knockout wrote: ↑26 Oct 2025, 11:30
Definitely more wiggle room at heavyweight it seems when pure skill seems to be less important than just having incredible physical attributes ( great punch and chin)
Add Ray Mercer to your list. Started boxing at 23 , Olympic champion and WBO champion
Yeah that's a big thing that's helping Wardley out so far is the great chin.
Duane Bobick had a sh*t load of Amateur experience, but he had no chin. Wardley with no amateur experience, and a terrific chin seems to be better off.
Yes chin and punch with limited skill can do the trick at heavyweight level.
Fabio also has a set of balls on him and self belief to take a beating but still believe he can pull out a Hail Mary. Impressive for sure
Luckily for him at the moment most guys in the division are pretty easy to hit, and all have been notably hurt before for the most part so all of them seem like fights he'd have a realistic shot in.
Usyk with his defensive skill, and technical ability definitely is the toughest possible opponent for him because I just figure Usyk is gonna wind up outlanding him 3 or 4 to 1 in their fight.
Wardley has nothing to lose though, so I think we can expect him to go for it with gusto like he has everything else in his career so far.
Obviously to a much lesser extent but Curtis Woodhouse was a pro footballer who turned to boxing aged 26, zero amateur experience and went on to win a British title. Of course he was no world beater but still achieved more than most.
Also there are far fewer boxers in the world than say footballers. And boxing is I think less skilful than other sports but with guts, chin, determination, toughness being very important.
Rocky Marciano started boxing at 23. I think Audley Harrison at 18. Also remember Anthony Mundine went from rugby to world champ.
Fighting sports are just different from other sports.
For me personally I wouldnt let a lad turm pro without 25/30 armature fights. Maybes a go at the novices and the senior abas, its all about experience and learning to fight different styles, learning to cope with pressure etc
Lots of pros have long armature careers and I think you should have a basic level of experience to be a pro imho
Last edited by REEVE on 26 Oct 2025, 15:00, edited 1 time in total.
REEVE wrote: ↑26 Oct 2025, 14:58
For me personally I wouldnt let a lad turm pro without 25/30 armature fights. Maybes a go at the novices and the senior abas, its all about experience and learning to fight different styles.
Lots of pros have long armature careers and I think you should have a basic level of experience to be a pro imho
Yeah of course some experience better than zero but then you hear fighters say the amateur game isn’t anything like the pros, some have the style for the ams and others more suited to a pro career.
most of the top pros were top amateurs - not necessarily olympic champs, but at least achieving impressively at national and/or boxing internationally. and a big chunk of those top pros who werent turned pro at like 15-16 rather than doing much in the ams, but had all those extra years to develop, so still have plenty of experience
the idea that am and pro boxing are nothing alike is usually a self rationalizing confidence booster that guys tell themselves when they go pro, as to why they will do better now in the pros. there are obviously some differences, but no sport is more similar to pro boxing than amateur boxing is.
I don't think you need a body like Bruno to be a decent heavyweight. I think from what I've seen over the years, muscle mass can be a disadvantage. I think if you are a decent built 17, 18 stone bloke with a decent physique, not too much defined muscle but a bit of fat around the waisted, and have a good punch but can also take a punch you have a good chance of moving on in the division this era.
You've got to have a bit of skill, like Tyson Fury and have that boxing thought process and obviously be able to fight.
Not saying every 18 stone 6 foot 5 geezer has the ability because I think you have to understand boxing and as in any sport be able to play it. I think you have to be born with a talent, this applies to everything as I don't think you can just choose a sport and be nurtured into world level status.
Everyone has a talent at something, no matter who you are you will be good at something. I just think you are very lucky to be born with a sporting talent and be able to play that sport at any level as a kid and grow into it by learning and studying it as you would do in any job or pass time.
I don't think everyone has the nescasary tools to be hit on the jaw, no matter what your build is. There is also a bravery factor too. Bravery comes in many forms but we are not natural brave beings, if we were we wouldn't need adrenaline.
Yes look at the Top of the Heavyweight division now.
Usyk has a sh*t ton of Amateur experience, and won at the highest level at everything you can do as an amateur.
Anthony Joshua had a relatively brief amateur career, but won a Gold medal at the Olympics
Joseph Parker I don't know if he ever competed in the Olympics, but he competed at other very high level Amateur events, and performed well in those events.
I'm not sure about Dubois. Zhang was a very decorated amateur I'm pretty sure.
Guys that achieve significant success with little amateur experience are definitely a rarity.
reduce their experience to a couple amateur fights and a year or two since taking up the sport.
do most get better, worse, the same compared to where they are now?
Basically what Curtis Woodhouse has done with Adrian King and is now telling everyone on X that that's the way to do it because amateurs are shite. He knows full well that King wouldn't have done any good, even in the Yorkshire region, so he's tried hyping him against a steady supply of knockovers, look how that turned out.
