How common is amateur fighters lying about their fight expereince

I suppose you are right. One of my trainers is pretty deceiving in that he only had a couple of amateur fights but he is damn good and much more experienced.

 

It happens a lot, especially with immigrants coming over who boxed in their home country. I don't get why a boxer would do it. The thing is though, I think its often the coach's idea.

 

Boxing is very treacherous. I can guarantee that, if you go into a gym, never been there before, looking for sparring, you'll get beat up, unless you are Ray Robinson. Because, when you tell them your experience level, it will be assumed that you are lying and trying to get over, so they'll lie to you and put you in with Marvin Hagler.
I learned this a long time ago, taking my first fighter around. We'd worked for a long time but he'd never sparred (he was 12 and had had braces), but to hit the bags he looked great. At a gym in Riverside he sparred a guy with "no experience" that had been a finalist is the Junior Olympics...and that kid opened up because he'd been told that we were sandbagging him.
Nobody got hurt, and, in the long run, it all turned out fine, but boxing is very treacherous.