i want your opinion everyone

First, it depends (to some degree) on how heavy you are. At 6'4" are you under 200 pounds? Can you drop to under 200 pounds? It might be an important point, and it might change my opinion of how to answer.

Weight/Size: In my opinion speed is power. So trimmer and more mobile fighters are at an advantage. For me, the key to boxing is hit and don't get hit. The more bulk you have, the slower and less evasive you can be. Not to mention, with larger muscles in your arms you will most likely punch slower and fatigue faster. I wouldn't completely neglect weight training, however, I would just do it with my goal being muscle endurance and funcionality as opposed to increased size.

 Height: Being tall in boxing is kind of a mixed bag. One dissadvantage that I've noticed (though it is certainly not a universal truth) is that taller fighters have less coordination. Typically being long-limbed their punching technique seems to suffer as does their footwork. But guys like Thomas Hearns and Antonio Margarito (a bunch of others that I can't think of right now) have no such problem, and can dominate in the ring. One other dissadvantage is a lower center of gravity, another is a vulnerability to body shots (especially in taller fighters who are thin). The greatest advantage of a tall fighter is completely dependent on that fighter's determination and inclinations. If a tall fighter wants to win, he needs to own the outside, where his height and reach are an advantage and not a dissadvantage. Work the jab, keep those feet moving, and never let your opponent set his feet or even get within range to hit you. A tall fighter should not fight on the inside, where a shorter opponent will have more power in his punches and will be able to connect more easily than a fighter with long arms.

I hope that helped. Please, let me know your weight range/where you think you want to fight. Good luck!! 

That's amazing 6'4" and 147!! Even if you do gain 10-15 pounds, you'd still probably be fighting at welterweight!! There aren't that many fighters around your height that can fight at welterweight. No offense, but I assume you must be like skin and bone to be 6'4" and 147 (really take no offense, you're hearing this from a featherweight). The tallest welters I can think of are only like 5'11". So you might want to put on some meat, just be careful how you do it (i.e. proper nutritrion, etc...), and which muscles you get huge (because large muscles really can be an impediment to a boxer). Keep in mind that you might have difficulties gaining weight, I sure as hell do. My weight caps off at around 135 pounds, after that I can't gain much of anything while training with any intensity.

Really, the most important thing you could work on is your fundamentals. Work on movement/footwork, and jab-jab-jab until your freakin arm falls off (for a tall fighter that alone can win you the fight). Really, at your height you should have at least four inches on any other welterweight I can think of, and it's up to you to utilize that to your advantage. You should also practice tying up/clinching, because you should be doing a lot of that on the inside. And watch out for them body-shots!! Keep those elbows tucked!!

Notable fighters to watch: Thomas Hearns fights (if you can find them), guys like Kermit Cintron and Antonio Margharito (though neither of them have the height you do), but most importantly (and easily) the Greatest: Muhammad Ali. Focus on Ali, because he had an ideal style for any tall fighter to emulate. Jab someone to bust them up and break them down, and then drop them with the right hand.

Just out of curiosity what's your arm length. If you don't know, just have someone help you measure from your arm-pit to the end of your fist (while holding your arm out).

        

 no offense taken i already know this pretty much. and its basically true. i know im trying to eat right and im using the nutritional part of this site to help me plan my meals and i started going to the gym again. i know about being a few inches taller than most of them but they will have so much more power i think i dont know how i would compete with it. so what do you think would be a good goal for me weight wise? 170? thanks for the people to watch i will definitely check them out and try and find some tapes or downloads. well im kind of on vacation right now in northern california so i dont have a tape measure but if its true that your arms a little shorter than half your height it must be about 3 ft and a inch or two. with the problem of body shots should i focus a little more than usual on my ab and chest work? so just out of curiousity how long have you been fighting for? and how tall are you  is it crazy fighting at a lighter weight..i imagine the punches are flying much faster towards you. anyways thanks again 

one love

 ----AK----

As far as weight goes, I'd be careful not to push too far. If you're worried about your opponents punching power, the higher you climb the stronger they become, so you might be best suited at around welterweight/junior-middleweight. Keep in mind that even if you gained fifteen pounds and were around 160, to fight you'll probably sweat back down to 147. Oh yeah, and to work on your power, I would suggest purchasing some weighted gloves. They're pretty cheap (around 15 bucks), and if you use those while shadowboxing you'll improve not only your punching power, but your speed as well. They're a great investment for any fighter. I swear by them.

As far as taking body-shots, ab work can't hurt, but your ribs will probably remain vulnerable. It's hard to put muscle on there, but that's why defense is so important. And once you're in the gym and have a trainer they might work on some excercises that'll help you out in that department.

As far as I'm concerned, we're actually in the same boat. I'm just beginning as well. But I've been a fight-fan for a long time, and have been training myself for over two years. I watch fights everyday and consider myself a student of the sweet-science. I've had some gym experience, but have had a hard time finding a good gym (that's not 100$ a month) where I trust the coach.  Overall, my knowledge exceeds my experience, so its up to you to take my advice with a grain of salt. But for the books I'm 5'7" and walk around at 135 pounds. My ultimate goal in boxing is to get a few fights under my belt, and then become a trainer. So this is like practice for me.

i got you so weight i shouldnt be worried about really. thanks by the way all the things you have said so far i feel like ive learned something.  so these weighted gloves are they basically sold at major sports stores? ill check em out once i get home. oh and with shadow boxing do you feel like its a major part of your training? how often do you do it and for how long?

true it wouldnt hurt but i didnt know it was harder to get meat on your ribs. anyways im lookin for a gym right now. there is one close by and its only 10$ a month but the trainers switch everymonth because it is sort of a community center so i dont know if that would make for better or worse training.

i see that isnt too bad though since your a little shorter than me and id have to say good luck with your goals i feel if you want anything bad enough you can achieve it. maybe someday ill come through and get some training from you. also im about to turn 18 in a few months. do you think that is starting to late or is there even a too late. i dont think so but it seems like the best fighters started when they were 7 or 8 you know. anyways until next time 

one love

----AK----

Weighted gloves: I have never seen them in a major sports store. Here's a link: http://store.titleboxing.com/dwg4.html  There are several types/brands that you can try. These seem like the best, in fact, I just ordered a pair. But, overall, any one of them will get the job done. Just don't get the Everlast ones. They're poorly constructed. Made of nylon, and will fall apart.

Shadowboxing: I do it for about 20-30 minutes a day. It's how I warm up to hit the bag. I think that it's an incredibly important part of training. Besides actually sparring/fighting, I see it as where all of your training comes together. It's punching, movement, slips, ducks, etc... And it improves your footwork and balance. Where I see it helping the most is in recovery. When shadowboxing, there's no bag or opponent for you to hit, so you have to have good balance to recover from throwing a punch and bring your arms back into your guard. Good practice for swinging and missing in the ring. Also, if you shadow-box near a mirror, that's a good way to critique your style/form. See your bad habits, openings you leave, etc...

A Gym: Any place is a good place in the beginning. Like the admin said about finding a trainer, the most important thing is to start learning and let things fall into place from there. As to the trainers, some times you might be surprised. Look at Winky Wright. He went to a little local run gym, not much more than a rec center, and years later the same guy that ran that center, Dan Birmingham, would still be in his corner while he was fighting for the championship. So you never know. Just go and at the very least, get the experience.

I don't think its ever too late, especially at 18. I'm 23 and I'm still beginning. Its true that a lot of great boxers start when they're kids, but hey, look at the bright side: At least you haven't been getting hit in the head since you were like six years old. You and I have at least a couple extra brain-cells because of that fact. That's why a lot of fighters retire at 35, because for over two decades they've been taking shots to the head, abusing their bodies in training, and they're just shot. So guys like us are fresh, we're through growing for the most part, so who knows, it may be better this way.  

Well, best of luck, my friend. Any questions, ask away. And be sure to post as you make progress.

I also was going through some of my fights, and found someone you should take a look at. Jermain Taylor! He's been in so many wars lately, I forgot how well he could box. He's a tall guy (6'1") and fights like it. He holds the compu-box middleweight record for most jabs thrown in a fight. Something like 650 over 10 rounds. That's someone a tall fighter should emulate. Really, even more so than Ali, this guy is a perfect example of how to fight tall.

See earlier fights though, before the Hopkins fights. J.Taylor vs. Freddy Cuevas (2003) is a really good example.  

thanks for the site its got everything i need. but anyways im guessing even though their 1 lb itll get you tired out after a while. and a question about some other products. ok well with the heavy bag what weight do u suggest to get because there are 50 70 150 you know all the different ones but whats the difference really? and with hand wraps. well i used to do muay thai a lil bit and i got handwraps off of that do you think i should buy a new pair of boxing ones or could i just stick with the ones i got? and why are the mexican style so popular these dayz?

 i see your point with the shadowboxing ive heard the same types of things somewhere else just thought id get a 2nd opinion. ive tried shadowboxing in the mirror but i guess since im just beggining im not the best on picking up mistakes but that comes with time probably

yea maybe im looking to hard for this or that right now i just need to get started and work on the basics for now. o yea did you watch that show on him i think it was on espn i was checkin that out on their website.

haha yea i guess your right we can train smarter for now. something i noticed about all the training for boxing that i like a lot is it isnt very mechanical. you know what i mean. you still use the oldschool techniques you dont always need a gym full of machines and all that.

anyways how did you get into boxing?  a lot of people got a lot of reasons but i dont know i just love it. and i think if you could handle this you cant be scared of anythng else in life. it tests you physically and mentally. and have you had any fights so far?

last but not least do you know a good place to find some vids on these guys i mean ali is a little easier to find i think i could go to  blockbuster and find some old stuff on him but is there a site or something that i can find clips of matches?

alrite i guess thats all for now

one love

----AK----

just one more thing

i started using creatine what are your thoughts on using it

 

Hello,

 Sorry it took me so long to write back...Went on a short vacation and then as soon as I got back I started a new job. It's like 50 hours a week, so I haven't had any time at all to sit down in front of the computer.

 To answer your question: I got into boxing originally when I was about ten years old. My grandfather boxed in the army (during WWII) and when I was a kid he walked me through the basics. After that I didn't do anything with it, until I was around 17 and started watching the fights on TV. Then, when my grandfather died, I started to train, just hitting the bag, and it made me feel better. And ever since then its become my obsession. Unfortunately, I haven't had any fights, just training and sparring. I'm working with something of a handicap...first, i was relatively old when I started training, add on top of that the fact that I wear glasses (I'm blind as a bat without them) and I have asthma. Not the end of the world, but up until this point I haven't been able to afford the Full-contact contact lenses. Excuses, excuses.  

I'd say that hand-wraps are hand-wraps, and for heavy-bags it all depends on what you're looking for in a heavy-bag. Light bags move more and offer less resistance, heavier-bags move less and resist more. I like both types for different effects.

Creatine. I've never taken it, don't know much about it. I have taken protein shakes and they help a lot. Sorry I can't be of more help.

o no problem at all but i thought no one even came to the site for a while cuz i kept checking and there werent any new posts or anything 

coo coo thats an interesting history im 17 and just started watching and getting into it a lot 2 thats to bad about ur handicaps i have glasses 2 but i dont need them to see in a ring. do u think u will have any fights or will it just be a hobbie???

o ok so a heavier heavy bag well seems to be more like a human i guess which would be a better choice but ill try both if i can

thnks again

 

Yeah, this place isn't the busiest messge-board I've ever seen. Now I can check it out when I have down-time at work, so I'll be able to be a little more on-top of things.

I want to fight. I've put too much time in to let it just be a hobby. Being in shape is nice, but I want to actually use what I've learned. I want/need the experience...Especially because I want to train. I think its bullshit when trainers have never set foot in a ring, how can you relate to your fighters when you have no experience with what you're asking them to do. With what sparring and gym experience I have I can drop little nuggets of advice/opinion on a site like this or to friends, but I couldn't work a corner or actually train a fighter with a clear conscience. Now, do I want to be a world champ? Not really. I'm realistic. I just want to fight, win or lose.

 The glasses thing isn't too bad. I lose something when it comes to seeing subtleties like tension or where a guy's looking. Those little give-aways you know. But I can see enough to punch and block, and on good days even slip a punch or two. The asthma is what really gets me. But slowly its getting more managable. I'll be out there getting banged around in no time.

How's it been going for you? Found a gym yet?

i kno but i cant understand why its a great site but o well

o i definitley feel u on that if u learn everything and train for it and just sit there in the gym ur never gonna feel fuffilled but i also agree with u on the trainers theres no way they could know what its like until they stepped in themselves and u need someone with experience in ur corner

everything is slow for me i have a hard time keeping on task with working out and food is killin me

no gym yet

I THINK ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS LOOK AT ROCKY MARCIANO. SHORT AND CRUDE BOXING SKILLS BUT THE ONLY HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP TO RETIRE UNDEFEATED

i dont know that much history background on except Ali. Rocky Marciano must have worked his tale off to be undefeated. i would have been scared going aganist that guy.

Ya need to know your natural advantages and disadvantages. I can think of a number of fighters who have a natural advantage and do very well with their advantage alone. But once they get in with a knowledgeable fighter who can take away their advantage then they are exposed and are not heard from after that. I think the heaveyweights are currently going through that. Don't just train for your next opponent but against your weaknesses. Be the smartest man in the ring. Be fundamentally strong. Shane Mosley was defeated by a long jab. Roy Jones Jr. was complacent and once he slowed down just a bit...he was fundamentally flawed and expossed. Vualev was outworked by a much shorter more aggressive fighter who could counter. His height was used against him. Of the big heavies only Klitschko seems to have the intelligence to keep learning and continue developing (but I admit I haven't seen Peters lately). You should be able to stay on the outside and just jab and move yourself to victory around a lot of sub par fighters. But that is not the point. What are you going to do when someone refuses to stay on the outside and brings the action to you. Watch alot of boxing and you will see fighters develop and learn and you will see what happens to the ones that don't. Vonda Ward was a huge female fighter who is fundamentally flawed. Fought someone shorter who would not fight her fight, got and stayed on the inside and knocked her out. So watch the ladies as well. Your weight should be what you grow into naturally. Don't lose your natuarl speed by being to big and don't kill yourself by being to light. Your body will dictate your fighting weight and nothing else. One of the most valuable things from a gym is watching and learing from other fighters. My double jab I learned from watching a female boxer. You can talk me to death about how to hit a double end bag...it wasn't working. Went to a different gym where people could hit it and just by imitation alone I improved. Without a gym I would go with the 70 lb bag. When its time to get a bigger bag you will know. if you ever find a gym don't stick to just one favorite heavy bag...mix it up they move differently. My first gym had only water bags. When I went to the next one everything esle was hard filled. Since the bags moved differently I would sometimes miss and look the fool. The whole timing changed. Personally I have an 80lb waterbag in my basement and its a lil small for me I want to go up 120lbs for the next one.