BoxRec

Before a fight?

Just in the back of the Spence pull out. Saying it happened in sparring.

Whether it’s light or intense. Sparring is what it is.

This was literally 11 days before the big showdown.

When should a boxer pack in the sparring before a big fight.

There are different types of sparring.

I see no reason why technical sparring and conditioned sparring (predominantly body punches with limited use of the jab) can't be performed right up until the fight date (with the intensity dialed down during fight-week).

I'm not sure about open sparring though. Some fighters do very little sparring of that nature (it's high-risk and can be counter-productive i.e. based on what we've seen happen to David Haye & Errol Spence Jr.).

And others, such as James Toney, engaged in open sparring up to ten to fourteen days prior to the fight-date. It was his main exercise for conditioning.

The problem with open sparring, is the "winning" mentality. Fighters are more likely to resort to using their best weapons rather than try new things, because of their egos.

Anyway, it's not my area of expertise though. I'm only citing what was explained during the interviews I've seen of familiar trainers discussing the topic.

Usually the training cycle is fully over in a week before a fight and its final stage focuses on sparrings.

Probably it was just a bad day in office for Spence.

Spence's trainer said they couldn't pinpoint when it happened, as Spence never complained about it. They discovered it in a pre-fight physical, and got a 2nd and 3rd opinion before cancelling. For something that only takes a month or so to heal, it isn't worth risking permanent damage and ending your career.

https://www.badlefthook.com/2021/8/10/2 ... -news-2021

Between ten days and a week before

…or when you suffer a detached retina.

ironbeard wrote: ↑11 Aug 2021, 23:07 …or when you suffer a detached retina.

In my case half way through the second round when the 12 pints of beer and 20 fags I had on the weekend catches up with me

Wales wrote: ↑11 Aug 2021, 23:11

ironbeard wrote: ↑11 Aug 2021, 23:07 …or when you suffer a detached retina.

In my case half way through the second round when the 12 pints of beer and 20 fags I had on the weekend catches up with me

Most boxers cut off sparring the week of the fight so the last day would be friday or toward the end of the week before.