Put on a boxing glove and punch yourself in the face to see...it's a different kind of hurt...unless you normally walk into things often... Adrenalin can be good & bad...it needs to be controlled along with your heart rate or you will jut tire yourself out... ...nerves are no good at all really but it's a natural reaction that can be hard to control maybe I am confusing them with anxiety.. time and experience can fix that...pretty sure all boxers have been nervous/anxious at some point during their careers...fck I get anxious just watching them before the bell is about to ring...
I don't have much experience, only 6 actual fights aside from sparring and the two are way different. It depends on a lot of factors, 4 of my 6 fights have been at night, large dinner events with the ring in the center. Having bright lights shining on you and illuminating everything is a lot different to day time fights. In my last three fights I have remained pretty calm and composed, and it really changed the whole fight experience because everything was easier to remember afterwards, and I was a lot more relaxed and focused in the ring so I was picking punched. When you are nervous and utterly inexperienced, its easy for the fight to become a big blur afterwards, and I also found I was rather acting completely instinctively and it became more of a fight, instead of using my brain to box like in sparring or recent fights where I relaxed. The punches will vary, I've fought stocky guys who head hunted and I got the typical flash of white which a lot of people have experienced when getting hit in the head, basically if you get your head hit cleanly for a split second you get a flash of white or silver as you blink simultaneously with the strike. I've also fought a body puncher and every clean body shot really hurt me, very nearly had to take a knee so I definitely felt them, no adrenaline will protect you from that. As far as nerves go, more often than not you will be shitting bricks. The most common thing is your mouth will completely dry out as you make your way to the ring, I would say everybody gets that. Surprisingly, I honestly don't get nervous all the time, people say your not normal if you don't but I have been so relaxed before going into the ring and its a much better feeling if you can stay composed. Rather than wanting to get in the ring and get it over with, you are ready and excited to go in there and show your skills. I tend to shadow box in a mirror, speak to myself in my mind, conjure up the belief in yourself to win, the tougher the opponent the easier it is to get into that mindset. I don't listen to music due to a bad experience when I got my ass whooped despite listening to the most adrenaline inducing music I could find, it wont make you perform better in the ring imo. Hope this was helpful, its just my experience.
Worse than sparring. I think you might have a higher take tolerance in fights though as you're caught up in the moment.
