Do you have what it takes to be a pro fighter?
Are you physically suited to be a professional fighter? I’ve seen many careers end because of problems, such as asthma and high-blood pressure. I’ve seen people break their metacarpal bones in their fists repeatedly because of inadequate bone mineral density. I’ve seen people who were just built wrong to be a fighter. It’s difficult for a person of the wrong height-to-weight ratio, regardless of speed or power, to become a world champion
Are you psychologically suited to be a fighter? Some people, when they fight, look like they’re just sparring. They don’t project aggressiveness and constant forward pressure. When they enter the ring, they don’t look like they’re there to fight. They look like they are merely surviving each round.
Other people don’t have the passion for it. They are psychologically suited, but it’s short-lived. They don’t want to train for six or eight weeks before a fight. They become burned out within the first three weeks. Some guys advance to become a top-ten fighter. After three or four years of hard work and fights to reach that level, their careers are finished because they don’t have the passion to re-enter the ring and pursue their goal.
I’ve seen guys train hard for two weeks, and then they want to party for a week. I’ve seen guys look good for two or three fights, and then they lose three or four fights. They advance, but then lose ground. That indicates a lack of passion.
Many guys like to fight in the ring, but they don’t like the training. I always loved the training. I didn’t enjoy fighting. I had no desire to beat my fellow man. I just enjoyed the day-to-day workouts. Most guys aren’t like that. Their egos are attached to the glory, the recognition. In their hearts, however, they don’t have the desire and the passion that it takes to achieve that end result.
To be a fighter, you have to enjoy training hard. You’re dying to be in the gym every day. You want to arrive an hour earlier than you did yesterday. You want to be the first guy at the gym and the last to leave. You want to show your coach that you train harder than anyone he’s ever seen.
What do you feel when you’re driving to the gym every day? Do you feel, with every ounce of blood in your heart, that you can’t wait to arrive? That’s the way I was for years. I trained harder on Easter, New Year’s Eve and Christmas than on any other days of the year because on those days, I was the only guy in the gym; and I loved having the whole gym to myself. I couldn’t bear to miss a day. I didn’t care how tired I was; if I had a cast on my foot; if I was sick; or if I had to go AWOL and sneak off base to train-I put nothing ahead of my daily intense workout.
If the workout wasn’t completely exhausting, then I felt as if I lost something. Whether I was training for five minutes or five hours, I put every ounce of energy and effort I could possibly muster into that moment. I wanted that for me, not because I wanted to be better than the next guy, to accelerate ahead of my competition or to be number one. It was just something I wanted for me.
Find a good trainer
There are more fighters than there are good trainers to coach them. Any trainer knows technique, but few trainers know people. Teaching someone how to fight and understanding the person you’re teaching are very different skills.
While a trainer becomes a better trainer as he ages, his fighters become weaker.
A good trainer knows how to make a fighter a stronger person. If a fighter is gun shy, a slow starter and lacks assertiveness, then few trainers know how to push the right button to bring the fighter through that barrier. In between rounds, when his fighter is having the hell beat out of him, the trainer doesn’t know what to say to his fighter to turn the momentum of the fight in his favor.
It’s also rare to find a trainer who understands good hand movements and footwork. For example, if you visit the West Coast gyms, then you’ll find that the boxers tend to move more with footwork than you’ll find in the old classic boxing gyms in Philadelphia or New York. You’ll find a trainer who has good boxing skills, but doesn’t know how to kick.
Then, you’ll find good fighters, but they can’t teach. They can show you how to execute a punch or a kick, but they can’t put those techniques into words. They can sense what to do, but they don’t know what to say.
Save your money
Save the money that you earn as a fighter. Ken Norton is the only boxer I know who had the foresight to save his money.
Have an exit plan
Remember, you will not be a fighter forever. Look at the long-term careers of attorneys, writers, doctors, engineers and professors, for example. They become better at their professions with age. They work fewer hours, as they grow older, yet they make more money. Though they work fewer hours, they are able to produce better results than when they graduated from college. All athletes become weaker with age. While a trainer becomes a better trainer as he ages, his fighters become weaker.
To become a champion fighter, you must have the physical and mental attributes of a champion, and the right trainer, manager, sparring partners and promoter. Before pursuing a career in fighting, understand the difference between the desires of your ego compared to what’s in your heart. Ultimately, go with what’s in your heart.
In a career spanning more that four decades, Joe Lewis has won more competition titles and instituted more innovations than anyone in the history of martial sports. That’s why he is “The Greatest Fighter in the History of Karate.” Joe can be reached at MartialArtsProfessional.com.
