Ingredients to Achieve Greatness.

The Three D’s of Boxing: What it Takes to Succeed.

What does it take to become the best? Is it the strength, the heart, a perfectly chiseled frame, the hand speed, the stamina or that devastating left hook? Or just the will to be the best? There are many possible answers, but what it really takes is the dedication to the sport, the determination to be the best, and the discipline to maintain at all levels. This brings me to Muhammad Ali, the greatest of all times. Despite all that was brought before him, Ali excelled in his craft, and was determined to let nothing stop him and get in the way of his destiny. George Foreman also, in spite of his age, defied the odds by returning and beating one booing’s strongest heavyweights at that time in Michael Moorer. He was dedicated to the sport, thus allowing him to return as a winner. Even today, with Trinidad, in his come back, after a twenty-nine month layoff, returned to systematically dismantle Ricardo Mayorga in impressive fashion, without discipline he most certainly could have not returned successfully.

With this tool, he was able to stay focused, in and out of the ring. Staying in shape, and working hard. If that is not discipline than what is? There are a number of fighters today that lack self-control, resorting to drama outside of the ring, causing them to lose focus on the severity of a fight, which could ultimately have adverse affects on the outcome. Many boxers today have the caliber to become great fighters, and even world champions, but the absence of self-control, coupled with the lack of confidence, equals a combination of recklessness and the loss of self-worth, that only leads to the bottom.

Many boxers have fallen victim to this trend of behavior, but with determination, and discipline, combined with dedication, a boxer has the necessary ingredients to become a great fighter, and a great athlete. The three D’s should be utilized in every part of a boxer’s career. A boxer must recognize that with good conditioning, training, and a healthy lifestyle, results are definitely achieved. Fighting for a paycheck is one thing, but truly dedicating oneself to the sport is something totally different, it separates the contenders from the champions.

Determination allowed Roy Jones Jr. to move up and down the weight class scale, conquering all that was in his path, ripping through opponents like a Florida hurricane. If he did not allow discipline to take control, he would have been merely a fighter, and not the man we know today that has captured so many titles in so many different divisions. So ask yourself this question, if the fighters of today truly dedicated themselves to hard training and a disciplined lifestyle, would the face of boxing be that much different from the current state it is in?

Katrina Walters can be reached at wsteve555@aol.com