Why were many old time boxers so scrawny looking

I am so, so sorry if I pissed you off, I was only joking. ****, I didn't mean all that, you'd kill me, I know you would. I am going to Canada but please don't come looking for me, I'll be with my family, I really don't want any trouble! If you give me your address, perhaps I could send you some money or something to pay your gym fees, I know you train hard. I'm more than happy to sort this out peacefully.

Thanks and sorry again.

 

That's about all there is to it. You can teach technique, footwork, basic fundamentals, etc, but you can't teach toughness, heart, and fighting instincts.

While there are obviously things outside of pure boxing (running, swimming, push ups, pull ups, etc) that will help improve a fighters performance, the only way for a boxer to get better is to actually box.

Out of the 7 years that I've been boxing, I've seen plenty of people who were built like greek gods and looked astounding when going through their work out, but then they got in the ring and looked like absolute garbage.

I've also seen people who look terrible when going through their workout but are incredibly effective and are great fighters in the ring.

 

This nails it, B

 

Hmmm... Either Ike Williams or your mother. Only joking

Either Jose Napoles or your mother.

 

Light weight, high reps can be helpful, but only using your own bodyweight can help ensure your don't get more bulky than your body frame can handle without suffering the consequences that Hasim Rahman and Frank Bruno suffered from being too muscular.

 

I have lifted off and on for 25 years now... **** am I getting old. I have done it under the tutelage of coaches, trainers and at a D1 track program. Generally, it has helped avoid injuries and absorb the rigors of training to in my middle age made everyday things a lot easier. My only complaint is that my body always reacted by getting a **** of a lot bigger. I went from a 155 pound rail to a guy who was 195 with 5% body fat (to what I am now which is just fighting off the Grim Reaper)... My one reservation is that I feel like I had a lot higher power to weight ratio somewhere well before I got to 200 pounds. And like I said, I went through every fad and regimen that came along in the 90's and 00's. Had I to do it all over again, I would have skipped on the mass increase. I imagine if one were a competitive boxer who was not a heavyweight, the sacrifice of that power to weight ratio would be highly detrimental.

 

it still blows me away how many people do not understand this...