Long distance running/roadwork in boxing training?

[fists of fury]

Originally Posted by MadcapMaxie

There's a big difference between final few weeks and the final week. In any case Rocky was one of the fittest boxers ever in a period where people trained and were expected to go 15 rounds Rocky stood above them all stamina wise...is it really that hard to believe?

I'll get back to you on this tomorrow.

[apollack]

The phenomenal training regimens of great fighters is also why some of them did not fight very often or wanted to retire sooner than later. It is really arduous work getting into the best possible shape for a fight, and many had too much pride to do otherwise. When you are rich and making easy money with plays or exhibitions or in other ways, you don't want to have to work that hard anymore.

[fists of fury]

Originally Posted by MadcapMaxie

In any case Rocky was one of the fittest boxers ever in a period where people trained and were expected to go 15 rounds Rocky stood above them all stamina wise...is it really that hard to believe?

Maxie

The following extract is taken from Rocky Marciano: The Rock of His Times by Russell Sullivan: (Page 131)

"The fighters too, had grown tired of the long wait. Marciano, for example, had been training for the bout since early January. In all, he sparred a total of 225 rounds and logged more than 450 miles of roadwork."

This is an extract dealing with the second Walcott fight, where the bout was originally scheduled for April 10 1953, but was postponed until 15 May, since Rocky had ruptured blood vessels in his nose in sparring.

It's not known if Rocky took time off during this period, but let's just assume for a moment that he had been training for around 12 weeks prior to the postponement. (He had started in early January, for a bout scheduled for April 10 1953.)

That translates to 450/12/7 = 5.3 miles of roadwork per day.

From Rockymarciano.com:

"In spite of Pasqualina's frequent admonitions, Rocky and his life-long friend and trainer Allie Colombo continued to pursue the arduous routine of fully preparing "The Rock" for his first professional fight.
This relatively brutal new regimen included a minimum of seven miles of roadwork per day, wearing very heavy training shoes that were specially designed for him by a local shoe magnate and admirer."

I snatched this off another website: (The link is broken to the actual site, but I got this off of a forum where the poster pasted this bit:

"Ben Bentley, Rocky's press agent and friend, told me Rocky would normally run at least 5-6 miles a day year round, but when a fight was signed he'd increase the distance to 9-10 miles, and usually the last week up it to 12-15 miles. On top of this, he liked to walk another 5-10 miles in the late afternoon or evening. And he did all this in the hilly country around Grossinger's, where he trained."

I know that Marciano also did much less overall training for Moore than any of his other fights.

At least an air of relaxation prevailed at Grossinger's. Many noted that they had never seen Marciano more relaxed, carefree, or impressive in camp.
Perhaps that was because he had insisted on a less demanding training regimen. He got his way, sparring only 116 rounds in preparation, the lightest workload before any of his title fights." (Page 267 of Sullivan's book.)

It does not state how much roadwork he had done for Moore, but safe to say it was considerably less than before.

In any event, the highest number that I can find on Marciano's roadwork is 15 miles for a very brief period. (I still find that hard to believe, but still.)
The average whether for training for a fight or otherwise seems to be about 5-8 miles.

[whosthere]

Originally Posted by Nightcrawler

except for all that unpleasant cardio work, i think you and i would get along just fine

Especially if you know good fishing spots up in the great white north. I've only been fishing there a couple times, but I gotta say from what I've seen, it's the best freshwater fishing on the planet.