Boxing is more than just physical

THE AMATEUR BOXER IS A VERY HIGHLY SKILLED, POWERFUL AND CONDITIONED ATHLETE. SCOTT CALLAGHAN

MANY will see boxing as a vicious physical battle where two men repeatedly beat each other until the other drops, while others may see it as a mental and physical battle between two combatants, where the smarter and better conditioned athlete will be the winner.

Just look at the pubs and clubs when there is a big boxing bout on and count the amount of people there to watch.

The amateur boxer is a very highly skilled, powerful and conditioned athlete, who is able to throw a variety of punches and combinations at their opponent, while simultaneously avoiding being hit.

While the athleticism and skill preparation can be similar for amateur and professional fighters, there are a number of differences.

Some of the bigger differences include more rounds and weight categories for professionals and the use of headguards by amateurs, as well as the way bouts are scored.

Boxing requires physical traits such as speed, power, strength, agility and endurance.

Being able to put all those physical traits and combine them with skills required to not only land punches on the opponent, but evade their punches takes immense planning.

While many years ago you did not hear about boxers having strength and conditioning coaches, this has now become more prevalent with the growing number of movies, documentaries and even media coverage the sport is getting.

A professional athlete needs a full complement of coaches to assist them to get to the top.

It takes more than just Rocky Balboa and Mickey to get the job done. Scott Callaghan is the Northern Pride’s strength and conditioning coach.