Hard Sparring overrated?

Discussion in 'World Boxing Forum' started by Derrick_Rose, May 9, 2013.


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  1. Derrick_Rose

    Derrick_Rose Guest

    So i was recently in Berlin and visited the Sauerland Gym. The day i was there, Firat Arslan was preparing for his fight against Varol Vekiloglu. After the sparring session we were allowed to t talk with him . Firat was very nice and took his time to sign our **** and gave us some advice. So i asked him how he is still at championship level at age 42 and he said the secret of a long healthy career in Boxing is light sparring. His point was that on average a fighter fights lets say 200-300 professional rounds. But to prepare for those 200-300 Rounds he is going to spar 3-4k rounds in the gym or even more. A lot of these fighters enter the ring with minor concussions due to the hard sparring session and then take punches to the head. He said that the point in sparring is to get your timing right and work on technique and not to go toe to toe and prove how tough you are, thats the reason most mexican fighters are shot in their late 20s while guys like BHOP and Mayweather are still Champions. He mentioned that Whitaker barely took clean punches in the ring but was known for hard sparring sessions and he is punch drunk today. Firat told me that if he spars with guys who sit down on their punches and try to make a name by KOing a world ranked opponent, he pays them off and kicks them out of his Gym.

    So what are your thoughts on this?
     
    Derrick_Rose, May 9, 2013
    Derrick_Rose, May 9, 2013
    #1
  2. Jason777

    Jason777 Active Member Full Member

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    i read many reports on the subject and the one thing that they found was a determining factor in early dementia in boxers wasnt how many fights you had, ko losses you had etc but it was how often you did serious sparring.
     
    Jason777, May 9, 2013
    Jason777, May 9, 2013
    #2
  3. sportofkings

    sportofkings Boxing Junkie banned

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    Agree with this, getting the **** kicked out of you mainly in sparring is going to leave you exhausted and drained come fight night.. In some ways too much sparring can be as bad as not enough. These gym wars like you get in Philly are terrible for a fighters longevity.
     
    sportofkings, May 9, 2013
    sportofkings, May 9, 2013
    #3
  4. PetethePrince

    PetethePrince Slick & Redheaded Full Member

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    Reminds me of a Real Sports episode regarding hard hitting practice days in college football. They still have plenty I guess, and many of the students are showing diminished brain activity because of it. In the NFL they only have one hard-hitting day for the week.
     
    PetethePrince, May 9, 2013
    PetethePrince, May 9, 2013
    #4
  5. Derrick_Rose

    Derrick_Rose Guest

    U got a link? Sounds interesting
     
    Derrick_Rose, May 9, 2013
    Derrick_Rose, May 9, 2013
    #5
  6. PivotPunch

    PivotPunch Guest

    I always thought that sparring is much worse for your health than fighting even if it's just sparring you do it more often than you fight in your career
     
    PivotPunch, May 9, 2013
    PivotPunch, May 9, 2013
    #6
  7. mishima

    mishima Guest

    apparently calzaghe didn't do any sparring before the Jeff lacy fight
     
    mishima, May 9, 2013
    mishima, May 9, 2013
    #7
  8. PetethePrince

    PetethePrince Slick & Redheaded Full Member

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    I have been looking for it for awhile and can't find it either. It aired awhile back. Okay, it appears it was RS episode 188. You can see the trailer on the HBO Real Sports site. If I find it I'll let you know. If you do hook me up with a PM. Thanks.
     
    PetethePrince, May 9, 2013
    PetethePrince, May 9, 2013
    #8
  9. hobgob21

    hobgob21 Active Member Full Member

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    sounds like an intelligent guy. of course it is not necessary to take heavy punches. how is getting concussed going to help you prepare for a fight?
     
    hobgob21, May 9, 2013
    hobgob21, May 9, 2013
    #9
  10. dyna

    dyna Boxing Junkie banned

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    Who thought getting hit hard is bad for you?....

    Sparring should always be for just technique, stamina training you can do outside the ring without risk of concussions.
     
    dyna, May 9, 2013
    dyna, May 9, 2013
    #10
  11. Tar Baby

    Tar Baby Well-Known Member Full Member

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    You should do both Hard and Soft sparring
     
    Tar Baby, May 9, 2013
    Tar Baby, May 9, 2013
    #11
  12. Ahurath

    Ahurath Boxing Addict Full Member

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    There is a diffrence between hard sparring and getting hit alot in sparring.

    The first one is good for you and the second one is bad for you obviously.
     
    Ahurath, May 9, 2013
    Ahurath, May 9, 2013
    #12
  13. MAG1965

    MAG1965 Loyal Member banned

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    nice comment. I agree, yet younger fighters need sparring coming up which older fighters do not. Guys like Leonard,Hearns,Hagler did not need big sparring when they got older. I would think the Klitchkos at this point do light sparring.
     
    MAG1965, May 9, 2013
    MAG1965, May 9, 2013
    #13
  14. dyna

    dyna Boxing Junkie banned

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    Can you define "hard sparring" please?
     
    dyna, May 9, 2013
    dyna, May 9, 2013
    #14
  15. Derrick_Rose

    Derrick_Rose Guest

    Not really, ive seen Wlads recent Sparring clips and he is knocking down his Sparring partners with those right hands.
     
    Derrick_Rose, May 9, 2013
    Derrick_Rose, May 9, 2013
    #15
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