BoxRec

I got hit so hard in sparring I couldnt sit in a room with a light on for three days. I can still see the punch coming now nearly 30 years later, a right hook as I loaded up with a left hook on the ropes. The coach stopped the spar and I walked home with my bike as I couldn't ride it. This was at Croft House Boxing Club in Sheffield.

All the ex pros I know now who are coaching are against hard sparring.

mickey1975 wrote: ↑21 Dec 2025, 10:08 All the ex pros I know now who are coaching are against hard sparring.

So am I 100% - problem is i think its needed occasionally to replicate the fight

I would do away with sparring for the young juniors all together or limit it to hardly any

Broken Nose…knottingley SYD in 1996

I fell asleep watching Hughie Fury and cricked my neck

I dislocated my right shoulder back in my teens and it kept popping out for years until I got it operated on and pinned about 16 years ago. I only box for training and fitness now, but I've got into badminton the past couple of years, and it has properly affected my ability to reach up and hit over-the-head shots. Bloody boxing!

Lenny Cravats wrote: ↑20 Dec 2025, 14:46 Took a hard punch to the (unprotected) balls.

C'mon, protect your spheres at all times.

Unprotected balls punches are the worst. I'm tall and sometimes have to spar with shorter guys and unprotected balls punching happens way too often

JackSprocket wrote: ↑22 Dec 2025, 06:23 Unprotected balls punches are the worst. I'm tall and sometimes have to spar with shorter guys and unprotected balls punching happens way too often

I was taught to box at primary school, my dad took me as I was quite a shy and introspective sort of kid, and he thought rightly it would bring me out of my shell.

Our teacher was Father Marcus, and Indian catholic priest, who boxed as an amateur in India before joining the priesthood

I sustained a few bashed in noses, and general scuffing up, nothing serious, we were young kids, so the sparring was pretty well controlled I was also pretty nippy, so never got caught too many times.

I had a couple of pairs of boxing gloves, which I kept at home, and on the ground floor of the flats I lived in, there was a back yard, which had originally housed two washouses as they were victorian flats.

I used to spar with my mates down there, and sometimes these sessions got a little out of hand.

On on such occasion, me and my best mate Laudis, were sparring in the back yard, I got him trapped against the wall and unleashed a fairly tasty 3 punch combo, finishing with a left hook which spun his head around. I stopped, realising it was probably a little bit too hard, and as I did so, he charged, me, slammed me into the wall and unleased two full blooded uppercuts into the nuts. We carried on for a bit, with the adrenalin, I didn't really feel it much.

That evening about 2 hours or so later, I was sitting in the living room with my mum, when my knackers started throbbing, the pain gradually got worse, until it became unbearable, and I ran to the toilet. On pulling my pants down, I was greeted by the sight of bollocks that looked like two very ripe plums.

It tooks a couple of weeks for the bruising to subside, and I think that was the end of the back yard sparring from memory.

Mostly damage to my pride.

I tried a few times with a few amateur clubs and looked fine on the bag, but it all went out the window when I got punched in the face.

I also found it uncomfortable punching somebody else - don’t think I have much spite in me.

I used to gulp when I knew there would be sparring and got worked over pretty badly on a few occasions.

Once by a 17-year-old who was a stone lighter when I was in my late twenties!

jamesmcdonnell wrote: ↑22 Dec 2025, 08:06 I was greeted by the sight of bollocks that looked like two very ripe plums.

Oh dear god

headaches after sparring. stopped boxing because of them.

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Broken nose. From sparring, not competing.

I have never sparred or fought amateur or professional..

But is sparring sometimes harder than an actual boxing match?

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑23 Dec 2025, 10:08 I have never sparred or fought amateur or professional..

But is sparring sometimes harder than an actual boxing match?

It is. You know, someone said of watching Jerry Quarry sparring his brothers, that they had never seen such violence in their lives.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑23 Dec 2025, 10:08 I have never sparred or fought amateur or professional..

But is sparring sometimes harder than an actual boxing match?

Yes, especially if you go to another gym, or is paid sparring.
But it can vary

Coco wrote: ↑23 Dec 2025, 13:10

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑23 Dec 2025, 10:08 I have never sparred or fought amateur or professional..

But is sparring sometimes harder than an actual boxing match?

Yes, especially if you go to another gym, or is paid sparring.
But it can vary

Did you do much paid sparring? A friend of mine was telling me he was brought in for Terry Dunstan when he was based in Sheffield. He said he dreaded every session.

mickey1975 wrote: ↑23 Dec 2025, 13:37

Coco wrote: ↑23 Dec 2025, 13:10

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑23 Dec 2025, 10:08 I have never sparred or fought amateur or professional..

But is sparring sometimes harder than an actual boxing match?

Yes, especially if you go to another gym, or is paid sparring.
But it can vary

Did you do much paid sparring? A friend of mine was telling me he was brought in for Terry Dunstan when he was based in Sheffield. He said he dreaded every session.

Didn't take on much, normally it was 60 quid for 4 rounds, and they wanted their piece of meat!
60 quid was a good day's work back then, 30 quid for a night on the door or labouring at day rate