Is 24 too old to start boxing?

[MindEraser]

Hey guys, long time reader first time poster. I was hoping I could get someone else's brutally honest opinion on whether 24 is too old to start boxing professionally or not - let me lay it out. I'm 5"10, 150lbs with an athletic build and can get down to 135 easy. I do feel I'm very big for this weight. I've trained on and off for a couple of years in mma where I did learn to punch quite hard and would definitely be considered a puncher if I chose to do this. I would say I know boxing pretty well and am aware of all the other things that need to be known on top of punching. I've studied it quite a bit from the 10 years or so that I've watched.

To be completely honest when I did spar in my previous training I had a tendency to flinch when hit in the head (typically when I sparred the heavyweights and had a certain amount of anxiety - so potentially the same could happen with a really fast puncher). It started to go away the more serious I took the training but as most people do I became lazy and stopped, so I'm sure that problem still exists for me (and I know in boxing you must be comfortable with things flying at your face). My lungs are not in the best of shape. Over the last few years I've had more than my fair share of smoking the funny stuff, but that's all. I've never really smoked anything else nor went for alcohol (and now I have no unhealthy vices).

As far as fitness level is concerned it's always been easy for me to turn that around, so that isn't really my worry. My concern is with the people who have been doing this since were 10 years old. 135 to 147 are always jam packed with seasoned talent, which makes this even more difficult. My father believes I can do it, and is willing to assist me financially until I'm making my own money with it, so I could make it my life's work potentially. I'm in the Fort Worth area where I know Paulie Aayla has a gym and is taking on new fighters, so access to a good trainer isn't a problem.

Before I wanted to fight, but at 24 with nothing to show for it I'm starting to feel like I have to. So, all things above considered would you say talent and dedication would be enough to pull this off? Also, would you say my body not being put through hell up to this point would give me a few extra years before father time caught up?

Sorry to get long winded there, and thanks for any feedback in advance.

[MMASUX]

If you want to do it then go ahead. Train for a few months then see how you feel after that. I do see your point at being at a disadvantage though, fighting guys who have been fighting since they were 9 or 10 years old. It would be very difficult to try and go pro. You could train and maybe fight some amature fights and see how things go. You're not getting any younger, might as well give it a shot, good luck

[TheMacMagician]

Nate Campbell turned pro when he was 27 and about to turn 28 man, never too late to give it a go. I'm sure the guys on the training board will give it to you straight....

[jamiebhoy]

when I was 15 a guy from my street showed up at our club, he was 31 and had never boxed before, he was a strong bloke who was a miner and trained for 6 months for his first bout. He won it handily as he was fairly natural but that was it for him, he had always wanted to have a bout , did it and that was that.

Give it a go mate win or lose you can always say you have had a go, don't be sitting watching telly wondering , same deal if you don't, you just need to think if you really want it, no shame in saying nah not for me thanks.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do and hang about the site with updates.

[rjj tszyu]

Hey guys, long time reader first time poster. I was hoping I could get someone else's brutally honest opinion on whether 24 is too old to start boxing professionally or not - let me lay it out. I'm 5"10, 150lbs with an athletic build and can get down to 135 easy. I do feel I'm very big for this weight. I've trained on and off for a couple of years in mma where I did learn to punch quite hard and would definitely be considered a puncher if I chose to do this. I would say I know boxing pretty well and am aware of all the other things that need to be known on top of punching. I've studied it quite a bit from the 10 years or so that I've watched.

To be completely honest when I did spar in my previous training I had a tendency to flinch when hit in the head (typically when I sparred the heavyweights and had a certain amount of anxiety - so potentially the same could happen with a really fast puncher). It started to go away the more serious I took the training but as most people do I became lazy and stopped, so I'm sure that problem still exists for me (and I know in boxing you must be comfortable with things flying at your face). My lungs are not in the best of shape. Over the last few years I've had more than my fair share of smoking the funny stuff, but that's all. I've never really smoked anything else nor went for alcohol (and now I have no unhealthy vices).

As far as fitness level is concerned it's always been easy for me to turn that around, so that isn't really my worry. My concern is with the people who have been doing this since were 10 years old. 135 to 147 are always jam packed with seasoned talent, which makes this even more difficult. My father believes I can do it, and is willing to assist me financially until I'm making my own money with it, so I could make it my life's work potentially. I'm in the Fort Worth area where I know Paulie Aayla has a gym and is taking on new fighters, so access to a good trainer isn't a problem.

Before I wanted to fight, but at 24 with nothing to show for it I'm starting to feel like I have to. So, all things above considered would you say talent and dedication would be enough to pull this off? Also, would you say my body not being put through hell up to this point would give me a few extra years before father time caught up?

Sorry to get long winded there, and thanks for any feedback in advance.

No harm in giving it a go mate. I boxed for 4 years as a teenager then gave it up due to a bad ankle injury I picked up and now at 26 i'm starting again (in the ams) to see how I can fair these days.

Only thing is you mention MMA training. The punching they tend to use in MMA is not anywhere near as effective as what is used in boxing as they strike out of a different stance. Have you trained in a boxing environment before? It's actually easier for a boxer to to transition to MMA than the other way around (or thats what I have found in my experience). Good luck in whatever you choose to do anyway!!

[jon09]

Lawrence Clay Bey was in his late twenties when he started and he had moderate success and rattled the future heavyweight champion Vlad Klit in the amateurs. If it is something you truly want to do then give it your all and don't let nobodies negative talk bring you down. Good luck champ

[Aussie_Egg]

Im hopefully having my first fight in april im 26 and only started when i was 25.
I just thought why not have a crack rather than grow old wondering what could have been.
Everybody needs to challenge themselves one way or another this is mine

[HattonTheHammer]

im 25 and have just retaken up the sport

Nothing serious im not even sparring as of yet and i still have issues surrounding my lifestyle around my training.

But im not looking to make money out of it. I do it because i love the sport dearly and its the only physical activity i genuinely take any interest in.

go for it dude, if you dont you`ll always wonder what if!!

[The Fightfan]

Sure why not. I am still on and off the fence at 26.I've fought in the amatuers but not the pros yet. But someday I will. Oh yeah to add to fighters starting late. B-Hop's name pops up he was I believe 24 when he fought his first fight.

[DaxxKahn]

Have some amateur bouts locally first, you can fight as an amateur until 39 I believe....If it goes well you will know after 5 or 6 fights if it's for you...

The only thing I wonder about is you mentioned you trained MMA so what kind of bad habits did you pick up there? Not saying MMA is a bad thing just it is very different in the striking terms and at 24 it is hard to change physical habits learned....EG- Dirty boxing and traditional boxing are worlds apart...

As for the flinching when about to or are being hit that goes away with time, the more you relax and get used to being in the ring the more you will become accustomed to the movement and will not be so gun shy...

But if your going to make a run at it I would say start soon if you are going to make a real try at it...If it is just for recreation then you can fight local now and again for who knows how long

[DaxxKahn]

Lawrence Clay Bey was in his late twenties when he started and he had moderate success and rattled the future heavyweight champion Vlad Klit in the amateurs. If it is something you truly want to do then give it your all and don't let nobodies negative talk bring you down. Good luck champ

I forgot about Clay-Bey yeah he had some talent and started late problem for him was after the amateurs he did not dedicate himself to training like he should have and by time he started to make some noise he started on the down slide as well...

I think Ron Lyle was like 29 when he started as a pro and he did fairly well in the greatest era of HW boxing...He was almost 55 when he finally retired for good


Though Clay-Bey and Lyle were Hwts a division where you can get away with being older

[killersheep]

Hey guys, long time reader first time poster. I was hoping I could get someone else's brutally honest opinion on whether 24 is too old to start boxing professionally or not - let me lay it out. I'm 5"10, 150lbs with an athletic build and can get down to 135 easy. I do feel I'm very big for this weight. I've trained on and off for a couple of years in mma where I did learn to punch quite hard and would definitely be considered a puncher if I chose to do this. I would say I know boxing pretty well and am aware of all the other things that need to be known on top of punching. I've studied it quite a bit from the 10 years or so that I've watched.

To be completely honest when I did spar in my previous training I had a tendency to flinch when hit in the head (typically when I sparred the heavyweights and had a certain amount of anxiety - so potentially the same could happen with a really fast puncher). It started to go away the more serious I took the training but as most people do I became lazy and stopped, so I'm sure that problem still exists for me (and I know in boxing you must be comfortable with things flying at your face). My lungs are not in the best of shape. Over the last few years I've had more than my fair share of smoking the funny stuff, but that's all. I've never really smoked anything else nor went for alcohol (and now I have no unhealthy vices).

As far as fitness level is concerned it's always been easy for me to turn that around, so that isn't really my worry. My concern is with the people who have been doing this since were 10 years old. 135 to 147 are always jam packed with seasoned talent, which makes this even more difficult. My father believes I can do it, and is willing to assist me financially until I'm making my own money with it, so I could make it my life's work potentially. I'm in the Fort Worth area where I know Paulie Aayla has a gym and is taking on new fighters, so access to a good trainer isn't a problem.

Before I wanted to fight, but at 24 with nothing to show for it I'm starting to feel like I have to. So, all things above considered would you say talent and dedication would be enough to pull this off? Also, would you say my body not being put through hell up to this point would give me a few extra years before father time caught up?

Sorry to get long winded there, and thanks for any feedback in advance.

First of all it's never too late, until YOU say it's too late.

I would recommend taking it one step at a time, sounds like your fitness is almost there, so that's the first step. The next step would be to get a trainer you're comfortable with, your trainer will let you know when you are ready to spar. I would try to get that far and then make any further decisions after that.

[mattboxingfan]

If you want to do it go for it man! Be the best you can be, there shouldnt be rules on being too old there should just be your willingness to want to box! Go for it!

[Beanflicker]

I've seen a lot of these threads over the years, here and on other forums, and heres my thoughts on it. To get right to the point, I don't believe there is anyone on this forum or any other forum that can answer your question with any degree of accuracy. I think we'd all agree that success as a prizefighter depends on a multitude of physical and mental traits, and none of us know whether or not you possess these traits. We also don't know what you want out of it. Are you a big boxing fan who just wants to say "I did that" and have your name on boxrec (nothing wrong with this)? Do you wanna be a local hero? Do you want to be a world champ? If you're a boxing fan who just wants the experience of getting into the ring and competing, than by all means go for it. At the very least, you'll gain a level of respect for boxers that we who haven't competed probably lack.

If your desire is to go far with it, I think you need to take an objective look at yourself. Boxing is a hurt business, and if you look at any champion down to the tough journeymen, you'll see one common link: desire. I think you have to question how much desire you actually have for the sport if you need to consult a message board before you embark on a pro career. It seems to me that if this was something truly important to you, and if you had the desire to go far, than you would just do it, and not ask what others thought. Thats just my take on it though. I'm not trying to shit on anyone or be overly cynical. I've been in this position myself a few years ago where I asked if it was too late to start boxing at 19, and I got the same kind of replies that are here.

In a nutshell: only you can answer this question so just take good objective look at yourself. If its important to you that do it.

[kegganator]

''beanflicker'' is right ur the only one who can answer ur question, im just about to turn 24 and started boxing in the amateurs last september so far iv had 3 won 3 stopped 2 and on day would love to turn pro but not for a couples years at least most or il get my head knocked off!!! i think u should definetly give it a shot but it would start off in the amateurs so u can gain some experience first but definetly give it a go just remember ''train hard fight easy'' good luck.