After months or years of training, you’ve decided to register for your first boxing match.
Congratulations! This is a huge achievement in itself.
Now that you have a deadline, you may be asking yourself: What should I focus on? Should I train as much as I possibly can?
Based on our experience, we’ll answer these questions and give you guidelines so you can make the most of your time.
Keep reading for our guide on how to train for a boxing match!
How To Train For A Boxing Match
Here’s how to train for a boxing match. Focus on these key aspects:
- Conditioning
- Technical Skills
- Diet
- Rest And Recovery
- Mental Preparation
This is by no means an exhaustive, step-by-step guide on how to prepare for a fight, but it should give you a basic outline.
You can separate your training into a physical aspect and a mental aspect.
Note that two out of the five points here have nothing to do with the act of boxing: diet and rest/recovery.
For the three that do concern boxing (conditioning, technical skills, and mental preparation), you’ll be under the guidance of your coach.
If you follow our tips below, you’ll have a game plan for training and will be able to use your time efficiently.
From the time you sign up until the moment you step into the ring, each action you do will have a purpose behind it.
(Before we go any further, this guide is best for new amateur boxers. If you’re a pro boxer reading this article, we’re flattered, but listen to your coach instead of an Internet blog.)
Conditioning
First, you should focus on conditioning to prepare for your fight.
We’re assuming that you’ve signed up for a 3-round, 3-minute amateur fight.
Our rule of thumb is that you should be in enough fighting shape for 9 rounds.
That way when you step in the ring, there’s no chance that you’ll gas out.
You’ll improve your conditioning by the traditional ways:
- Roadwork
- Jump roping
- Sparring
Your coach will dictate this schedule for you, so that you can balance out the rest of your training.
Keep in mind that these entry-level fights are more of a race for points, rather than a patient, strategic chess match.
Because of this, we also recommend incorporating sprints into your steady roadwork to simulate short-bursts of energy and steady breathing.
Technical Skills
Next, you should focus on your technical skills to prepare for your fight.
If it’s your first fight, your coach should teach you common situations such as:
- How to get off the ropes
- How to do basic clinching
- Basic combinations to look out for
You’ll spend less time randomly hitting the bag and more time:
- Doing padwork
- Shadowboxing
- Sparring
Regarding sparring, you should be going up against boxers at your skill level or better.
Whether you should focus more on solidifying your strengths or shoring up your weaknesses is up to your coach.
Diet
Next, you should have a plan for your diet as well to prepare for your fight.
Your plan will mainly depend on what weight you signed up for.
If you’re trying to gain weight, you have to consume more calories than you spend.
Spend part of your rest day meal prepping so that you can replenish your fuel with the right kinds of foods and meet your caloric goals.
We’d say that most boxers don’t want to go through this trouble, so instead we recommend a meal-delivery service.
Either way, you don’t have to worry about what you’re going to eat day-to-day; all you have to do is put a Tupperware in the microwave.
On the other hand, if you’re trying to lose weight, you have to spend more calories than you consume.
With all the training and conditioning you have to do, this shouldn’t be too hard.
However, doing this too fast can have associated health risks and can cause you to be energy-drained once fight day comes around.
Because of this, you don’t see professional boxers challenging lower-weight classes often, unless it’s for a catchweight fight.
Keep in mind that your weight fluctuates during the day and that you’ll be lightest first thing in the morning.
Take this into account along with the time you have to show up for weigh-in.
(We love to cook and eat all kinds of food, so this was the hardest part of the whole process for us.)
Rest and Recovery
Next, you should also focus on rest and recovery for your upcoming match.
These rest periods are essential if you want to be at peak shape for your fight.
Although you want to train as much as you can, you also want to reduce the chances of injury, burnout, or sickness.
For each workout, make sure to take the time to stretch, warm up, and cool down.
If you do strength training, we recommend keeping the habit but reducing the weight involved (only if you have time though).
Take at least one rest day a week, more if needed. You can also use your rest day to meal prep for the week.
If you’re like us and need to do some kind of exercise everyday, we recommend taking active recovery days with:
Mental Preparation
Lastly, you should focus on mental preparation for your fight.
Boxing is 90% mental, 10% physical.
Though you’ve probably heard some version of this quote before, it may seem curious to you now that you’ve spent so much time training.
To start, you should be spending a lot of time shadowboxing with visualization.
Certain rounds you’ll be focusing on specific skills. For example, one round you’ll be working on counters, others more footwork focused.
Your coach will put you through intense open sparring sessions that will simulate what a real fight will be like.
As for strategy, this depends on your boxing style. Since you don’t know who you’ll be going up against, be prepared for anything.
One simple trick we like to do is to go to the venue the day before the event and stand in the ring if it’s already set up.
When you step in the ring, you’ll feel like you’ve been there already and will help you feel more calm for the actual fight.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to train for a boxing match, we hope you’ll make the most of your time preparing.
This is by no means an exhaustive, step-by-step guide on how to prepare for a fight, but it should give you a basic outline of what your training routine will look like.
We were careful not to give any specifics, since how boxers train day-to-day is ultimately up to their coaches.
When it comes to professional boxers, each training camp takes a unique approach depending on the opponent.
Assuming it’s your first amateur match, you most likely will have no idea who you’re going up against, so it’s best to be prepared for any situation.
Believe in yourself, have fun, and you’ll do fine. Good luck!
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