Boxing is often considered to be one of the more ‘difficult’ sports because of the myriad of challenges and expectations you face in order to be ‘the best boxer’. Whether these challenges are physical or mental, boxers are under lots of pressure due to the competitive nature of the sport. 

 

Some of the physical demands of boxing include eating healthy, agility, power, defense manoeuvres etcetera. The mental aspects also play a big role in boxing, these include discipline, motivation, endurance, composure, concentration, resilience and many more.

 

When interviewing Callum Thompson (former England boxing coach) he gave a valuable in sight to the reality of what it takes to become a boxer. “I’ve been involved in lots of sports whether that be competing or coaching and for me boxing is not only the most physical demanding but psychologically too. First, when that bell goes it doesn’t matter how many coaches you have or how good they are, it’s you in that ring on your own. Obviously, there’s lots of other sports where you’re competing on your own but there isn’t many where losing could result in you waking up in the hospital. Boxings about more than technical ability it’s about the will to win. I think boxing could be the only sport where you have competitors not wanting to lose rather than wanting to win. It’s a weird thing really, if you go into a fight not wanting to lose you can, at times protect yourself from danger because you’re not putting yourself into any dangerous positions to score points. In boxing you’ve got to want to win, and this will mean putting yourself in harm’s way to get the result.”

 

He also explained how “It takes a certain type of person to fight at the highest levels, it’s not for everyone. You’ve obviously got to have the ability (which I didn’t have) but you’ve also got to have something inside of you that’s a bit different to the average person you’ve got to want to go through the pain in training every day to get into a fight with another athlete who’s as prepared as you are and damage each other until there’s a winner or the time runs out. That’s why you see the respect at the end of the fights between the fighters. It’s said on average a professional boxer will take 10,000 punches to the head over the course of a career, what a way to making a living ay!”

 

When interviewing Natasha Dolan (coach) from hull boxing community club she stated that boxing is a very hard sport requiring lots of dedication but also very rewarding. When asked why she decided to volunteer and coach others she responded “I enjoy helping others who have a passion for boxing and sharing my experience with them”. She was also the first female to box for the club and hopes to inspire other girls that want to pursue boxing.

 

In conclusion,  balancing these obstacles is what makes boxing such a rigorous and demanding sport. However, hard work pays off and it is a very rewarding sport.