Possibly the most stupid question ever to be asked in this forum

Pighead

I know there's a few in here who have stepped into a ring and boxed so this question is for them.

When you get punched in the face is it really really sore?

Ok, obviously it's gonna hurt but as the fight goes on does your face get numb and the pain lessen or is it a case of 6-10 rounds of constant pain? Do jabs sting or are they ok to deal with when compared to crushing hooks or uppercuts? I have only got hit in the face once and I can't really remember how much it hurt. More a feeling of shock than actual pain I think.

Oh and finally would you prefer to get hit flush on the chin or flush in the body (ie similar to the liver shot Hatton sickened Castillo with)

walshb

I think it hurts, but the fact that you are so intensely focused I don't think it hurts as much as it should. It's hard to explain. It's like you accept that you are going to be hit, and this almost blanks or numbs the impact/pain. There is also other hurt happening like severe tiredness that is more noticeable to you than the odd shot to the face. That's the best way I can explain it. Your brain is so tuned in and so busy that the hits happen and you have such little time to reflect/feel them.

As for the two shots. I think a killer body shot would hurt for that bit longer, but a serious head/face shot may do more damage. I have never been dropped by a body shot. I don't ever want to be either. It looks dreadfully painful.

Pighead

walshb wrote: »

I think it hurts, but the fact that you are so intensely focused I don't think it hurts as much as it should. It's hard to explain. It's like you accept that you are going to be hit, and this almost blanks or numbs the impact/pain. There is also other hurt happening like severe tiredness that is more noticeable to you than the odd shot to the face. That's the best way I can explain it. Yiur brain is so tuned in and so busy that the hits happen and you have such little time to reflect/feel them.

As for the two shots. I think a killer body shot would hurt for that bit longer, but a serious head/face shot may do more damage. I have never been dropped by a body shot. I don't ever want to be either. It looks dreadfully painful.

Thanks for the detailed reply. So if you're intensely focused through the fight and that serves to somehow lessen the pain does this mean that you feel a whole world of pain a few hours after the fight after the adrenalin has subsided?

walshb

Pighead wrote: »

Thanks for the detailed reply. So if you're intensely focused through the fight and that serves to somehow lessen the pain does this mean that you feel a whole world of pain a few hours after the fight after the adrenalin has subsided?

I can't recall ever being very sore after a fight apart from muscles aching and paining. But never headaches from flush shots. I would imagine being a pro would be a lot different than being amateur. The pro game is truly a brutal and savage sport. I would still argue that 3x3 mins of intense action is very tough, and the pain from this is in the cardio sense; similar I guess to a 1500 metre race.

Of course, every boxer whether amateur or pro will have different feelings. Some are sluggers and brawlers who take lots of punishment and others are slick and cute who take very little. So, me saying that I didn't experience much pain may not be at all accurate as regards shot taking pain. There could be many who took a lot more shots who will tell you they suffered terribly with pain after fights.

A sustained beating I would imagine is very painful as opposed to a few heavy shots every so often.

I was dropped heavy once from a head shot. I can honestly say that I felt nothing of the shot, or immediately after the shot. It was weird. I just remember the room spinning and me then back on my feet taking a count.

Of all sports on earth boxing at pro level is for me the ultimate test of a man. It is so very demanding in every way.

BTW, I think your question(s) is a very good one.

HigginsJ

They are great replies walshb. Never got in the ring myself (my sporting ambitions lie elsewhere) but I totally agree that it is the ultimate one on one test.

I would imagine that hooks to the body would be a killer for days & weeks after. I would hate to have taken the shots Tommy Coyle did in his fight with Brizuela earlier this year. They just looked sickening.

boxer.fan

Pighead wrote: »

I know there's a few in here who have stepped into a ring and boxed so this question is for them.

When you get punched in the face is it really really sore?

Ok, obviously it's gonna hurt but as the fight goes on does your face get numb and the pain lessen or is it a case of 6-10 rounds of constant pain? Do jabs sting or are they ok to deal with when compared to crushing hooks or uppercuts? I have only got hit in the face once and I can't really remember how much it hurt. More a feeling of shock than actual pain I think.

Oh and finally would you prefer to get hit flush on the chin or flush in the body (ie similar to the liver shot Hatton sickened Castillo with)

Been hit to the head & body a fair amount over the years. The hits to the head generally don't hurt that much, using the 1 - 10 scale, probably around 5 or 6. A bang square on the nose is more a discomfort type thing rather than pain, where your breathing is affected as well as uncontrollable eye watering. To anyone with reasonable experience the jab is easily dealt with. If you are constantly getting jabbed clean then you are in a bit of trouble generally. With the bigger punches its not the pain factor to be concerned with, more the onset of a little darkness

I've been to the canvas twice with body shots, the first time with two cracked ribs, the second time was a well timed shot to the diaphragm as i was breathing in. The shots to the body are way more painful IMO, but they require excellent skill to land & time them effectively.
I think I would prefer to be sparked out with a head shot rather than completely poisoned with a body shot, but in saying that i've never been out cold.

I should add that the days following a tough fight are generally pretty sore. I used to suffer badly with whiplash type injuries in my early days & had considerable hassle with a damaged knuckle. It takes quite a while afterwards to recover from the exhaustion, its not simply a matter of getting your breath back. The adrenaline dump alone is very exhausting.

FTA69

WalshB already outlined a lot of what it's like. As he said, accepting you're going to get hit is an important part of entering a fight and you'll be far better placed to deal with it once you've overcome that initial apprehension. Obviously getting hit some places hurts more than others. Getting a shot right on the nose is always sh*t craic. My last amateur bout resulted in me getting a broken nose in the first round and then taking a few more flush ones as the fight wore on. To be honest by the third round I was just looking forward to getting the f*ck out of the ring as I was pretty much outclassed and way behind.

Body shots are always pretty horrible as well, getting banged on the solar plexus or the liver is an awful feeling and the pain usually only sets in a few seconds after the initial impact so you get an "Oh sh*t" moment as the pain radiates through. However getting a fractured rib is an unmerciful bastard. I took a knee in sparring a few months ago after foolishly taking a wild swing to the ribs. You know pretty much straight away when a rib goes.

Getting hit flush on the chin produces an odd kind of feeling, it isn't painful in the conventional sense so to speak but more a throbbing sense of disconnect and fuzziness. I've been stunned a load of times in sparring and in fights and I rarely remember the exact punch that did it. One minute you're pre-empting something and the next you're in a funny place. It's like you hear the punch and see a flash of bright light as opposed to actually feeling it. It's like the initial feeling of being pushed into a swimming pool when you don't expect it. Except it f*cking hurts. I always find my entire jaw aches for a few days after taking a flush shot to the chin also.

As for pain after the fight, I find that in the fight you may pick up small muscular niggles in the wrist/arm/knee etc that you don't notice at the time but start to hurt after you cool down. But that could be said for any high-intensity activity.

My next fight is in a month and it's with small gloves and no headguard so a bit of bruising is pretty much guaranteed I'd say.

Pighead

FTA69 wrote: »

My next fight is in a month and it's with small gloves and no headguard so a bit of bruising is pretty much guaranteed I'd say.

Just to veer slightly off topic for a minute what sort of training regime would you have with a fight a month away. Is it a case of just continuing to do your usual work in the gym or do you set out a mini 4 week training camp for yourself? How often do you fight?

walshb

I had my jaw broken in one fight. A fight I won fairly clearly. I made an error. It was an illegal shot, but defend yourself at all times.

I got turned, and the guy swung a whopper to the side of my jaw just before the referee grabbed him. He got a warning for this. The shot didn't drop me, and it wasn't particularly hurtful either. I took it well. But, my head/face was loose and not focused at that instant. I believe this may have had an impact on the injury occurring.

The reason I know that this was the shot that broke my jaw was because I only took a handful of shots in the fight, and it was the only one to land real heavy on the jaw area. I didn't realize anything was wrong until about 30 mins after the fight. The pain was gradual, and at its height I had to take Ponstan tablets. Like a mouth full of toothaches. Unreal.

FTA69

Pighead wrote: »

Just to veer slightly off topic for a minute what sort of training regime would you have with a fight a month away. Is it a case of just continuing to do your usual work in the gym or do you set out a mini 4 week training camp for yourself? How often do you fight?

It's unlicensed boxing which is basically like white collar except the participants have some level of ability (usually), they're scored to pro-rules and the participants get paid. That having been said, I get a flat fee and and a percentage of ticket sales. I estimate I'll get £500 odd for my fight which is f*ck all considering the training etc that goes into it.

I started properly training six weeks ago and get about 15 hours a week of training in. I'm in the gym six days a week, three days will be 2 hour sessions and three days will be 3 hours sessions. Today is a three hour session and will focus on:
30mins skipping, warm-up, mobility (I have tendonitis in both shoulders)
1 hour pads and heavy sparring with other competitive fighters

the normal class will start then and I'll stay for that (bags, combos, light sparring etc)

I'll also aim to go running but I'm chronic for neglecting roadwork as I have flat feet and always end up hurting my shins/knees.

This is my first unlicensed fight and depending how it goes I'll aim to do three in a year perhaps.

megadodge

Some very interesting replies and a good thread overall, so it wasn't a stupid question after all.

I reckon I'm older than most regulars here, but I'm not brain-damaged enough yet to not remember the different sensations you get when hit. And I know what I'm talking about because with my brutal defense, I got hit A LOT!!

I was regarded as having a very good chin and that's because everybody saw me getting hit very regularly. That's not to say I didn't 'feel' the punches, I certainly did, but like FTA6, I tended to 'hear' the punch (it was like a loud bang inside your head) and the odd time I'd actually briefly see stars. It's hard to describe, but as Walshie said you've already accepted that you're going to get hit, so you tend to ignore any of the 'standard' pain coming your way. My nose bled at the slightest touch, but the blood never bothered me, it just looked bad. Having said that getting punched on the nose is the worst place on the head to get hit, as it stings and your eyes also water and of course you're sh*tting it in case anybody thinks you're crying.

The worst I ever felt after being hit though was definitely a body punch my brother hit me with in sparring. He was a hard-hitting southpaw who, even as a young lad KO'd a lot of opponents with the straight left or left uppercut to the gut and that's what he caught me with one night. He grinned after hitting me cos he knew it was a good one, but he really didn't know how good cos although I didn't go down, I did the best acting job of my life pretending nothing happened. It was absolutely sickening and I'm glad in one way my defense was so bad because I was so easy to hit in the head, that nobody bothered trying to hit my body despite the fact that I was very tall. I'd take twenty head shots rather than one clean body shot any day.

megadodge

walshb wrote: »

I had my jaw broken in one fight. A fight I won fairly clearly. I made an error. It was an illegal shot, but defend yourself at all times.

I got turned, and the guy swung a whopper to the side of my jaw just before the referee grabbed him. He got a warning for this. The shot didn't drop me, and it wasn't particularly hurtful either. I took it well. But, my head/face was loose and not focused at that instant. I believe this may have had an impact on the injury occurring.

The reason I know that this was the shot that broke my jaw was because I only took a handful of shots in the fight, and it was the only one to land real heavy on the jaw area. I didn't realize anything was wrong until about 30 mins after the fight. The pain was gradual, and at its height I had to take Ponstan tablets. Like a mouth full of toothaches. Unreal.

That's pretty impressive.

I knew Artur Abraham posted on these boards

Big Ears

Some great replies so far, and an excellent question tbh.
I'll throw my own bit of experience in, but tbh it's really absolutely nowhere near what some of the other guys have here. Particularly Walshb who boxed to a very high level, and although he doesn't post here very much anymore it would be good to get Cowzerp to comment on this. He has experience of getting hit with 4 oz gloves too, so would be nice to hear about that and how it compares.

I've zero fights to my name, but some years ago I was training with the intention of fighting and if I had stayed at it a couple months more I probably would of. So sparring & hard sparring is all of I've got.
Normal shots might hurt a little bit when you start off, but after a while you become conditioned to them, and tbh it's not really an issue. As mentioned above, other pains such as muscle fatigue and tiredness would bother you more than actually taking the shots.
Jabs become more of an irritant than anything else, particularly if they bloody your nose (and my nose never took too much to start running a bit).

Now it only ever happened to me once, but by **** does getting stunned hurt. I got caught with a 4 punch combination......as they say move your head or someone will move it for you !, and the last of which was a big right hand bang on the chin. Like the lads above, I heard the shot, and while I wouldn't say I literally saw stars, things did go a bit bright and my vision was a bit odd for a few seconds (well completely ****ed for maybe half a second) . My legs were fine, I knew exactly what was going on, so I suppose I wasn't too bad, but the one thing I'll never forget is the extremely sharp pain inside my head, which is like nothing I've ever experienced before or after.
I've played plenty of rugby league, I've been involved in plenty of head on head high velocity collisions and tbh I can't recall a specific one, because none ever really hurt. But that shot.......**** !
Thankfully as a relative novice himself (think he was 1-2 at the time), he just covered up when I tore back at him, with shots which can't be described as anything other than 'flailing' (well wild and pathetic would probably also fit).

I felt weird for a few days after that shot, sort of dizzy but not. Perhaps it could have been a mild concussion, I don't know. Maybe some of the lads who've boxed have experienced something similar and can describe it ?

FTA69

You got a mild concussion basically. Feeling sluggish for a few days after getting rightly cracked is a sign of a flash concussion.

cowzerp

Big Ears wrote: »

and although he doesn't post here very much anymore it would be good to get Cowzerp to comment on this. He has experience of getting hit with 4 oz gloves too, so would be nice to hear about that and how it compares.

The 4oz gloves are a bit more stinging as they are harder but I'd be in the same position that getting hit in the head/face doesn't bother me at all, to me getting hit is more mental than physical

how often do you see lads on the street going down from the smallest of digs, this is mental issue and not physical in my opinion in these cases