Reason why you guys box

[SweetScience]

I first started boxing 2 years ago. When I first started, I only took it to lose weight. From 2005 to 2006, I have been going to the boxing gym on and off. At that time, I was into basketball very much. When 2007 came along, I decided to go back to the gym. On one occassion, I saw a couple of guys sparring and I realized that I always wanted to spar but I never really had the guts to ask my trainer since 2005 and 2006. Also at that time period, I realized that basketball is not for me. I kept on trying hard to improve in basketball, but I only improved a little. That's when the thought of taking boxing seriously creeped into my mind. Now after taking it seriously by talking to my trainers and by sparring at least once a week, I noticed that I have improved. Even the trainers were saying that if I were matched with another student, that student would have a hard time. They say that I have potential.

Now I dont have any intentions of turning pro, but I want to at least have a couple of amateur fights under my name. I want to box so that I could have done something significant in my life. To be able to finally excel in something and not just be someone who does nothing but sit in front of the tv eating chips everyday. That is the reason why I box.

[Zhaakal]

1. Weight - I wanted to loose weight, i was pretty chubby when i started out

2. Anger - Just to let my frustration at teachers out on the bag

3. Succsess - To hopefully become somebody in the boxing world.

[jam26]

1. Weight/fitness

2. As a personal challenge. Like you said, I want to accomplish something I can look back on later in life with fondness.

3. To surprise people who know me. I'm a mild-mannered professional and when people find out I box, it always surprises them.

[jonesjrp4p1]

well my brother grew up playing mike tysons punchout and also grew up watching tyson fight and he fell in love with the sport.......so he bought punch mitts when he got older and i was 6 at the time and i started hitting them and have been doing it for 10 yrs since....best sport in the world

[Sizzle]

Well I've been a big boxing fan since 95/96, I remember my first fight still - Mitchell Rose Vs Butterbean. Mitchell Rose stopped the big fat tub of lard, who at the time, I believed was unstoppable. At that moment I decided Mitchell Rose would be my favourite boxer. Sadly he didn't have the most successful career.

In truth, this is only half the tale though - There was an incident, 7 years ago now, where two guys from my school beat me to a pulp in public - I still have two bodily scars to remind me of it every day, and truth be told I suffered a lot mentally from the humiliation and emasculation of the experience. A couple years later I turned to bodybuilding, to be big and strong, and hopefully intimidating :good I did manage to get myself from a scrawny 62kg to a beefier 80kg in a few years.

But eventually I thought to myself - Why not start boxing? I love the sport, and realised it would teach me to defend myself, it would teach confidence, and get me fit and athletic, which I no longer was since I started smashing the weights!

I guess I saw boxing as some sort of way to restore my manhood, these days I would die if it was taken away from me. I don't compete, but I'm at the gym 5-6 days a week and loving it!

I actually didn't realise what my "reason" was until I read the thread title and thought about it. I think everyone has a reason for wanting to box beyond the simple appreciation of the sport.

[jonesjrp4p1]

I remember my first fight still - Mitchell Rose Vs Butterbean

haha i remember mine to i was in a hotel bc in was going to florida the next day.....it was micheal grant vs lou savarese

[Relentless]

i always liked watching boxing, and was always into all sorts of different sports, one day after a basketball practice i got bullied and hit and i thought someday i am going to learn to box, after 3 or 4 years i started.

[average_joe]

It's a great workout. Plus it makes me feel confident and like a badass. I also find it impresses people when you tell them you box, since not many people box, at least where I am.

[average_joe]

And Rocky.

[gregsid]

I just love the sport. Simple as that.

[Zhaakal]

And Rocky.

Yea that too :D That had to be the bigest inspiration to me, what a GREAT movie.

[younghypnotiq]

i started so i cold learn to fight better. im not gunna lie. my stand up was shit.

[amy]

I grew up watching boxing with my dad. I've always loved it. I like doing anything that is a challenge so boxing is good for me.

[Kolya]

I don't rightly know. I shoulda stuck with baseball or football.

[MagnificentMatt]

Watched it for about 4 years and one day decided..I want to box, now its my favorite thing to do. Nothing amazing in that reason.

[sprite]

i've think i got an anger problem, been through a lot of bullshit, and boxing helps me channel all of this energy in a (+) positive way.

[average_joe]

i started so i cold learn to fight better. im not gunna lie. my stand up was shit.

You used to be a comedian?

[Butch Coolidge]

A bunch of different reasons all combined. I lived in a barrio and a boxing gym was very close to our trailerpark. I had been in so many fights in school I had to do a semester in reform school. I had low self esteem, my brothers and sisters were more or less street kids and petty criminals. My dad had been a boxer and he trained me little bit before he disappeared. A cop got me interested in the PAL. I had nowhere else to go.

[Lostmykeys]

I just got tired of team sports.

I was the Captain of my football team, played offense and defense and we went 2-9.:patsch

My AAA hockey team lost in the first round of the OMHA's even though I scored 6 goals in 4 games.

Then I got pissed off and decided to do an individual sport.

[younghypnotiq]

You used to be a comedian?

yup and coming from a comedian. ur jokes suck get new ones.:good

[allenko1]

yup and coming from a comedian. ur jokes suck get new ones.:good

Man, younghypnotiq got you. Redeem yourself joe.

[The_Hammer]

Because boxing had the physical punch of other sports I've been into (rowing, running, and a little weight lifting) combined with the strategic thinking of some other things I enjoy (fencing, chess). It keeps my mind and my body engaged all the time, and I like that. Plus, being kind of a small guy but strong for my size, the strict weight classes of boxing let me excel with my natural characteristics.

[Little_Mac]

I like fighting....:!:

[MrSmall]

I'm a violent guy at heart, I'm just too nice and calm to let it out in a more inconvenient setting. I love the feeling of power over another guy.

The feeling of fighting another guy, knowing it's you or them, giving it all you've got, is the best high I feel I will ever get, gotta have that killer instinct.
Man, that's some shit!

I also feel I'm a bit of a throwback, old-school kinda guy - no pain, no gain, a lot of men these days are pussies, I like getting through difficult shit, toughing things out, and all that gear. I'm in the army, and hate people complaining about hardships here. People need to balls-up. Bitch bitch bitch etc.

Really, though? You'd only ever know that in the gym.
I'm a nice, intelligent, funny guy! Woo.

[gregsid]

I'm a violent guy at heart, I'm just too nice and calm to let it out in a more inconvenient setting. I love the feeling of power over another guy.

The feeling of fighting another guy, knowing it's you or them, giving it all you've got, is the best high I feel I will ever get, gotta have that killer instinct.
Man, that's some shit!

I also feel I'm a bit of a throwback, old-school kinda guy - no pain, no gain, a lot of men these days are pussies, I like getting through difficult shit, toughing things out, and all that gear. I'm in the army, and hate people complaining about hardships here. People need to balls-up. Bitch bitch bitch etc.

Really, though? You'd only ever know that in the gym.
I'm a nice, intelligent, funny guy! Woo.

Yeah, I'm the same in the fact that if you meet me in real life, you would never guess that I boxed, or was the kind of guy who would.
Little do they know that I have had more fights then them and all there friends and there friends friends put together lol.

[atg]

My reasons from most important to least:

1. Just like it.
2. Learning to fight.
3. Being someone, building character.
4. Having $uccess(not counting on it though)
5. Fitness

[Illmatic]

i loved watching it, and i love everything about it. The toughness of boxers, the hard work, one on one competition....i miss it a lot.

Its you and the other guy...thats it...using your hands to hit each other...nothing is better than that.

[average_joe]

Man, younghypnotiq got you. Redeem yourself joe.

As long as he doesn't jump me with his gang of wily 15-year olds, I'm fine. With tough muthas like Sammy da Murdera and Jermaine "Ass-raper" Johnson, who were no doubt forged under the hot coals of adversity, I know the average joe doesn't have a chance.

[Viking Worrier]

I love the adversity, the hard side, the one-on-one competition, the rush of success of a successful evasion/counterpunch.

"Fight club" makes a lot of sense to me. Boxing is real and genuine, compared to all the seemingly important, but actually meaningless shit going on in most peoples lives.

Adrenaline and testosterone are kick-ass hormones.

oh, and its ok to see ones abs even at 33;)

[RockOn33]

the main thing for me was fitness... i started out at 6'2 240 lbs... i was down to 210 lbs, but after a 2 week vacation, im up 2 220 again(ill work it off soon)... the competition is great for me, i love to compete but was never any good in anything else ive tried. Also, even tho im a bug guy, i dont like starting fights much, so i get picked on a lot. Telling people i box gets me a lot of respect, not to mention it makes me a littel bit intimidating. Last but not least, a challenge. If it wasnt for boxing, id being sitting on a couch every night getting fatter than learning valuable skills and getting into shape. it was just what i needed, and is only gonna get better. As soon as i get down to at most 199, im supposed to be getting my first fight.

[kNIVEK]

building character, self-esteem, confidence
fitness
self-defense
the adrenaline rush
the honor/respect you get

[boxerpuncher069]

sheesh, i started boxing because my girlfriend was a heartless bi tch! lol, i thought i was hitting her when i was hitting the bag!!!!!!

[iksrtfo]

I first started boxing 2 years ago. When I first started, I only took it to lose weight. From 2005 to 2006, I have been going to the boxing gym on and off. At that time, I was into basketball very much. When 2007 came along, I decided to go back to the gym. On one occassion, I saw a couple of guys sparring and I realized that I always wanted to spar but I never really had the guts to ask my trainer since 2005 and 2006. Also at that time period, I realized that basketball is not for me. I kept on trying hard to improve in basketball, but I only improved a little. That's when the thought of taking boxing seriously creeped into my mind. Now after taking it seriously by talking to my trainers and by sparring at least once a week, I noticed that I have improved. Even the trainers were saying that if I were matched with another student, that student would have a hard time. They say that I have potential.

Now I dont have any intentions of turning pro, but I want to at least have a couple of amateur fights under my name. I want to box so that I could have done something significant in my life. To be able to finally excel in something and not just be someone who does nothing but sit in front of the tv eating chips everyday. That is the reason why I box.

I am training in boxing right now so I can be in peak shape when I got back to my MMA school. I also want to have sharper hands than what I would have just taking the Muay Thai.

I started boxing because I like to fight. Not to hurt people but the sense of pride I get after walking out of a sparring match that was a very good fight.

I love to fight but am scared shitless before I spar guys that are way better than me. I know that they are going to fuck me up and I get scared. I just man up and get in the ring though.

[Relentless]

i love sparring, you hit each other as hard as you can and in the end you are friends again.

[brooklyn1550]

I started as a kid to lose weight and have confidence that I could defend myself when kids picked on me, but when I started to really seriously box, I was 19. I didn't want to go to college right after high school and I had no direction in my life, so I took up boxing again and stuck with it for about 4 years. I loved to fight and I loved to train - it gave me a real feeling of accomplishment and worth...had 45 amateur fights and 11 exhibitions.

After I quit boxing, I went to college for 7 years and if I could do it over again, I wouldn't do anything differently.

[mormeckflex]

Such an awesome thread.

I started boxing to see what I'm made of. To see what I can accomplish if I really give it my all. Besides, nothing makes me feel more alive than training/fighting, it really is a feeling that you can't simulate.

And this is my first post, so I'd like to say .... What's up to the ESB community!?$!?@!$$#$!

**pretty cool seeing why people box, what motivates them

[Bill1234]

I'm going to be completely honest. Video games. I got Fight night 2004 when it came out, then in 05 I got Fightnight Round 2 for my birth day, played that for about 4 months, then I asked my dad if he would take me to the nearest gym to box. Well, that gym happened to be Larry Holmes's. We went there first thing in January (06) and Ive been boxing ever since. Boxing seemed like it would be fun, and I was wrong, but I enjoy it A LOT. A few months ago, TV people came to Larry's to do a small documentary. They interviewed me, and they asked the same question as this one....I was too straight forward and honest for them to put my interview on. I know that my interview wasn't the best considering that I answered that I got into boxing because of a video game, and that I mainly answered with yes and no answers. I did get about 30 seconds of fame with them showing me hitting the heavybag though.:D

[thai-hardhitter972]

I always liked boxin and wanted to be a boxer . when I get older I just want to look back and say that I've done what I wanted to do and did the best that I could without having any regrets.

[silvy_chris]

b4 i started i knew very little of the sport and what i knew of it i didn't like. i thought it was one of those things that ppl did if they were thugs or needed some $$. i went to a boxing gym near my house because i wanted to get fit for footy, and the moment i started training i fell in love with it and knew it was something i had to do. i pretty much straight away learnt that every1 in the gym was realy friendly and the opposite of the stereo type. i just live and breathe boxing and plan to really succeed in it (not being arrogant, its alot easier said than done).
Ironically i now hate it when ppl stereotype boxers because they know very little of it, iv learnt from that and i look into something a bit further befor i say its shit.

[RDJ]

I started "boxing" because I was fat. I had no intention of sparring, the idea of being hit scared the shit out of me. I hit the bag twice a week, and did some running. Then my father got killed, and I was left with anger issues. That's when I really started boxing. I got addicted to it, and now I do it just for fun.

[Sagefrancis]

for me, just like some of the other guys, i like the thought of being powerful. It could be too many movies or videogames but i like the idea of being strong and able to handle yourself.
I took up karate in 2002 and trained for 4 years. Im tall for my weight (6 ft 2, 167lbs) so karate was great for me because kicks are used so much. One my first martial arts tournament which had about 20 competitors from different clubs. And I thought that I was unstoppable. A "Fight Club" was arranged by some school guys and i was the first person to be chosen to fight. We had gloves on though, hands only. I was put up against a fat guy who wasnt quite as tall as me, and i got slaughtered, completely smashed.
From that i realised that martial arts, although its good for fitness will do nothing in helping you fist fight. So after a few months i gave that up and just started to do some boxing sparing with friends.
Although i dont go to a gym i do alot of sparing both boxing and MMA.
I love boxing because of the feeling of strength and power, because of the challenge, the thought that every bit of training helps and because i like putting everything i have against everything my opposition has.
Ive got my first unofficial MMA fight coming up in 2 weeks against a 209lb bouncer (42 lbs more than me). Ive been training hard for that and i see this as the ultimate challenge of pride and power.


and rocky played a big part!

[cardstars]

Well I still have yet to pick out a gym/trainer but ill answer this one anyways. I have gotten obsessed with boxing really for two main reasons. One is to be able to protect myself/family/friends. I found out that all the weightlifting I used to do just didn't translate to fighting ability when I was jumped and beaten pretty badly. My other reason is because my dad and grandpa were both gold glovers so once I wanted to learn how to actually defend myself (not just push weight around) boxing was the first natural thing I turned to. I have since gained huge respect for it because it involves your entire body; physically AND mentally. Awesome thread

[holmes]

I like hurting people...

[cross_trainer]

Reason why you guys box

I need it to protect me from the aliens.

[PepeM]

Cause I like the sport, I just enjoy doing it alot.