SUCCESS IN BOXING . . . depends on dedication, physical conditioning, and long hours spent in workouts and sparring sessions.

1

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

At some time in his life, almost every person has clenched his fingers into a fist and used them in self-defense, either seriously or in fun. Fist-fighting is one of the oldest and most universal of human activities. But however instincitive it may be to “put up your dukes” in self-defense, the sport of boxing is not something that can be mastered without study and hard work. You must learn the fundamentals and the more advanced refinements and spend a great deal of time in painstaking practice.

There are many different roads that lead to boxing. For some boxers, interest started with a fight in the streets or the schoolyard. Others began by enrolling in a youth program or going to a gym to get some exercise and seeing some people boxing.

I first got interested in boxing from watching my brothers box, long before I ever climbed the stairs to the Gramercy Gym in New York, where I first began to train. Joe Frazier got interested in boxing after he started going to a gym in an attempt to lose weight. What led George Foreman into the sport was a desire to put his energies to use inside a ring instead of outside one.

But however you get into boxing, you will find it rewarding both as a sport and as an exercise.

WHERE TO LEARN

Almost anyone who wants to learn to box can find a place to do it. Most cities in the United States have Police Athletic Leagues, YMCAs, YMHAs, Boys Clubs, Catholic Youth Organizations, or other groups that sponsor boxing programs. A phone call to one of these organizations or to the sports department of your local newspaper will put you in touch with the right people. In addition, some public schools offer boxing as part of their sports curricula.

If you come from an area where none of these facilities are available, you will have more difficulty in finding an organized program. If you’ve bought this book, you still have a good chance of learning to box well. While teaching yourself is not as desirable as having a good trainer, it is a step in the right direction and will help you prepare for the time when you will be able to obtain professional assistance.

RULES

Boxing rules are slightly different for each area of the country, and are interpreted by various governing bodies. However, the rules are almost alike everywhere. You can get a copy of the rules for your area by writing either your local state athletic commission in the state capital (for the professional rules) or your local Amateur Athletic Union office (for the amateur rules).

It’s important that you obtain a copy of the rules and become familiar with the small differences that may prevail in your area. But the most important rule to remember is good sportsmanship. It is the foundation of all boxing rules. Boxing rules are intended to make boxing safer and more fair for everyone

EQUIPMENT

Once you’ve decided to get serious about boxing, you’ll need to become familiar with the proper equipment. Some of the equipment will probably be provided by the gym where you work out, but there are some personal items you’ll have to buy for yourself.

The Ring

The ring is the roped enclosure in which the fight takes place. For a professional boxer, it is the most important place in the world—the place where it all happens.

Rings, like boxers, come in all sizes. Some are only 16 feet square, while others are as much as 24 feet square. A 20-foot square is the size most often used.

The ring is surrounded by three or four strands of heavy rope. A canvas covers the floor, and there is always some sort of a mat or cushion under the canvas for safety.

Protective Equipment

Your protective equipment includes a headguard for sparring, a mouthpiece to protect your teeth, and a foulproof cup.

There are several styles of head-guards, which are available with and without cheek protectors. I myself don’t like the big cheek protectors, but use them if you prefer. Headguards come in small, medium, and large sizes and can be adjusted to fit snugly. Make sure that your headguard is on tight before you start to box; otherwise, the first punch is likely to knock it over your eyes. (One note of caution: when using your head-guard in sparring, block high punches by taking them in front of your headguard. Then, in actual competition, you won’t tend to rely on the headguard, which isn’t there.) There are quite a few different styles of mouthpieces, ranging from simple, hard-rubber ones that fit anyone and can be purchased in either a drug store or, a sporting goods store to the custom-fitted mouthpieces that are made by dentists.

YOUR PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT . . . includes a headguard, a mouthpiece to protect your teeth, and a foulproof cup. Here my brother Ray and I have donned protective equipment for a sparring session.

The protective cup is a leather and metal or plastic device that fits around the boxer’s waist and shields his hips and groin area from low blows. In an actual fight, the cups are worn under the boxers’ trunks. When you’re sparring, however, you may want to wear them over your trunks, making it easier to discard them when you’re not actually boxing.

Clothing

Another important item of equipment is a pair of high-top leather boxing shoes. You can get along with sneakers when you’re just starting out, but by the time you’ve advanced you should have the real thing.

Boxers wear all sorts of clothing when they’re just working out in the gym. You can wear almost any kind of loose-fitting clothing, but you’ll find that in the long run it pays to get clothing that’s especially made to take the wear and tear of exercising. Various styles of wool training trunks are available—full length, knee length, and regular length (short). If you’re hoping to sweat off a few pounds, wear sweat suits and rubber trunks and shirts.

You will also need a robe to ward off the chills that can come when you’ve worked up a sweat. Terrycloth is best, because it sops up moisture so well. Of course, when you actually start fighting, you may want to invest in a flashy satin robe, if you can afford it.

For fighting, you’ll need a pair or two of satin trunks. Remember to allow room for your foul protector when you’re trying on trunks.

CLOTHING FOR BOXING . . . For fighting, you will need satin trunks as well as a sturdy pair of high-top boxing shoes.

A ROBE IS NECESSARY . . . for absorbing sweat and warding off chills. For workouts, a terry cloth robe will do fine, but you may want to invest in a satin robe for competition.

BOXING GLOVES

The gloves worn in boxing matches (Diagram 1) are made of leather and are filled with rubber or a synthetic, spongy material. The gloves and their weights are regulated by the local boxing commissions. Amateur gloves usually weigh 12 ounces, although they may weigh up to 14 ounces. Professional boxing gloves vary in weight. Lightweight and middleweight boxers wear 6-ounce gloves, while heavyweight boxers might wear 8-ounce gloves. Many commissions specify 6-ounce gloves, regardless of the weight of the fighters.

The design of the boxing glove has remained the same since 1940. At that time, a bump was added alongside the thumb to prevent the fighter from using the thumb illegally.

DIAGRAM 1 . . . Boxing gloves.

Training Equipment

You’ll probably have to supply certain items of your own training equipment, although this is not always the case. The boxer usually provides a skip rope, bag gloves, training gloves and, occasionally, a speed bag.

Skip ropes come in either rope or leather. Leather wears longer but it’s more expensive, too. You’ll need a pair of leather bag gloves for “punching the bag, and you also might want a pair of knuckle gloves like the ones I use. These take the place of hand wraps m training. I just slip the big training gloves over the knuckle gloves.

Training gloves, the big overstuffed “pillows” that boxers use in the gym, weigh from 12 to 16 ounces (Diagram 2).

DIAGRAM 2 . . . Training gloves.

THE SPEED BAG.

The speed bag is a small leather bag that is suspended by a metal swivel from a round platform. The boxer hits the bag very fast. This helps develop coordination and speed. I recommend that you buy a smaller speed bag, called a “peanut” bag. I find that the smaller the bag, the easier it is to hit. I’ve tried the larger speed bags, but they always throw me off. I can’t seem to get any rhythm out of them.

THE HEAVY BAG.

The heavy bag is an item of training equipment that is usually provided by the gym. The big bag is made of leather or canvas and is filled with sand. It is used primarily for improving your punching force.

There are many different kinds of “gimmick” punching bags that find favor with different fighters or trainers from time to time. The Europeans, in particular, seem to favor them. For example, some boxers work out with an extry-large heavy bag. There are also weighted bags that stand on the floor and bob around when struck.

José Torres, the former light heavyweight champion, once used an unusually heavy punching bag. It was held upright and supported by heavy wooden beams. The bag was covered with thick layers of foam rubber, which in turn were covered by a mattress cover. The bag was called “Willie” (probably named for Willie Pastrano, the man from whom Torres took the title) and had a human figure drawn on it, with numbers in the vulnerable spots (jaw, stomach, ribs, etc.). A tape recorder was used to bark out numbers from one to eight. “Seven-two-one-four-one-two,” it might say, and Torres would then hit the corresponding areas with a left jab, straight right, left hook, right uppercut, left hook, and right cross as quickly as possible. What a novel way to practice combinations.

Torres also liked to use a tiny speed bag for practice in ducking and slipping punches.

And, finally, there was the bag originally used by the old-time trainer Bill Muldoon, who trained Sullivan and Corbett. His was a bag that was anchored by ropes to walls or posts and would duck crazily around. The bag provided excellent target practice for the boxer who was training for a fight with an opponent who moved around a lot.

THE BOXER′S HANDS

The most important tools of a boxer are his hands. And you cannot give too much care to them. Many a promising boxing career has been ruined by broken knuckles or hands. Learning the proper way to protect your hands and knowing how to punch correctly are important in keeping your hands from being injured. More boxers injure their hands in training and sparring than in actual matches.

First, make sure your hands are properly bandaged before you start to work out. Whether you use a training bandage or have your hands bandaged and taped as you would for a fight, be sure that your knuckles and hands are protected and that your fist is solid. If you punch correctly, this will insure you against sprains and breaks.

The old-time fighters often taped their own hands. But nowadays the taping is almost always done by a trainer. If you want to, you could learn how to do it yourself by watching how your trainer does it (Diagram 3).

You might think that the knuckle area is where you would want the most bandages. But it’s probably even more important to have the gauze or tape wrapped around your wrist and carried over the back of your hand. The bandage should feel tight or snug when you clench your fist, but not so tight that it cuts off the circulation to the fingers.

Punch only with a tightly closed fist, keeping your knuckles level and up so that the shock of the impact is spread over the entire fist, not concentrated on one spot. Flicking your wrist is dangerous because your hand must be loose for this maneuver, and, as I have said, a loosely held fist is more injury-prone than a tightly held one. Besides, flicking the wrist borders on being an illegal move.

Bone construction can be a factor in hand protection. If your hands are small, with long, thin fingers, they will be more likely to suffer injuries than if you have a big, heavy hand with thick fingers.

In the old days, fighters used to soak their hands in brine to toughen them, but this really accomplished little. The condition of the skin has nothing to do with the fist. Proper bandaging and proper punching habits are what really count.

DIAGRAM 3 . . . Bandaging your own hands.

If you want to build up your hands and forearms, get yourself a small red rubber ball (sometimes called a “Spaldeen”) and squeeze it continually. This can be used not only to build up the muscles of your hand but also to recondition your hands should you injure them.