BoxRec

One o the biggest complaints from kids leaving one club for another nowadays is they never got took on the pads ,or they never got enough work on the pads,it's not easy for one or two coaches to give 50 or 60 kids padwork in a 90 minute session cpl o times a wk got me to thinking when I boxed amateur in early 90s , pads were barely heard of,one o he lads once bought a pair o brown martial arts ones,called hayabushi or something ,they were solid and massive, looking back into the 70s 80s ,don't think ive saw any videos o boxers using them,so when did they actually become a thing ? and what boxers were first to bring them into fashion ?

semtexreilly wrote: ↑27 Oct 2025, 04:01 One o the biggest complaints from kids leaving one club for another nowadays is they never got took on the pads ,or they never got enough work on the pads,it's not easy for one or two coaches to give 50 or 60 kids padwork in a 90 minute session cpl o times a wk got me to thinking when I boxed amateur in early 90s , pads were barely heard of,one o he lads once bought a pair o brown martial arts ones,called hayabushi or something ,they were solid and massive, looking back into the 70s 80s ,don't think ive saw any videos o boxers using them,so when did they actually become a thing ? and what boxers were first to bring them into fashion ?

I think the reason that pads weren't a thing 30-40 years ago was because there were plenty of kids in the gym, and there wasn't enough time for that personal attention.
Nevertheless they were still regularly used in gyms without so many numbers, or better fighters who were given more attention.
Maybe it says that nowadays it's the kids who are calling the shots rather than the trainers, and with these flashy YouTube routines, that's what the kids want to do

From early memory they were something special only the carded boxers got and even then only in the run up to a fight.

I think it became a thing from 80’s and 90’s.

I mean trainers would hold up other types of target mits like the body ones.

Also, you’re not gonna find footage because there was rarely any training footage recorded unless it was promotional purposes.

I think it’s more of a show off thing now

I saw a photo of Charlie Goldman wearing them and Marciano hitting them and a photo from Manila with Eddie Futch wearing them with Joe Frazier hitting them. I suspect they were used differently years ago.

Now i like pads , and lads i trained got plenty of them , , , it was always one on one , when i'm going through basics with an individual lad to just teach him stance , punch , ect , , but majority of punch block type stuff was with each other , now when i got serious and done lots it was ALWAYS an intense workout with whoever was fighting next ,
I would never NEVER EVER hold my hands apart , i would call punches and expect them to be thrown to my face or body , i would never stand still , throw to my face i would catch them after all i know whats coming , throw to my body orders were DROP ME ,, i see a mistake , you got a whack , Pads can be a great tool , you can make them has intense has you want , or slack off and coach with a stop , that was wrong do it again aproach .

However , the coaches i see nowadays are usually not boxing coaches there not teachers , they love the pads , because with there sychronised work it can make them look good and make a boxer feel good about himself , i last year done a couple months with a kid who was competing in a European tournament , when we done pads he could'nt belve how i was wearing him out , he said how can an old guy wear me out , i said its simple , you been doing sycronised padwork while it gets filmed and put on facebook ,

with me i'm making you punch , , and move , and think at the same time cos i'm not calling the shots , his instructions were hit me with the shot available due to my position , set me up with the jab and land the lkeft hook to my head , move your feet and position yourself , but drop the hands i whack you , he found it very beneficial and bought me a big bottle of whisky when he medalled has a thank you .

Pads are a great tool , but useless if you just do them with your hands apart shouting a 4 punch combination and standing still while he hits your hands , i could make my granny look good doing that , its sychronised , after all who has two heads a metre apart , , but make the lad move punch , be on balance stop and correct when its wrong risk getting your block knocked off when its correct , thats when it works , like i always say to the lads , your opponent is'nt gonna stand still while you hit him , so WORK IT OUT , THINK THINK then THINK some more ,

Pads both the best and the worst tool in the gym

coneye wrote: ↑28 Oct 2025, 03:43
after all who has two heads a metre apart , ,

Never been to Norfolk then?

coneye: your post was great, very informative.

semtexreilly wrote: ↑27 Oct 2025, 04:01 One o the biggest complaints from kids leaving one club for another nowadays is they never got took on the pads ,or they never got enough work on the pads,it's not easy for one or two coaches to give 50 or 60 kids padwork in a 90 minute session cpl o times a wk got me to thinking when I boxed amateur in early 90s , pads were barely heard of,one o he lads once bought a pair o brown martial arts ones,called hayabushi or something ,they were solid and massive, looking back into the 70s 80s ,don't think ive saw any videos o boxers using them,so when did they actually become a thing ? and what boxers were first to bring them into fashion ?

Good question — pads really took off in the late 80s and early 90s. Fighters like Roger Mayweather and Manny Steward helped popularize them as a key coaching tool. Before that, most training was heavy on sparring, bags, and shadowboxing — padwork was rare outside elite gyms.

I think Emmauel Steward and a few other made it more popular but its probably a bit controversial but i dont really believe putting too much emphasis on pads i think shadow boxing, bags, running, speed ball and skipping are all very important but often overlooked because people prefer pads. I also agree with alot of boxers that do it dont really work that much. Like if you watch steward he used to drill fairly basic combos over and over again which are realistic in a fight.

Surely Floyd has a part to play on this issue, he was always on them, show boating.