Training for boxing requires dedication

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Zach Jacobs
  • 507th ARW Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Oklahoma --  It's nicknamed the "sweet science."

ESPN rates it as the world's most difficult sport.

And it's the ultimate form of competition, according to Staff Sgt. Charlie Floyd.

Floyd is an AWACS communications technician for the 970th AACS here at Tinker Air Force Base, and also a member of the base boxing team. Floyd picked up boxing over two years ago as a way to get into something different and more challenging than a team sport. "It takes more dedication and self-motivation than other sports I've participated in," says Floyd.

That dedication includes five-day-a-week training for two to three hours a day. Training includes a three- to five-mile run, heavy bag and speed bag work, jumping rope, calisthenics, and sparring.

"Training begins at 6:30pm every night. Although it takes a lot of motivation to train so late, it's a good way to take out your stress and frustration at the end of the day," says Floyd.

But training is only half the preparation needed for fighting. Floyd says nutrition is "the hardest thing" about boxing, adding that he must "eat appropriately and frequently enough" to maintain the proper weight and energy for training, especially in the evenings.

Floyd has to "cut," or lose weight, before his matches to qualify to box in his 165-pound weight class, but making the weight has never been an issue for him. Floyd enjoys his time training, but loves winning even more. His last two victories have come by way of knockout, the most recent one with a left uppercut to his opponent in the first 30 seconds of the opening round.

But Floyd isn't the only one to box on this team. Several other boxers from Tinker are part of this team, including two women. When asked about watching women box, Floyd says it's "interesting," adding that they "scrap better than the dudes." Floyd says the women will also spar during training with the men. They must be paired with someone in their weight class, but, according to Floyd, the women "dish it out and take it, too."

And Team Tinker is doing well. They took home the award for the best team from an invitational tournament at Okemah High School. Four other gyms were represented and over 20 fights took place at the tourney this past weekend.

With the plethora of sports choices around us, why should we watch boxing? Floyd says, "If you were to stand in the middle of a street intersection and see basketball, baseball and tennis games going on in three corners, and a fistfight in the fourth corner, you will watch the fistfight."

Floyd adds, "My favorite quote is by Mike Tyson: Everybody has a good plan until they get punched in the face."