That intensity is something from the inside it is mental not physical...Sparring is not a match...It is not meant to be won or lost. It is meant to develope your craft. Fine tune your skills and work on mistakes...if you egt your a** kicked while doing it shows you what needs to be worked on....to prevent it from happening again...If you are not at your best while doing it then you cheat yourself..You don't know how much of it was you or how much was the fact you were tired?....When was the last time you saw a world champion fight twice in one night so he could prove to the world he was the best champion?...Thats just silly talk....Any trainer or manager that tells you sparring should be done after working out is an idiot who knows nothing....
I'll let you in on something....There have been thousands of fighters or should I say potential fighters who have has those sparring matches in the gym trying to win....You end up leaving your best in the gym...You end up taking the abuse in the gym that wears you out..Leaving you at your second best in the ring when it counts...Just because you have head gear on doesn't mean your not absorbing shots

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I know this thread has been dead for months and I'm new so no one cares, but I thought I'd throw my two cents in anyway. It seems to me that its very important to spar when you're tired. When you're in a fight you'll get tired very quickly so its crucial that you be used to protecting yourself and maintaining your focus and intensity despite your fatigue. One coach I used to work with would always say 'we'll be tired most of the time we're in the ring, so we have to train our bodies to work when we're tired and not show signs. No one but you should ever know you're tired until the last bell rings.' He put it better but that was the gist of it.

Also, during one of Mayweather fights the announcer was saying that he spars 9 minute rounds with no breaks... just rotates opponents in every three minutes. And despite his many detractors its safe to say that he's well recognized as one of the best conditioned and most technically sound fighters active today.