Not so much with Kostya I don't think; he still had a long and very successful pro career; and for his style that long amateur career was necessary. I think Lacey stayed amateur for a longer time because he was aiming for the Olympics, the way a lot of long-time American amateurs do.
yeah he had a successful pro career. I meant it in the sense that he had only 33 pro fights total and alot of time off from injuries towards the end. His body was probably getting worn out from the accumulations of all those amature and pro fights.
Well, also remember Kostya grew up in the Soviet system, where amateur boxing was/is respected as much, if not more, than professional boxing. I don't blame him for wanting a short pro career relatively; he was still a great fighter and made his mark and a lot of money; and for some people the accomplishments you have in the amateurs outstrip those as a professional.
19 fights, 15-4, with a few smokers that had no weigh in that I really don't count. Some of those match ups were crap, and at one bull**** "exhibition" I fought a guy who was seven inches taller and thirty pounds heavier. Yes, he was skinny, but that reach was insurmountable. I fought between 116 and 126 lbs, 5'8''.
Isn't the concept of having a long amateur career not really followed in say latin America? A lot of the great Hispanic fighters, you never hear of them winning the Olympics or World Championships. They tend to have a long learning paeriod as a pro. Isn't that how people like Chavez and Campas amasses records of 50-0 approx. before going for titles?
About 175 fights, been at it for 20 years, so thats not terribly impressive. Been mulling over going pro for just one fight, and even though its probable that Id win by a 1st round kayo, Im alittle hesistant to lace up the smaller gloves with no head gear at 40. I dont want some bum to Cranmer my ass. I was a great amateur, still am an average one, and I dont want to be embarassed.
Eh! It's just three rounds, and they even have the masters wear 16oz gloves I think. It's a fun tournament.
That's a bit funny then. So we're talking about some past his prime former taxi driver who always wanted to give boxing a shot coming up against a former top amateur with 175 fights? Even in 16s, that's some scary ****.
Yup. They also don't box 2 minute rounds I don't think. But at Ringside this year there was a guy who was having his second fight boxing someone who had gone to the Olympic Education Center and had like 150 fights. 2 fight guy won, too.....with a little bit of help.
Yes. But same with the rest of us. Open class is open class. At Ringside, had I won my first fight, I would have had to fight the 4-time Canadian Champion. Who, I'm guessing, had well over 100 fights, and I only had 11.