Hello anyone who can help, I've recently transitioned from doing MMA to Boxing and have a huge interest in competing. I've been at it pretty serious for a couple of months and although I do not feel I am anywhere near ready to compete I think it is time for me to start becoming familiar with how Amateur boxing works. My Google skills aren't too strong in this area because I don't know where to start. I would like to compete by the end of this year or the start of next year when I've gotten myself conditioned and have had a good more amount of time to refine my boxing skills. I live in the east coast of the U.S. and am looking for organizations that coordinate amateur events, as well as the steps I have to take in order to register as an amateur fighter. I've always done some form of combat sport, am not new to sparring or how to train to fight, but I have NO CLUE on how organized competition works. The boxing gym I attend is trying to get an amateur program started and I'm sure I'll find things out in time through going there but I would like to start figuring things out on my own as well and would appreciate any help I can get. Thanks in advance and I look forward to any advice on how to go about it and what to start looking at.
EDIT: didn't read second post, sorry What gym? Who's the coach? Good chance I won't know; but there are so many boxing gyms in Maryland, if you're coach is not USA boxing certified, you may want to look around for another coach. If you're dead set on pushing forward with this, here are a few web sites: You're going to want to read the official rules and join USA Boxing officially as a member. Your coach will also probably want to be certified in order to work your corner. You may also want to check Golden Gloves for additional rules, news, and upcoming events. Maryland has it's own amateur boxing rules, so look here. If you find an event that you want to participate in, usually they will post a registration form that will list all the hoops you need to jump through (medicals, etc). Here's an example for south Texas- info sheet and registration form. I'm in the process of transitioning from muay thai to boxing as well. The thing that impresses me the most about boxing is the organization. The rules are well published, here in Texas there are events every week or 2, and the coaches all have TONS of experience cornering fighters and helping them win. My muay thai gym as a whole; all fighters combined, probably have fewer fights than the average amateur boxing competitor here. Events also don't seem to be the clusterf**k that is most muay thai/kickboxing events: fighters dropping last minute making weight classes optional, sandbagging is a given, and rules changing in the middle of the fight. Getting fighters ready & competing is a lot more smooth a process with boxing. That's why I recommend finding a coach with a lot of experience cornering & preparing; no insult intended towards your coach/gym.
Yeah man, I felt like an ass posting this when I looked closer and saw the sticky. I don't know how I didn't see it. I'm not going to drop names or anything yet since I'm new to the forum and don't quite know the community yet. Also something I would ask somebody before I did. Hopefully that's not taken as a dodge. The instructor/owner is USA Boxing certified and has competed amateur as well as won a tournament or two. He says he wants to be on the coaching/trainer side of it rather then trying to become a professional. I like to think because of my exposure to competitive MMA and a few other gym visits that I can tell if a gym and its instructors are worth something and I'm not worried about being some place that may be a fraud. The only thing about the gym is it is in its 2nd year being open. They're trying to start getting an amateur program going and the owner wants to get a few of us into a comp. in NY in August but I'm not ready for that skill wise. I don't want to go into a fight hoping my technique and skills are ok for that level, I want to know and that's going to take a little more then another month training for me as well as getting into boxing shape. Also coordinating with other gyms for sparring is being put into the works and having different trainers come in to work with different things. It's a new gym and the only one within an hours drive in my area that I can afford, and it's a BOXING gym. The only thing cruddy about it is the speed bags which are on a bit of a rickety platform. Plenty of heavy bags, a good ring, double end bags a little bit of free weight equipment and lots of space to work on stuff in. I'm interested to see where everything goes with it and it has potential. It's decent for the spot I am financially and skill wise with boxing and if it continues to develop and gain report it has potential to be a real legit gym that can put out fighters. For now I'm just interested in training until around the end of the year and if nothing is going on with getting the amateur program up and running I may seek out other areas to try and get things going for me with competing. That's the main reason I want to be familiar with how things work for amateur boxing and what I need to be looking into. Thanks for the info!
Good that the coach is certified. Like I said, wasn't meant to discredit the coach, but there are so many boxing gyms to choose from in the state - unfortunately when I think MD, I end up thinking the Baltimore-DC area where there are TONS. Visited the gym I've been thinking of joining today: http://www.theclubko.com Opened in 2009; had a fighter win a local Golden Gloves tournament in 2010. Going back tomorrow for my first workout. My friend used to train there and is coming back this fall, so I'm hoping it goes well.
