Boxing is an incredibly intense sport that requires serious dedication, discipline and motivation, especially when you have an upcoming fight and have to make sure you’re training hard and eating right for months on end, all for a thirty minute match.
This of course leads to boxers going through waves of being able to stay motivated and having the discipline to keep up with things such as their dieting and their training. One of the worst times that seems to be the same for most boxers is when covid 19 hit the globe and cause huge devastation to everybody on the planet.
Covid was of course difficult for everyone through lockdown as we weren’t able to leave our houses, but for a boxer who has to stay fit and not put on or lose too much weight, a lot of people found it incredibly hard to keep up with their training and keep their skills sharp, especially with all the gyms closed and no other boxers to spar with.
Leeds Beckett club captain Will Gillies said, “Through covid I really struggled, which is why I was glad when I came to the university as I had kind of lost my love for the sport a little, but through the university, I fell in love with it all again and have a few fights and wins under my belt now.”
Gillies also fought back from multiple losses at the start of his boxing career, which he saw as a major setback, almost actually making him give up.
He said, “When I was a kid, I lost my first three fights and even my parents were asking me if I even wanted to carry on doing this sport anymore, but I stuck with it and when I got my first win, it was such a great feeling, I knew I wanted to carry on doing the sport.”
He now has a total of fifteen fights under his belt and won a gold medal last year when he beat the fighter from the university of Leeds, showing that because he stuck with it and didn’t give up, he was able to have a successful career in the sport.
Another thing you need if you want to succeed in boxing is a strong mentality, even if you don’t want to train, you need to make sure that you keep the discipline to keep up with your training.
Leeds Beckett fighter Zaran Asad Sulemen said, “You just know you have to do it, you don’t even have a choice, once you start it, it’s hard to put down. I’ve almost given up quite a few times, but after two weeks off, I just think what am I doing.”
Coming back from these lows and continuing to fight is what separates these fighters from the people who give up, but it also shows to any young fighters who are struggling, if you keep the discipline, you can get to the top, even if it’s a bad start to your career.
