White Collar Boxing

Bren1609

Has anyone heard about the White Collar boxing at the moment. Apparantley it was started by Cathal O Grady the ex Irish Pro. It appears to have caught on quite fast. Has anyone participated or know anymore about it?

cowzerp

i know its not for boxers but more for business men and people who probably wish they had of boxed-i think its been run by a dublin boxer-cant remember who off the top of my head!

efb

If people wanna box why do they feel the need for "white collar boxing"? Christ its such bull snobbery...

RaiseTheBlinds

there was a time that you would be kicked out of a boxing gym if you werent any use,.......now all the boxing gyms in the states live off the white-collar movement.

to answer the last question,..... so many people want to get/keep fit and learn the skill, also help their self defence levels.
not so many want to go into work with a thick lip or black eye on a monday morning.

its also extremely dangerous sport,..... as ingle said last night,.."boxing - theonly sport where you can be killed legally"

cowzerp

This is real boxing just not done by real boxers-these lads cant just join boxing and fight as they would be realy hurt-so this is like novice boxing aimed at grown men, they learn to box then fight at the end of the course, im lucky that i eventually talked my ma into letting me box as a kid, but some people never had the chance and always wanted too-this is there way of experiencing this..

gabgab

walking into a boxing club can/is very very intimidating for a lot of people........ as for the snobbery comment thats quiete unfair,

take a fella that has never even thrown a punch, is quiete timid annd shy, suggest to him that he goes into a boxing club and try join in his early twenties and its quiete difficult,

The white collar boxing removes some of the worries..... I think its a great thing, and will help bring boxing into the mainstream and meet audiences that would of never experienced this sport,

Think wealthy 30 something businessman, plays golf, 2.4 children etc etc going to see his bank manager try his hand at it, whole new audience that previously would of never seen or taken an interest in this sport!!!

walshb

Sounds like yuppie boxing to me. Men who are trying to re-live their youth.
A little like the male menopause.
Best of luck to them, as long as it's consensual, and regulated to a degree with the relevant safety guidelines in place. Go for it

Nothingcompares

typical **** attitude of boxers. boxing is just a sport like everything else, rugby, soccer, table tennis. But unlike these sports the majority of people in amateur boxing seem to think it's important to try to be exclusive.

People like walshb obviously think they're some kind of robin hood character practising the noble art, the sweet science. It's all bull ****. Someone who think's they're some how better than everyone else just because they can throw a few punches is very silly.

boxing in ireland is badly managed at best and corrupt at worst. every so often we get a quality fighter but that's against the trend.

walshb

Mate, you could not be further from the truth if you tried. You obviously know squat about boxing in Ireland. Amateur boxing in Irelands is quite possibly the most successful and competitive sport in the land which has produced more Olympic medals than any other. It's the real deal and any boxer or person with an ounce of sense would realise this. Have you an ounce of sense?

It's not a game. It's not a sport for the part time fraternity, it's a serious tough and skilled art that requires 24/7 dedication. That's just how it is. It cannot be changed. You really have to compete at a high level to understand what I mean. I have no problem with guys setting up so called fight clubs or 'boxing tournaments', but calling it boxing is incorrect. It is not and is not Affiliated in this land or any other land. It's just common sense really.

Nothingcompares

walshb wrote:

Amateur boxing in Irelands is quite possibly the most successful and competitive sport in the land which has produced more Olympic medals than any other.

Ireland's history is winning olypmic medals is hardly illustrious. The Irish rugby team is probably in the top 3 in the world. All their players (almost) play for Irish clubs.

walshb wrote:

It's not a game. It's not a sport for the part time fraternity, it's a serious tough and skilled art that requires 24/7 dedication. That's just how it is.

No, you misunderstand. This is just boxing at a high level which most people seem to think is important. It's just boxing, it's nothing special, it's on it's way out popularity wise thank god. Just because boxers seem to think it necessary to get up at the crack of dawn and run around the block doesn't impress me but does show their dedication. Boxing exists at all levels, amateur/professional recreation and competitive you just fail to accept this.

cowzerp

Boxing is not losing popularity at all. the de la hoya v mayweather fight is set to be the biggest grossing and watched boxing match of all time, the only reason people knock boxing is because the heavyweight scene is not as good as it can be. Just because some other sports popularity is increasing does not mean boxing is decreasing-Boxing was is and always will be the worlds favourite combat sport, this is because its physically and mentally so tough and fans love k o's and the technical aspects of boxing-other fight sports are very tough also but get stopped fairly easily and if you want you can just tap out-boxers cant tap out. white collar boxing is low standard boxing run for purely business reasons-i might set 1 up myself.

walshb

Nothingcompares wrote:

Ireland's history is winning olypmic medals is hardly illustrious. The Irish rugby team is probably in the top 3 in the world. All their players (almost) play for Irish clubs.

The fact is regardless of how much medals we win or do not win, boxing is our number 1, because of how serious the trainers, managers and the organisation take it, not only here in Ireland but all over the world and the boxers themselves take it more serious than anybody. Oh and getting up at the crack of dawn is an actual necessity my friend. Maybe if you tried to hold your hands up for three minutes, you would understand this.

What is your sport?

walshb

Fighting exists at all levels, pro/amateur/recreational etc etc.
Boxing does not.
Have a think about that.
Boxing is a regulated skilled sport that is sanctioned, so anything involving
the use of fists between two consenting adults that does not have the approval of the relevant 'boxing' authorities is NOT boxing, it is FIGHTING!!!

Any old fool could see that

Nothingcompares

walshb wrote:

Fighting exists at all levels, pro/amateur/recreational etc etc.
Boxing does not.
Have a think about that.
Boxing is a regulated skilled sport that is sanctioned, so anything involving
the use of fists between two consenting adults that does not have the approval of the relevant 'boxing' authorities is NOT boxing, it is FIGHTING!!!

Any old fool could see that

That's not in dispute. I've done some white collar boxing (university stuff) and lots of Judo, other grappling and MMA.

All the boxing I've been involved in has been under the tutelage of a former Irish international boxer (Dan Curran) and regulated by the Irish Amateur Boxing association. I'm not talking about punching within MMA etc. etc.

walshb

Well seems like we got our wires crossed. I too boxed in Trinity under Dan Curran. An excellent trainer by the way, but I also boxed at full Senior level.
The college boxing tournaments are for Novices as far as I am aware. This is nothing to do with men setting up 'boxing' tournaments amongst friends.
Those college tournaments are also approved and sanctined by the IABA here in Ireland. There is a distinct difference between this type of boxing (Novice College, and Tech boxing) and so called white collar boxing (fighting with fists among friends, unsanctioned and not approved by the IABA or any other authority). Bernard Dunne too participated in the Trinity boxing programme as far as I am aware. There are some very skilled fighters from both Trinity and UCD, some who went to fight at Senior level and some who didn't box at all apart from the 'colours'.....

Nothingcompares

Ok. I was under the impression that white collar boxing is the boxing done by professionals who got into the sport as adults and compete amongst themselves to have a more even playing field. The few people training like this are training in proper boxing clubs. I wasn't referring to underground fight clubs that you were (sorry on my behalf for this confusion). One of the lecturers in my college is training with us. He went over to New York to fight. I was really using white collar boxing as another name for posh boxing (posh boxing again between people that didn't grow up with sport at grass roots level).

Sorry for the confusion. Good to see Dan is respected by a man as venerable as yourself . What I can always say about Dan is that he always looks after his fighters, whether they win, lose or draw.

walshb

The way I view it is simple. Boxing is a sport governed by rules, regulations and the relevant authorities. Anything outside of this, not sanctioned or governed I would take with 'a pinch of salt', and this applies to all sports.
Call it white collar, posh, fancy, fighting etc etc. It's still not boxing as we know it and it never will be. Look at the gypsy and traveller 'boxing', is this boxing?. No it is organised fighting with the use of fists by a group of people.
It will never be boxing.

Anyway, Curran is a great trainer, really works the hell out of you. When I was there back in 1995, even I found his regime quite gruelling and I was training 7 days a week at that stage and competing at Senior level. He was a fine fighter himself and a sound bloke

Nothingcompares

as far as i know the white collar boxers are getting coached by a proper iaba coach under those rules and regulations. i'll try and find out more specific info.

cowzerp

Cant say im sure but i think it is legite-basically like novice boxing for people willing to pay for the pleasure. they'd have to do a medical and be insured i assume.