By Dan Morley, 9-0 (2 KOs)
BOXING is a sport that exposes your weaknesses and forces you to overcome them or succumb to a humbling beatdown. Under the bright lights, there are no hiding places, unlike other sports, in which off days are more forgiven. In the ring, if you are underprepared, you will pay the price.
Boxing’s brutal nature has forced over a century of pugilists to embark on gruelling training camps to prepare for battle. Relentless routines have long been in place, producing legendary champions.
Yet, while all are aware of how disciplined the sweet science requires your preparation to be, I have always found it difficult to find professional boxers’ actual training routines.
From my own experiences in prepping for both brutal fight-of-the-year contenders and overwhelmingly quick first-round KOs, I feel as though breaking down my own training camp routine may be able to open the door and give many a view into the life of a boxer, preparing for a fight:
Training will intensify for 6-8 weeks, culminating in nine weekly sessions around a six-day schedule, with one day off. As these weeks begin, the intensity will be at around 60/70 per cent whilst you are adjusting to the increased workload.
In most cases, boxers will tick over between fights, yet in preparation for a fight, you are pushing your body into that next level of exertion. As the weeks progress, the effort increases along with both the number of rounds and intent in sparring sessions.
Ultimately, we aim to reach the maximum level of output around a week or two before fight night. The week of the fight centres around weight management and staying loose without exerting too much energy as the hard work is complete. It’s vital not to peak too early and empty the tank in the gym.
What’s important to know, from my perspective at least, is training is more so about developing your mindset entering the dark places in preparation that will ultimately confront you in the ring. This is the very reason training needs to be tough, to make coming through those moments of adversity as easy as possible when it truly matters.
Sparring
I spar twice weekly. Typically, we will centre the initial spars around 6x3min rounds. Whilst working on gameplays and your subtle tricks are a necessity in sparring, you need to find the balance.
It’s the closest to fighting that you can emulate, however, you don’t want to spar furiously and constantly as you will accumulate most of your damage and exert much of your best work in the gym.
As the fight beckons, the intent rises. Rounds increase and rest periods shorten to 30 seconds. Every two rounds, a fresh sparring partner enters to maintain high-intensity levels as you begin to fatigue.
It’s important to emulate the fight as closely as you can, acclimatising to the pressure, damage and mental obstacles that will torment you on fight night. In prep for my fight with Louis Isaacs, I eventually had the two hardest spars a week or two before fight night. 10 rounds with two fresh sparring partners and 12 rounds with three sparring partners.
We built up to this by gradually increasing the intensity over time. For the Isaacs fight, we accumulated 100 rounds in a 6-week period – a gruelling procedure.
Running
Running is essential for many reasons, including building endurance, both physically and mentally, and strengthening your legs. I run four times weekly, with varying distances, inclines, and speeds.
Each run serves a different purpose. Once a week, I run up a 300-metre hill and back down 10x. For just over a minute, as you run upwards, you work yourself close to exhaustion and improve your recovery time whilst jogging back down.
On another day, once a week, I do 20-second treadmill sprints, with just a 10-second recovery – 20 times. The treadmill is set to maximum speed, and this raises your heart level exponentially, acclimatising you to those explosive bursts of combinations you will throw in the ring. Short rests build fast recovery.
I then do a normal 7km run and finish off with a long-distance hill run, around 10-12km, purely for enhancing endurance. The runs are tough, monotonous, and boring, yet the discipline needed to complete them is a vital tool in the arsenal for winning long fights, whilst the stamina conjured from them is key.
Abs & Condition
A necessary evil, the core must be strong for the inevitable onslaught it will endure. Everything stems from a strong core, you throw your own punches from both there and a stable stance.
Three times a week, we will grind through horrendous ab workouts, completing a painstaking 300 reps while taking 10-second barrages of the medicine ball to the stomach in between. This builds both your core strength and mental durability when taking body shots.
Punching
The most important part of training is punching drills. Shadow boxing, bag work, and pad work will implant the necessary muscle memory to make boxing second nature. From 12-round bag sessions to full pad sessions, it’s vital to remain switched on mentally, maintain focus, and drill good habits. Lazy bag work will culminate in sloppy mistakes.
The bag doesn’t hit back, but you better imagine it does—set your shots up, move after you throw, keep your hands up! These countless, repetitive hours are key to sculpting your style and making the moves effortlessly second nature.
Strength, circuits, and recovery
The final part of training revolves around explosive strength work and exhausting circuits. Twice a week, we will take on box jumps, sledge pushes, and soft mat runs among an array of body-weighted exercises and weighted movements. All of these are done primarily in circuit formats, preparing the body for rounds upon rounds of fatiguing work rate.
The culmination of all this training is to physically have you as sharp, strong, and fit as possible. Yet without rest and recovery, you will constantly be worn out. Taking your day off is key – sleeping in between sessions has become a regimented part of my routine.
With the amount of abuse you are putting yourself through, the rest days are essential for allowing your body to recover. I find that stretching and breathing exercises are a terrific way to allow the body to truly switch off and repair itself.
The crucial factor is that your mind is prepared, for it is your strongest weapon. I have received phenomenal results in recent fights working with world-renowned sports psychologist Vinny Shoreman. However, I have found through experience that the mental battle is conquered in the weeks and months ahead.
Those moments of vulnerability and nerves before a fight are easier to control if you have done the work. Confidence stems from action, and discipline in your training will help you silence those doubts. Forcing yourself to continuously enter those dark places in training makes coming through the inevitable adversity one battles with mentally on fight night far more familiar and less daunting.
The adage rings true – fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
Training Camp Routine for Louis Isaacs Fight
6-8 Weeks – (Rounds, 3 Mins – 30 Seconds Test)
Monday:
Am
- 6 Rounds – Shadowboxing
- 12 Rounds – Heavy Bag
- 6 Rounds – Pad Work
Pm
- 10x – One minute Hill Sprints (One minute rest)
- 300 Ab Exercise Reps and Med Ball Conditioning
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Am
- 4 Rounds – Skipping
- 6-10 Rounds – Sparring
- 6 Rounds – Heavy Bag
Pm
- 20x – Flat Sprints (20 Secs on – 10 Secs off)
- 300 Ab Exercise Reps and Med Ball Conditioning
- 6 Rounds – Strength Circuits
Thursday:
Am
- Strength & Conditioning
Pm
- 7km Road Run
Friday:
Am
- 12/15 – Rounds Boxing / Conditioning Circuits (No Rest)
- 300 Ab Exercise Rests and Med Ball Conditioning
Saturday:
Am
- 12KM – Hill Run
Sunday:
Am
- 4 Rounds – Shadowboxing
- 6-10 Rounds – Sparring
- 6 Rounds – Heavy Bag / Pad Work
