there it's difficult-near impossible to understand, and fully understanding what's going on betwen the ropes can be a lot easier for someone who's been there.

nose injuries (or fighting when you've got a head cold) are a good example, until you've done it you can't have any idea how difficult it is to keep sparring/fighting while your nose is totally bunged up and you're breathing through your mouth.

Good point. I wonder if there are any fighters who primarily breathe through their mouth's aswell for some reason though?

not if they can help it, I wouldn't think!

sidenote, i am pretty sure Froch was breathing at least partially through his mouth from quite early in the second Kessler fight.

if so, it didnt' affect him too much, so bang goes my theory........

The reason I ask is some people naturally do tend to breathe through their mouth's vs their nose's. It's not good but I personally have experience with that.

[DavidPayne]

If not fought then at least gone down the gym, hit the bags, hit the pads and maybe gotten in and done a few sparring sessions.

A serious fan will have at least done that in my opinion. Get a few shots off and felt a few rib benders to see what the craic is.

You can often tell those that have, and those that have not - because they think like it's Street Fighter or Top Trumps cards "Oh he is faster and has more power so he gets an 8 and the opponent has less power and less speed so he is a 6, therefore he loses" without any regard to how their styles mesh and other circumstances.

Certain promoters feast on that limited thought process which is so common in our sport. They feed in faded stars and people that have no chance to make their man look good, when in reality the first time they come across a proper opponent who can fight and can whack - they get smoked or win by the skin of their teeth, whereas they looked super human until then.

Participation opens up your eyes.

I've done the top bit. Been dropped twice by body shots....the craic, was my lowest rib I think.

[DavidPayne]

Got up though, temptation to bang the floor DLH style was high however.

[DavidPayne]

Certainly, the claustrophobic feeling of gum shield, head guard, heavy arms, being out of breath and the guy opposite wants to hit you still and there is a minute to go in the round even at my pathetic level does offer you a better perspective.

[Counter-puncher]

Certainly, the claustrophobic feeling of gum shield, head guard, heavy arms, being out of breath and the guy opposite wants to hit you still and there is a minute to go in the round even at my pathetic level does offer you a better perspective.

indeed. or how fvcking exhausting it is to swing'n'miss