For those who are athletes, would you agree that people often greatly underestimate the amount of leg strength most boxers/pugilists have?

[Aztecwarrior480]

When people with little to no knowledge of sports and their training routines think of leg strength, they think of athletes like American football players, soccer players, runners, kickboxers, Muay Thai fighters and MMA fighters but they tend to leave out boxers. In fact, people should have already known that boxers have way more leg strength AND physical flexibilities than they think. Think of Pernell Whitaker and Mike Tyson (for those who are die hard boxing fans like myself, you should know them) for examples, both of them have incredible leg strength to dip down very low for their head movement without losing balance when they stand back up in their normal stance while Whitaker is very flexible being able to avoid so many punches just standing in one spot slipping, dipping and rolling them. Not only that, leg strength is obviously also used for pivoting the shots to add more power behind them as well.

If you wonder why I bring this up, many people with little boxing knowledge tends to think of boxers as athletes with mostly upper body strength and capabilities when leg strength is actually a very essential thing to have in boxing... or in almost any physical contact sports for that matter.

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

Relative to other athletes, boxers have weak legs. They're also relatively weak compared to other elite athletes, since their sport has had little popularity and thus competition since the 70s.

Most sports progress in athletes, but boxings finest and greatest was an overwhelming 40 years ago-- Cassius Clay.

This is boxing today-- and it's a joke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGZgMdlpTGk

And the heavyweights are so unbelievably unconditioned, they start dropping their hands semi regularly around round 2 or 3.

So, that's why people believe boxers have weak legs-- because relative to NFL players, NBA players, Soccer players, etc.. they do. In general, they have generated weak overall athletes in the last couple decades. It's not realistic to compare them to average people and it's a sad sight to compare them to other physically demanding sports.

I mean, this a 2014 WBC title holder..

socalboxing.files.wordpress.com/.../...-3-of-3.jpg

The sport is dead. Its athletes are weak AND dumb. Vitali Klitschko went 45-2 before retiring and he was only athletic with little skill (when you retain the title for 10 fights at the age of 42, while dedicating most your time to a career in politics, it's fair to assume it is a pretty low competition sport).

[Aztecwarrior480]

You're only talking about Heavyweight boxers and a few other Light Welterweight and Lightweight boxres of today who have absolutely no discipline and no talent. While I wouldn't say that boxers have the best leg strength, I wouldn't go as far as saying they have the weakest legs of all athletes as you're making them out to be. Just take a look at guys like Mike Tyson, Pernell Whitaker, Roberto Duran. Take this from a guy who's currently a 1-0 Amateur Middleweight boxer (myself). Even boxing trainers and experts have said that leg strength is actually a very essential thing to have in boxers because if you sit down on your punches and move laterally while not in proper shape your legs are gonna be jell-o in just a couple minutes. They're the foundation of everything and by FAR do the most work.

[Aztecwarrior480]

And BTW, that "WBC title holder" Chris Arreola, isn't even a major/world title holder for boxing.

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

Excuse me-- 2014 WBC heavyweight title contender, of which this guy won--

www.boxeomundial.com/.../...n-tutor-promotions.jpg

It may be a serious and real sport, but that doesn't matter to viewers when it's athletes are disgracefully weak.

And I'm only talking about the BEST of boxing today. And if you describe them as "no discipline and no talent" then what is everyone under them?

While an amazing boxer would have leg strength, the typical PROFESSIONAL boxer in the modern era does not have much strength anywhere. They're very poorly conditioned for being among the elite of their sport.

The better question is, what sport has less leg strength among their top elite athletes? Because once you start naming those, you start to realize why modern boxers are considered to have weak legs.

MMA, kickingboxing, muay thai, tennis, basketball, football, soccer, track&field, rugby, lacrosse, field hockey, wrestling... all have greater leg strength.

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

When you start to name the sports that don't, it gets embarrassing... Golf, bowling, hunting, archery, fishing, motor racing...

To name more that do-- dance, gymnastics and even hockey require greater leg strength to be the top.01% of their sport.

Boxers require less athleticism to be in the 0.01% of their sport and significantly less leg strength.

[Aztecwarrior480]

I wouldn't say they necessarily have much greater leg strength than boxers, they just make a different use of them. Just look at Mike Tyson, he has very massively strong legs. If you're gonna compare a boxer's leg's to other athlete's legs, AT LEAST pick the best boxers of all-time and best all-time athletes of other sports to make a fair comparison. Either you've never stepped inside a boxing gym in your life or you just don't know much about boxing and unfairly compare it with it's worst athletes to most other sports athletes who are actually good at their sports.

BTW, in case you still don't know, the current WORLD Heavyweight Title Holders are Beverne Stiverne (WBC) and Wladimir Klitshkco (WBO, IBF, WBA and The Ring),

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

Bermane Stiverne is the sloppy guy i posted in last link, standing beside Arreola the first guy I posted-- 2 of the most elite modern era boxers.

Mike Tyson came into the boxing scene just after the sports golden era.. just a little beyond the time when its athletes were competitive and well recruited. A time where a boxer was in better shape than a football player.

My point was and still is, that modern boxers are weak in the leg department. They're weak in the athletic department in general. Just because a handful in the past had strong legs, doesn't mean it's a requirement for modern boxers to have strong legs. E. g. The Klitschko brothers have no legs at all-- their arms are wider than their thighs-- and between them have held all the world boxing titles at once.

Leg strength is not nearly a necessity in boxing as it is in other sports. And just because it helps you box better, doesn't mean most boxers have it.

[Aztecwarrior480]

Actually, leg strength IS a necessity because without it, none of footwork, power shots and dipping for head movements would not be very in a boxing match. You see, looks (muscle mass and size) are deceiving and while the Klitschkos LOOK like they don't have strong legs but believe it or not, they actually do.

While today's boxing era is indeed not doing very well like it was in the 1970s-1990s, boxing's always had it's few horrible decades and worked it's way back up with unpredictably new talents. Just look at the 1910s and 1920s during the Jack Dempsey era where there was absolutely no good Heavyweight competition during that era yet plenty of people still tune in to watch Dempsey fight or look at the early 1950s with Rocky Marciano fighting all of the best available competition at the time, which were mostly washed up boxing legends. Even other sports that you've mentioned like football, soccer, tennis, etc. had it's fair share of poor seasons or poor eras.

[Aztecwarrior480]

Again, you're just proving my point that you've clearly never stepped in a boxing gym in your life and know very little about boxing if you believe most boxers have "weak" leg and all of such claims you made.

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

You seem to forget that we're comparing sports and leg strength... not simply average people and leg strength.

Can you tell me which sports, boxing precedes in emphasizing leg strength to be the best?

While footwork requires legs.. it doesn't require leg strength. If your legs are exhausted from moving around the ring, and balancing during punches, then you don't know what leg strength is.

[Aztecwarrior480]

It is you, who need to be enlightened about leg strength. I never said that boxers possess the strongest legs, I'm saying that they're not anywhere near as weak as you make them out to be. I'm not talking about your average person here. I'm talking about the best athletes of all sports in comparison and you're too busying giving me poor examples of boxers, showing some blatant prejudice towards boxers.

You DO need leg strength in boxing. Just as SuperNurse42 said here in my question, a good base and solid balance are key to throwing punches. Energy transfers from the feet throughout the legs, to the body/hips, and ends at the fist with every punch. That's a combination of strength, conditioning and endurance in the legs, which is necessary for boxers to have, plus you have to remember that a punch starts from the legs and punching power comes from drive from the legs to start with

End of discussion. I'm finished arguing with you about your little misinformation charade here.

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

It's not misinformation.. you still can't tell me a serious physically competitive sport with less emphasis on legs than boxing. Nor deny any of those I listed as having more emphasis. Which is why boxing leg strength is not "underestimated"-- it is estimated. They have much weaker legs than athletes of other sports. It's hardly contestable.

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

ven in martial artists, boxing has the least emphasis on leg strength of them all. Kicking boxing, taekwondo, muay thai, BJJ, wrestling, jeet kune do, karate, etc plenty with much more focus on leg strength than boxing. So yes, again, boxers tend to have weak legs in comparison to other sport athletes ESPECIALLY when you compare the best and greatest of their sport.

I don't understand how you're so dumbfounded by relativity-- but in relation to other sport athletes, boxers have weak legs. You may as well be saying, "I don't know why people underestimate bowler's leg strength, they have to have incredible balance and all the power of their throw comes from their feet"

--because they're weak compared to other sports. It's not hard to comprehend.

[Arrowdynamics]

I don't think they undermine our leg strength. It's more we don't show our leg strength until it time for us to use them. I ran track and played football in hs and college. My legs were and still are super toned but I wear pants 90% of the time so no one really ever see my legs but I wear a lot of fitted shirts so my upper is seen more. When people see me they know my arms are strong because they see them. I only hear about my legs if I'm around water and have my trunks on and someone sees my calves. No I don't think they underestimate leg strength it's just not shown enough to get noticed.

[Aztecwarrior480]

You boxed as well?

[Arrowdynamics]

No but I come from a very know boxing family. My real name is Brandon Futch. Google my name and you'll know my grandfather Eddie Futch.

[Aztecwarrior480]

Eddie Futch? You mean one of history's greatest boxing trainers? That's crazy. That man has produced so many great and talented boxers.

[Arrowdynamics]

I know i can post some pics of us under my profile if you like

[Aztecwarrior480]

Sure. Are you gonna post me a link to another website to see it?

[CommieDearest]

No one thinks of any of that stuff like at all.

[Aztecwarrior480]

What do you mean?

[CommieDearest]

I sit corrected apparently guys think about it. Lol.

[Aztecwarrior480]

Lol. What are you taking about? Guy's common sense about sports and function of certain muscles? Like what do you mean?

[CommieDearest]

Lol noI just thought this was an oddly specific question I wasn't really sure what you were getting at. I don't think about boxers or footballs players and what their strengths are. I'm starting to see that's because I'm not all about that strength training stuff so carry on. My bad.

[SuperNurse42]

Yes, leg strength in boxing particularly. A good base and solid balance are key to throwing punches. Energy transfers from the feet throughout the legs, to the body/hips, and ends at the fist with every punch. Tyson, my all time favorite boxer, had massive strong legs. He also hit like a truck.

[Aztecwarrior480]

Yup and don't forget guys like Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker (although he's not much of a power puncher or aggressive boxer) or "Hands of Stone/Manos de Pierda" Roberto Duran and their strong legs as well. All of these guys Tyson, Whitaker and Duran, boxing legends.

[rthomas43]

I agree, but it's to be expected. If you aren't very knowledgeable of a sport, you're not going to be very familiar with all of the intricacies of the techniques involved in said sport.

[Aztecwarrior480]

If anything, I think leg strength and even physical/muscle flexibility are actually very essential things to have in almost any physical contact sports.

[kheserthorpe]

Most people think you punch with your arms. Might as well end the discussion there.

[Aztecwarrior480]

Pretty much. A vast majority of pepole don't know a thing or two about boxing and how it functions. They need to understand that you definitely need leg strength to add more power behind your punches by pivoting and to dip down and use head movement and use footwork as well. Without leg strength, none of this would be very effective in a boxing match.

[kheserthorpe]

Well the thing is, they don't -need- to. They don't box.

There was a soviet study i saw once (and have had trouble finding since) that broke down the proportion of power generated by legs/core/shoulders/arms. Arms was like 10%. For average punchers, core was like 50, legs 30, shoulders 12 arms the rest. for the hardest hitters, legs were up around 40 - they get more leg drive into their shots.

[AdamThomas]

Most people don't realise that punching power comes from drive from the legs to start with, they think it's all upper body strength.

[Anonymous]

A punch starts from the legs or it is just a slap
So yes they better have strong legs