So You Wanna Be A Boxer?
So You Wanna Be A Boxer?
Eric Phillipson
Growing up, I’ve always been intrigued by classic fighters like Muhammad Ali, and Joe Frazier. I’ve also been amazed at the speed and power behind current fighters such as Arturo Gatti, Roy Jones Jr., Micky Ward, and even Heavyweight fighters like Lennox Lewis. Boxing is a sport that not many people watch, but all are intrigued by the dedication, the training, and the heart behind it.
Professional Weight Class:
Heavyweight: 190+
Cruiserweight: 190lbs
Light Heavyweight: 175lbs
Super Middleweight: 168bs
Middleweight: 160lbs
Junior Middleweight: 154lbs
Welterweight: 147lbs
Junior Welterweight: 140lbs
Lightweight: 135lbs
Junior Lightweight: 130lbs
Featherweight: 126lbs
Junior Featherweight: 120lbs
Bantamweight: 118lbs
Junior Bantamweight: 115lbs
Flyweight: 112lbs
Junior Flyweight: 108lbs
Strawweight: 105lbs
Amateur Weight Classes:
Light Flyweight: 106lbs
Flyweight: 112lbs
Bantamweight: 119lbs
Featherweight: 125lbs
Lightweight: 132lbs
Light Welterweight: 139lbs
Welterweight: 147lbs
Light Middleweight: 156lbs
Middleweight: 165lbs
Light Heavyweight: 178lbs
Heavyweight: 201lbs
Super Heavyweight: 201 lbs+
Why are these weight classes important? Well, you don’t want to train to be a heavyweight when you weigh 135lbs. The difference between the training styles of a lightweight and a heavyweight is that as a lightweight you are going to want to focus on speed, and as a heavyweight your focus will be on power. The Middleweights are the biggest balance of the two.
Dedication:
Training to be a boxer isn’t like other sports, in that you can’t say “I’m training; I hit the heavy bag for awhile today.” It doesn’t work well in other sports, and it will work horribly in boxing.
Boxers wake up early in the morning, and go to bed fairly late considering their routine. Most boxers wake up at 5am to do their early road work of running 3+ miles. They do this day in and day out. Now, as if waking up and running at 5am wasn’t difficult enough, most boxers spend upwards of 3 hours at the gym. At the gym you will spar, shadow box, do circuit training, hit the heavy bag, hit the speed bag, etc. What most fail to realize is how difficult this dedication is. Take into account that the beginning professional boxer hardly makes any money compared to other professional athletes.
What it boils down to is:
Do you really want this, or are you trying it on for fun. If it’s for fun, this article is not for you, and boxing training is not for you… stick to the weights.
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