I just had my first amateur fight and lost a very close decision (two judges had it by 1 point to the other guy and one judge had it to me by over 5 points). A lot of people said I should have won. I was applying the pressure and my opponent was counter punching off the back foot the whole time. A few of his counters were good and it did make me think twice about throwing straight punches down the middle (it helped he had quite a big reach advantage). I've never trained or been hit by someone wearing 10oz gloves and even though it didn't hurt at all I don't know why it affected me like that. I had more power, even if I took one shot coming in I could have got myself in better position to unleash. I knew it was close and I was confident I won outright. It isn't really any real consolation that when people say "I should have won", "I did really well" or that "it takes a lot just to step in the ring". I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say the people that chose to fight fight to win. The win is what matters and it doesn't matter if you lose by a 1 point SD or a KO, a loss is a loss and emptiness that comes with it I don't think people who haven't fought and lost can understand. Words cannot express how gutted I feel. I've trained and sacrificed so much for my first fight, maybe not as much as some people here since this is not a full time thing for me and originally only got into boxing to get fit/lose weight and because I liked watching the sport. What hurts is out of the few fighters my trainer had on the card on the night he had the highest hopes for me. Even though he says he still thinks I won I know I have no one to blame but myself - I could have done more, made less mistakes, and not leave it to such a close margin. I know I'm a better fighter. If I fought like how I spar I know I could have won this outright. Just wanted to know how you guys have handled losing your debut, or losing any fight that made you extremely disappointed because you know you could have done better? How long does something like this stay with you? Am I one of those type of 'gym' fighters I read about that can match it against anyone in the gym but when it comes to actual competition always fall short? This fight might have been a once off thing for me. I was going to take about 2 weeks off, relax my diet, and then go back to my old gym schedule. But now it's made me angry and hungrier. I want to cut down another division to negate the reach disadvantage in my current division. I want to train harder and destroy my next opponent. Should I let my body and emotions relax a bit before embarking on this journey again or should I start sooner and capitalise on these emotions instead?
Take the time off if you wont, even if you do the moment you step back into your gym those emotions are still gona be as raw. Maybe worse
A boy in my gym lost his first fight and it was close. He then continued training and in his second fight stopped the guy in the 3rd round and won his third fight the other night there. Use the hunger you got from losing to train. Best of luck.
M8 I have seen this when people lose and should have won. Not to sound like a tosser it happens. Just use it as motivation to train harder than ever and you will be fine. I get like that even if I have a bad spar but like I said use it as a learning experience:bbb
I would relax a bit, you won't be fuelling long term training or progress with just emotions because you lost. What happens when you win? You don't train as hard? Take a few days/week off with your diet and training, relax yourself mentally, don't do much boxing related, THEN come up with a plan and nail it!
How about you get done feeling sorry for yourself you go back into training and have another fight? Honestly dude, nobody cares. I mean that in the best way possible. Losing in amateur boxing means nothing. Seen open class fighters with records like 25-23 who are GOOD. Seen novices 8-0 that sucked. You win some you lose some. Your record is in no way a reflection of your skills. I lost my debut, relaxed my training for a few weeks, and now a year later I'm still 0-1. (The guy I lost to was 0-1. Now he's got the state Golden Gloves title.) It's not cool. Get back in the ring as soon as possible. You don't earn time off by engaging in some cheesy little 8 minute fight.
My most painful loss was in the finals of my first tournament. I had already won two fights, the two prior days. I built a 6-1 lead after the first round, but was so bloody exhausted from losing weight and the two previous fights that I blew it. I was too tired to stay away (and didn't have great footwork anyway) so it just turned into a stand in front of each other brawl which is exactly the kind of fight my opponent wanted, and he ended up winning by 1 point. We had a rematch a month later and I smashed him pretty good so that made me feel better lol
Did sound like a bit of a sook didn't I? I guess the level disappointment just took me a bit by surprise. Haven't felt this bad about something in a while. But I am excited to see how far this can now take me...
