Do most fighters enter the ring with some fear/nerves? What do you think? Remember Sugar Ray Leonard saying he felt fear when entering the ring...and said that he thought it was natural and that most fighters felt it....others i've heard say emphatically not. If the do have fear is it from fear of getting a beating or fear of the shame of defeat? Discuss.
Probably fear is more common among the elite fighters than one may think. But fear is managed effectivley and probably put to good use by letting the adreniline keep them sharp and focused. Of course badly managed fear causes confusion , panic and doubt, three things that almost guarentee failure .
Yea the fear feeling is almost natural and every1 gets it before the fight. except maybe the cockiest of fighters like myorga
yeah guys i hear you but what is the cause of the fear? Getting beat up and hurt or the shame of defeat and humiliation?
I think there is definately a fairly large contingent of fear for even the elite fighters. But it would definately be fear of defeat and public humiliation raher than getting hurt. Any boxer than doesn't even mentally entertain the possibility of getting beaten would be so over-confident that they couldn't perform at the level of sharpness required. I know that consciously I personally couldn't give a **** about being beat up in the ring but even in sparring a guy getting the better of you (particularly if he does it easily) is humiliating. Getting beaten in any other sport doesn't have anywhere near the amount of humilation attached to it. Must be machismo I guess.
Its more just Performance Anxiety and the fear comes through the possibility of lossing more than the physical damage that one can take in the ring.
Just as fear is a necessity in life, it's also a very necessary thing to have as a boxer especially when your fighting at the world class/elite level.
I would expect most fighters have some fear whether it be performance anxiety or fear of defeat etc.., this is what gets the adrenaline going.... Performance Fear/Anxiety can be of benefit to some fighters and detrimental to others, some actually perform at thier best when there is a definite possibility of defeat, some perform worse when they are expected to perform, it depends on how each fighter uses that fear. As for fighters never fearing getting hurt - I still do not believe the look on Spink's face when walking to the ring to face Tyson was a performance fear, looked more like SH*T This is going to hurt !!
I think that it can come from being on center stage in front of so many fans, the fight being aired on TV and of course the fear of losing..the best way to find out though is by hearing what the fighters themselves have to say