Significance of amateur records?

I have heard Paddy Barnes lost his first 12 or so amateur fights, then went on to eventually win 2 Olympic Bronze Medals, European Gold and Silver and Commonwealth Gold Medal.

 

Think Johnny Nelsons amateur career was something like won 3 lost 10, then he lost 3 of his first 4 pro fights.

Went on to hold the WBO Cruiserweight title for a good few years, made a tonne of defenses and was undefeated for the last 10 years of his career.

 

Lots of very good lads have losing records. Your record depends on who you box.

At this stage, there is no reason to think you can't achieve great things in the future based on your record.

 

Rocky Marciano was 8-4 as an amateur.

 

:deal

Some guys are better suited to the pro rules too.

 

There have been many examples of fighters who haven't had outstanding amateur careers but have gone on to bigger and better things as a pro. The amateurs suit slick boxers who can accurately land their punchers and accumulate points. But big punchers with lesser work-rates do better in the pros.

 

Anyone know about the required amount of fights to turn professional? :think

I guess it varies from place to place but i can´t really find anything on it. A coach in London said you have to have/win (i fail to remember which one) 10 amateur bouts.

 

It depends who you fight. My son is 14 and started fighting when he was 13 and 85 lbs which is small around where we live. it was hard to get him fights so we took fights with heavier guys and who were open fighter just so he could fight. He only fought a fighter with 6 fights and beat him. His record now is 1 and 5. All the losses are to open fighters with years of boxing.

 

There is no required amount of amateur fights needed to go pro

 

Hopkins recently attributed his longevity (in part) to his short amateur career. All that hard training, fighting, and sparring puts miles on you.

You can also learn a bad set of habits/fight pacing as an amateur.

As far as your record, it doesn't matter as much as your accomplishments. If you're placing high in tournaments, your name gets out there. Nobody cares about your record.

 

Off the top of my head, you have Joe Calzache. Lost a large number of his first 20 fights. Henry Armstrong suffered 2 knockouts in his first 4 fights (as far as I remember). He's widely held today as one of the finest fighters to have ever lived. Another great example is Teofilo Stevenson. This was a man who lost about 14 out of his first 20 fights. In his words "I got tired of losing." I guess he just started focusing more on what he was being taught and didn't get disheartened. He went on to be one of the greatest amateurs off all time, winning 3 Olympic gold medals and destroyed almost everyone he met from 1972 to about 1980.

Presevere my friend. Some people are just late bloomers. You've shown determination so far and this can only serve you well in the future. Start looking at some of the things that you're doing wrong. These may could be the primary reason for losing a fight. Ask your coach for an honest view of what really needs improving at the moment. Once you know, PRACTISE! PRACTISE! PRACTISE! Hard work and dedication - these two things will take you far in any walk of life and in boxing they're absolutely essential. Good luck pal and hope all goes well