I'm 30 yrs old...is it too late to start?

[Sushix]

Hi all. I've always wanted to join a gym and learn to box, but I'm 30. Is it too late. what's my chances of going anywhere?

[Bazooka]

Honestly to start as an amateur and go pro probably your best bet is to settle for the Amateur program and forget about going pro and if you do decide to go pro well get your ass to a good gym basicly you will have to jump in the frying pan

[the prom queen]

Im starting to train again at 30
I think at thirty the best thing to do is get teh minimal, if any am experience requ8ired to go pro and join a good gym and spar with pro fighters; then fight 4 round clubfights, but realize you are learning on the job and the lurning curve in the pro's includes a lot of L's on your record possibly, and some embarassing moments and take it for what it is, just doing something you enjoy and making the occasional buck
thats what Im trying to do now

[Luckyboy]

go for it whats the worst that can happen

[amy]

No, it's not too late. You have five years as an amateur left, make the most of it.

[Bazooka]

I wouldnt advise you to turn pro you dont have much time left to be honest with you and the safest bet is to fight Amateur besides Amateur boxing is the sport of boxing, Professional boxing is a business.

[OuterDrake]

I send George Foreman an email asking if 20 years old
was too old to start boxing, at his official website.

He replied...

"Hey Alex,

Twenty years is a wonderful time, to start boxing; this is the age young men start thinking; when one can learn. less chance of doing stupid things, and getting hurt.

Go for it!

Thanks,
George Foreman"""


At 30 you wont be doing stupid things, like sparring without gloves.

[the prom queen]

I wouldnt advise you to turn pro you dont have much time left to be honest with you and the safest bet is to fight Amateur besides Amateur boxing is the sport of boxing, Professional boxing is a business.

would you say that in the am's there is more emphasis than in the pros about putting fighters together with comprable skill levels and experience?

[goldenboy]

no its not too late, but i cant see you being very successfull in competition but you will get fit and learn some moves!

[Bazooka]

would you say that in the am's there is more emphasis than in the pros about putting fighters together with comprable skill levels and experience?

Becuase in the ams if you want to be the best you have to fight all of the best that is how it goes in the pros you can BS your way out of fighting the very best basicly its all a show its a form of entertainment these guys they fight for big money but Amateurs they train and fight simply for the W and the W alone:good

[cheech]

Not for people that have CareBear avatars!

[Sushix]

Not for people that have CareBear avatars!

lol you know you love the CareBears!

[cheech]

Maybe when I was trying to get some stank on teh hang low back in kindergarden days.... You do anything to get some action even at age 7 or whenever kindergarden age was.

[pugilist_boyd]

you will have to train hard and really phocus on strategy insted of just banging yull fight alot of younger guys but with enough training you can get almost as fast and just as strong it changes with each person but on average a fighters prime is 18-28 then he loses some reflex time and by 35 theres a more dramatic decline in reflexes-but bottom line with enough will at 30 its not to late at my last amateur fight we were in line fighters were disscusin age and when i replide i would be 30 in 2 months a couple of them started laughing including my opponent, most were about 20-22 .i walked threw prob. 30 shots getting to him to land my barrage of bodyshots and hooks wich got me the easy decision he was younger,faster,smoother,but i had more (HEART)and thats what really matters,im out at 30 because of knee surgery and my wife is pregnant so in 3 years when our kid will be easy to handle ill be 33 and im going to give it 1 more year and nobody will tell me its to late so go for it bro

[Jazzo]

Hi all. I've always wanted to join a gym and learn to box, but I'm 30. Is it too late. what's my chances of going anywhere?

No.

Start.

Good chance.

[FLINT ISLAND]

Hi all. I've always wanted to join a gym and learn to box, but I'm 30. Is it too late. what's my chances of going anywhere?

:lol: You sound like one of my brothers - 30 now - old and past it:lol:

When you consider that some 60 and 70 yr old men have the drive and ambition to keep super fit - doing things like Swimming and Running - and you wonder wether you are past it at 30:lol:

You dont say what your aspirations are - where do you want to go?

But learning basic boxing skills and getting fit is well achieveable for a 30 yr old - get a grip mate life aint over yet:lol:

[viktorkrupp]

It is not too late, you can always do whitecollar matches if you want to compete.
Mostly it depends on your athletic ability if you are 30 and way out of shape and uncoordinated you might be 33-35 before you have real skills. I am 35 as of 2weeks ago and have been boxing since I was 10. I have to train and spar differently now than I did at 18. You are always going to adapt your skills to your changing capabilities. Starting fresh at 30 if you are relatively athletic is fine; you are less likely to learn bad habits.

As for amateur vs. pros they SAY that in amateur they try to match you up by skill but that is not always the case. A good trainer will protect you from this, and if you aren't in NYC, LA, FlA, CHI, PHI, etc (Meccas for amateur boxing) you should be alright. In the pros there is no consideration given to skill in matchups, by anyone other than you and your manager/trainer. I have fought guys I felt sorry for.

[RDJ]

I started at 28 years old. I'm 32 now, and despite the fact that I did not want to fight competitively at first, I'll have my first match in September or October.

[boxexpert]

depends on what you are up to

[average_joe]

Yes.

[stevexx28]

well if you want to be a world champion, i would say its too late. but to compete as an amateur its almost never too late, i think it would be nice to have a few trophies decorating your house.

[Youngblood]

Ì know of a person who just fought 2 months ago at age 52, and he`d likely kick most of the peoples asses on this board. He didn`t just start, he`s done it for many years, and it was his last fight...but yea. 52.

As Amy says, rules for competitive fighting for ams limits the time you have as the rules have recently changed...but, at worst, it`s a great sport to get into for conditioning and discipline.

I wish I could find the article for it, for he fought just days after he buried his father, but still summoned the will to get in there and slug it out. Was a good article.

I found this one from 3 years ago...when he fought an 18 yr old open class kid who had nearly 6 inches on him and atleast 40 lbs.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[joekirkbycobra]

its not too l8
thers loads of fellas on the unlicensed scene that just start wen ther 30
n thers more to unlicensed boxing shows than ther used 2 b
its a lot safer n actually governed
n u can make £250 a fight

[boxexpert]

its never too late to start

[Ajfourty7]

I send George Foreman an email asking if 20 years old
was too old to start boxing, at his official website.

He replied...

"Hey Alex,

Twenty years is a wonderful time, to start boxing; this is the age young men start thinking; when one can learn. less chance of doing stupid things, and getting hurt.

Go for it!

Thanks,
George Foreman"""


At 30 you wont be doing stupid things, like sparring without gloves.


Thats amazing that you got a reply

Its good to hear that kinda thing though cos Im 17 and been going for about 6 months but thought I might have started a bit late but I GUESS NOT.:happy

[Dynamite Kid]

hi guys it's my first time here, I would just like to ask if I can still be a pro boxer even I'm already 23 years old? I really want to be a pro boxer when I was a kid but my parents wouldn't allow me...Now that I'm independent I want to pursue my dream of becoming a boxer...

but do you think it's to late for me?

I hope somenoe would reply to this message...

thanks!!!

Yes you can if you train seriously. I'm 23 as well. Been boxing since I was a kid but didn't take it seriously until I was 22. Look at Bernard Hopkins, he didn't turn pro till he was 24, Nate Campbell didn't learn how to box till he was 24, Hasim Rahman is another late bloomer, and Antonio Tarver didn't turn pro till he was 28. There are others as well. But 23 is still very young and you have a great shot. But you have to train religiously.

[the prom queen]

go for it dude
personally, I can deal with being a failure but not with being someone without the guts to even try

[Dynamite Kid]

Yeah ,thanks for the advice...

But 1 more question,

I usually work at night, 11PM to 9AM, Monday to Friday Night...
Do you think i can still train? I really want to be a pro box, not just to box
but also to support my family. To be honest I'm just a poor guy, I need money
to support my wife and my 2 kids...So i'm really willing fight and aside from that it's my dream to become a pro...but of course I;m just a greenhorn so I really need a suggestion from you guys...

I would really appreciate if you will reply again to this message...

thanks!!!

Put in a good 3 or 4 yrs a day. You'll get used to it. Train everyday consistantly and eventually you'll get used to the routine. I know it sounds tough at first because you work 11PM to 9AM. But you'll get the hang of the routine quickly cause boxing is what you want. Anytime someone goes after there dream the sacrifice is always worth it.

[Dynamite Kid]

WOW!!!

Well I would admit that's TOUGH!!!

But I don't have a choice...

So,I'll follow your advice...

(please bear with me,I'm just a newbie that is why i have many questions)

Thanks!!!

Anytime dude, good luck:good

[JamesD]

great, supportive thread. it's cool to see people encouraging you rather than telling you to forget it.

I'm 36, and am an MMA fighter. Luckily i didn't listen to people who said it was too late. I did some ammy boxing and martial arts in my mid twenties. had a few ammy boxing maches. I had to stop for personal reason. then when i was in my early thirties I decided if i was going to participate in a combat sport I had better do it before it was too late.
4 years later i've had a successfull run. beating guys much younger than myself (18, 25, 33,).

Best of luck to you and your training. i've often thought of the possibility of trying to get 1 or 2 low level pro boxing matches in. just to do it and test myself. hmmmm.

[andy mack]

As i think someone before me said it probably too late to become a world champion, but if you just want to fight and get fit it's never too late. I started about 3 months ago and I'm 30 and I love every minute of it. There's no reason not to and its better to start now than never to start at all.

[detached909]

Y ask any 1 ELSE UR 30 BRO. Who cares what anyone else says about ur chances on being what & who you wanna be! Look u must show no mercy nor have any belief in how others JUDGE U! For ur greatness will silence them all! (Warrior)