Printable View
I recently talked with a friend of mine. He once thought that it was possible to be self trained, to become a top boxer on natural ability. He did two camps sparring with Floyd Mayweather and raised the subject with Uncle Roger Mayweather. His reply?
Bulllllllshhhhittttt!!!!!!!!
As my friend related it to me, Roger said that Floyd knows nothing that was not taught to him. That his "natural ability" comes from daily education, since he was able to walk, from knowledgeable teachers.
Grey, its an interesting one, what is natural ability. Its many things, great topic my Friend.
Not to reach the top level and stay there. You do need a coach that will keep you on track.
Heres a thing Ive noticed having over 50 years in Sport and Boxing. which doesn't get much attention, Environment, and its effect it has, its all in the Head.
Learning technique, embedding it into muscle memory .... then repetition, practice, repetition, practice.
Roger Federer said it is practice and enthusiasm for the sport that made him as good as he is. Tiger Woods said it is because he has hit over a 100,000 golf balls. Pele said he played football in the street with an orange for 9 hours a day. Stephen Hendry practiced 7 days a week for 8 hours a day for 25 years. As Arnold Palmer said "The more I practice, the luckier I get"
I definitely think environment and family contribute to make that dedication more likely, easier and to perhaps help against distractions and temptation.
That's why the greats are so great, and why they have longevity and dominate/compete for years.
Granted, I do think some people do have more natural talent than others at some things. Naseem Hamed is s good example.
But he is also a good example of my first point: he didn't do what the guys mentioned did ..... and he got found out and exposed somewhat. Great talents who don't work hard have shorter careers.
Only my viewpoint of course!
If by environment you also include positive parents, supportive manager, good promoter, nice tv company, loyal woman, kind kids, playful dog then that all helps.
It would be refreshing if someone on winning a title/belt thanked their playful dog instead of God ;D
Nothing is natural. Everything is nurtured. If you smoke during pregnancy your child will likely have asthma. If you hit your head repeatedly you will get brain damage. If you eat sugar every day you will get diabetes. Life is what conditions you. Floyd definitely had the perfect environment to be a boxer and the rest was hard work.