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Boxing psychology - winning before the first bell
80% of boxing is in the mind and to win a contest the mind has to be as well conditioned as the body.
David Haye won the ‘Battle of Britain' against Enzo Maccarinelli on March 8th before he had even entered the O2 Arena.
It seemed the Maccarinelli camp had banked on Haye's well publicised weight problems affecting the outcome of the fight.
But when an extremely confident David Haye tipped the scales comfortably, sporting a finely chiselled physique, the fight was as good as over. Haye had gained a psychological edge over his opponent.
For centuries, great champions have used ‘pre-fight tactics' to win contests before even throwing a punch.
By talking themselves up fighters create an aura of their own invincibility. They create an image of the ‘perfect' fighter making their opponent believe they have to be ‘perfect' to beat them.
Floyd Mayweather's tactics proved effective when Hatton boxed unorthodoxly and got knocked out in the tenth round.
When using such ‘mind games', there are two concepts that must be considered, and mastered to be successful; Timing and Preparation.
Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest fighters that ever lived and he was the master of the aforementioned concepts. Ali would stroll confidently around the gym, and talk constantly to the media and anyone else who would listen. He was relaxed and this approach created an aura of power and confidence. It was as if he knew that everything would go to plan. And it usually did.
The flamboyant heavyweight used his mind to perfection and he crushed many of his opponents before they even stepped between the ropes to face him.
His preparation was always fault less and his publicly bad mouthing of opponents was perfectly timed.
He made the challenger get so frustrated with the constant insults, they ‘exploded' in the ring, losing composure and forgetting their fight plan.
Any Boxer wishing to gain a psychological edge must be supremely confident and out going. No-one is afraid of the timid.
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