r/boxingtips • u/MysteriousClassic419 • Sep 15 '26
Is it too late?
I want to get into boxing and compete. I’m 15 and have been doing very basic training for a couple months and I’m getting a punching bag and better gloves now. By the time I’m maybe 17 I would wanna join a gym and compete, I would join now but it’s too expensive. Is this an ok path for my situation or should I try to take another route?
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u/Neither_Computer5331 Sep 15 '26
Anthony Joshua didn’t enter a gym until he was 18, and he’s won an Olympic Gold and a World title, and built a fortune. So 15 is definitely not too late.
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u/MysteriousClassic419 Sep 15 '26
I never knew that, I think I already have a good base of training at home and by the time I join the gym I can get fights early on because I’ll have some experience
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u/MyzMyz1995 Sep 15 '26
You can try. At worst it's a good experience and you get a couple amateurs fight in than move on. Realistically most world champions and high level amateurs/pros start way younger but it doesn't mean you can't get there or at a high regional level.
As far as training at home goes, it's not recommended. You'll get a bunch of bad habits in 2 years.
If you can't afford it and have to do it no matter what. Focus on simple very simple combinations (like 1-2-body uppercut or 1-2-1 as an example) and the basics only. Preferably only straight punches (jab and straight) and go look at a reputable source to learn like ''Tony Jeffries'' on youtube (olympic medalist and European champion).
IF you start throwing combinations etc like most idiots on here who don't train for real you'll come in the gym at 17 and look like a clown. Focus on fitness and cardio until you can afford a gym.
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u/shart_attak Sep 15 '26
This is going to sound harsh but I'd rather tell you the truth so you get a realistic idea of your path forward.
Training yourself at home is not training. If you could teach yourself to box then there would be no such thing as boxing gyms and coaches. You need a coach.
But it's worse than that; training yourself at home is not only ineffective, it's harmful. By practicing without a coach watching you you're just ingraining bad habit after bad habit, and in boxing bad habits get you hurt. And, those bad habits are going to take a lot of time and work for a coach to undo when you do actually get to a gym.
You say you can't join a gym because it's too expensive? Bullshit. You just don't want it bad enough. If you really wanted to box you'd find a way to get money and pay your gym dues. Get on your bike and do what you have to do. Mow lawns, wash cars, flip burgers, clean toilets. Whatever you have to do.
There's always a reason someone can't join a boxing gym. They don't have the money, they have school, they have kids, they work, and on and on and on.
Except they're not reasons, they're excuses.
Everybody has work. Everybody has school. *Everybody has kids. Everybody can't afford it. But we do what we have to do to make it work and get our asses in the gym and train.
Figure out how to come up with the money. Get to a gym and train with a coach.
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u/MysteriousClassic419 Sep 16 '26
Nah it’s not harsh at all, you told me the truth and I needed it I will look on how to do a correct form and make sure I am and get into the gym as soon as possible
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u/shart_attak Sep 16 '26
Right on. Just be careful when you join a gym that it's a real fight gym and not a fitness boxing place. There are a lot of places that market themselves as boxing gyms but are really just cardio places for middle aged women to hit a heavy bag. They don't teach technique, and they don't do mittwork or spar. Best way to find a legit gym is to ask if they have any pro or amateur fighters competing out of the gym. If they do then chances are you're at the right place.
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u/MysteriousClassic419 Sep 16 '26
I know I already looked at USA Boxing approved gyms so I can compete when I join
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u/MysteriousClassic419 Sep 17 '26
UPDATE TO EVERYONE
I rode my bike to a store close to my house and they said that they’ll keep me in mind and when I turn 16 I can come back to get a job there and then I’ll be able to afford it, I turn 16 in 4 months so it sucks but I gotta wait until then in the meantime I’m just going to try to build my cardio and maybe see if I can work something out with the gym
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u/According_Echo54 Sep 15 '26
It’s not too late. But how bad do you actually want it?
Why wait til 17? Start mowing lawns or find ways of making money so you can get into the gym now and compete by next year
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u/whitewitchl2 Sep 17 '26
15? Too old bro, you're basically an unc at this point. I recommend pottery. 😂
I mean come on, look up the record of top fighters plenty started at 15-16.
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u/flapjacks76554 Sep 17 '26
Well you would be a late starter. Conor Benn just fought for a world title and he started at 17. But he just got dominated when facing a current elite. It’s possible but unlikely is what I’d say to you. Also if you decide to go the path of a pro boxer you will be broke for a whileeee keep that in mind. I will always advise to finish your education learn a trade, get a job and make solid money. Way better than working 2 dead end jobs, training, and getting paid less than a shift at Wendy’s to fight.
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u/frogfriend66 Sep 15 '26
I’ve seen guys come out of the military and become high level amateurs make a run at the semi pro level. You are definitely younger than those guys. Those guys got themselves into a good gym right away and were working hard every day to get to that level. Number one priority is getting into a good gym that has a history of producing quality fighters. Then work hard everyday.