Your a trainer and a 6'4" 215 Lbs 25 year old walks into your gym?

he is still young if his body has never taking a beating in which you have describe he can make a good run in this division of heavyweights today

 

I'd have to agree he'd be able to do well in the division since he hasn't had any injuries and is still young and in good shape.

 

I'd fall to the ground and start worshipping his awesomenes

 

It would depend on him, how he progresses after amateur bouts. Style counts too, if aim is pro less tiem in amaturs the better. If he's a kick ass amateur with style made for olympic boxing, you aim for that.

The part about being able to tell if he has what it takes is not so simple, there are always surprises. Biggest atrribute is often 'Does he want to be a boxer?" How bad does he want it? Will he stick, and as anyone who has ever trained anyone knows, will he dump you after you spend couple of years teaching him? That happens a lot.

 

it depends- you do what s best for him , not best for you. what ll be good for his life and career long term- not what will make you the most money quick. heavyweights nowadays can fight into there forties- as we have seen. 25 years is an ok age- he ll be mature- and wiser- a good 2 years amateur experience wont hurt- throwing him tot he wolves may not be the best start- as it can go wrong real quick. do the slow and steady- theres no rush at 25.

 

I'd get a few amateur fights under his belt.. No more than 20 fights or 24 months. He would get 3-4 months worth of training before his first fight and then we go from there.. If he remains undefeated throughout his career and breaks into the top 10 after 5 years.. I would start to slow things down from there. I have spent some time around Ron Lyle and he told me that everyone outside of the top 10 is brought along against someone that is just below them. He said once you are in the top 10, everyone is even. For the most part I find this to be true since some guys have more heart or skills than the other in these fights. I think of Jermain Taylor as someone who had the skills but was brought along too quickly. I'm not saying he fought Hopkins too soon but the man struggled and he showed a lot of self doubt and dissapointment in those fights with Hopkins and Winky.

Things like making sure he gets his ass kicked in his first sparring session and building his spirits only to turn around and put them to the test will pay dividends.

I will be moving back to El Paso in a month to start my career and I look forward to getting in contact with some of my old trainers and changing some kids lives someday. Not all of them will be good fighters or even compete but I want to build some confidence in a young fighter.

 

In a perfect world I would like to see this fighter retire in between 35-40 with only taking a loss or two. You can't be afraid to walk away from a guy he doesn't and won't ever have it. I think Lennox Lewis retired at the right time. Another fight like that with Vitali could have called for him getting KO'd in a trilogy and trying to fight his way back to the top.

 

Give him a short amateur career. He's too old to go through the ranks. Give him a few to get him comfortable. He'd need to be doubly committed to the fight game if he was gonna make any noise, so he'd get a bit for some experience and early nerves, then to the professional ranks.

 

How would you tell this exactly before the guy has ever been in a fight?

 

id only give my guy 10 amateur fights then throw him in the lions den

 

I don't understand why most people think that after 25 or when a person reach 30 he is body will automatically decline. That's not really the case. If the person trains himself all the time and takes good care of himself by that I mean getting the proper food, and sleep his bodies declination will be slower than those who doesn't take of themselves meaning those who are alway in fast food joints and doesn't give their bodies the proper rest that they need.

Anyway, if a were a trainer I'd definitely let him try the amateurs first to let him gain some experience. If the man doesn't have any fighting experience wether it's street fighting or martial arts, then the smart thing to do is let him fight in the amateurs while teaching him the basics of boxing. And again the man has no experience what-so-ever in fighting, that means you can teach him the proper styles and techniques that he needs. You said that he's in great physical shape that means techniques shouldn't be too hard to execute.

Although, in boxing late 20s is considered the peak of a boxers career I doubt that guy can make a good name for himself unless the rushes through the ranks and become a champion.

 

see if he comes back the next day

 

Hypothetically, how would you tell that a 25 year old with no fighting experience whatsoever 'has what it takes to be a great boxer'?

It's relevant because it would then affect the course that you would pursue.