Is amateur boxing more about conditioning and aggression rather than technique?

In the novices, yes. After that you need a lot more technique

 

I think if you want to reduce a sport to one or two things, Amatuer Boxing is about conditoning. Even boxes like Gavin who was a fantastic amatuer said recently in BN that stamina was the most important attribute (paraphrasing).

 

When my father fought amateur back in the 1960s, he said it was much more physical and more pressing than it is today. Fighters went for the knockout by any means necessary. When it came to conditioning, the workouts were nothing short of brutal. Roadwork consisted of running 8 miles per day doing pushups or sit ups every 300 yards or so. Chopping wood, hill sprints, sparring, heavy bag work, and more calisthenics were the part of the regimen.

 

That sounds like pure death.

 

You can go a long way in the novices on conditioning, but you need a lot more than that once you hit open.

 

The last thing you want to be thinking about, when your facing your opponent, is how tired you feel. It is a confidence killer. Strategy takes a backseat to just trying to survive. You start praying for the round to finish instead of trying to score and win the fight. That is why fitness is the most important thing to any fighter at any level.

 

no, if i came up against a guy with no skill but threw lots of punchs, i would knock him out real quick.

 

It may be to some point. The judges in the am's score shots when the white portion of the glove touches the opponent. If 2 guys face each other and all things being equal except conditioning, chances are the better conditioned fighter will win the fight based on sheer number of punches he's able to throw.

Just the other day someone posted a video of Arturo Gatti and his rise from the amateurs to pros. The main reason he turned pro, after winning many golden gloves awards, was because the scoring had changed to a point he would likely not be able to win as readily as he once did. Too bad for amateur boxing, great for us fans when he turned pro.

 

Back in those days amateur didn't wear headgear and didn't have the stupid point system, I wish they would bring that back

 

Regarding the conditioning , Ali , Holmes , Spinks , Calzaghe & Greb showed how far it can bring a fighter , in Amateur boxing conditioning is way less important as it only requires to last 3-4 rds.

 

Stamina plays a massive part for obvious reasons but if you have good pinpoint punching, you could do damage and slow them down to. You'd have to outclass your opponent if you don't throw as much.

That being said, a good engine is needed for sure. Stamina is the main attribute in the amateurs unless you are a brilliant counter puncher, with fast hands. In the amateurs its easy to smother someone's work though.

 

I would say whilst there's an element of truth to that statement, I think its only applicable to a certain standard. Inexperienced fighters dont have the presence of of mind to stay within their envelope and pick you off inbetween your attacks, they can sometimes get overwhelmed by the pressure and will try to go "with you", as appose to staying calm under pressure and making you pay a price for your aggression.

If you have great power you should be utilizing it to STOP the opponent from putting you under that kind of pressure imo. You should be using it to establish his respect, to put him in his place and tell him "this is what you'll get if you keep walking in on me" You also wanna be utilizing the straighter punches up the middle, as the opponent can sometimes get a bit wide and square with punches when they get overexcited whilst being aggressive. Punch inbetween their punches.


There are different ways to dictate the action. You can throw more punches than the opponent and do it that way, but you can also slow the tempo down and utilize your greater skill, the latter being the more difficult, which is probably what you should start working on.

Ever noticed how fighters like Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton weren't as effective unless they were letting their hands go? Its because these fighters dont have a great ability to dictate when its a slow tempo imo. Hatton used to get picked of something chronic when he slowed the tempo down. Unless Hatton was on your chest, he was very hittable from range.

 

Maybe your best force is to move forward with combinations, but no, matches (unless they are between fighters under 10 fights) arent always fast pace and they are more technique than aggression.