White Collar Boxing - My Advice

First time viewer of the channel. This video made me subscribe.

Great vid Fran....thank you for sharing.

Brother, my dad was a Mechanic and he taught me a thing or two... but when our vehicles act up we take them to the shop we trust just down the road. They provide us with a service that will take us wherever we need to go without worry. If I were to become financially independent you could expect a knock on your door for training with the same mindset. Well and humbly done.
Donnie

You are the kind of coach I would send my son to learn from! Thanks for all your hard work!

I’m doing this in February. Any advice?

I had 20 or so varying levels of thai boxing fights.
And under 18yrs I'd done 6 boxing bouts.
Had a promoter ask me to white collar box...reckoning the logic was...I was a 0 fight boxer. Weigh in 24hrs before.

Chucking me in with a guy who has been boxing for less than 6 months and is a natural resting weight of 69kg

I'd have walked into that ring at nearly 79kg with all that experience.

I said no.

It's lethal. Mismatched and more corrupt than politics.

My girlfriend's nephew is white collar boxing for charity on Saturday. He is 16 and he is up against a " coach " from another club who looks in his 40s after his opponent dropped out . Surely a 40 yr old man should not be up against a young boy ? Word is the old guys club done this before to win and get wins in their club's name . This 40yr old guy looks dodgy and hoping the young lad doesn't get hurt

From experience a lot of the White Collar promoters cut corners. They don't have ambulances on standby, which as per BBBofC rules is an absolute MUST (Since Watson vs Eubank 2). The so called "medical staff" tend to be St John Ambulance, whilst they are medically trained, they are not specifically trained for combat sports. There are certain aspects a proper combats sports medic needs to be looking out for. Medicals are never done before and after fights... I've seen some dodgy things in my time being around this sport. The different between "white collar" please do not call it "semi-pro" there is no such thing as semi pro, theres White Collar, amauter and then professional. One thing that also ticks me off is someone winning a micky mouse belt in white collar then claiming to be "champion" go fight any amauter boxer and I can gaurentee they'll punish you.... with ease

My trainer broke my rib before my first fight. I didn't even know it till a couple days later. Still fought with it broken, but didn't get hit there. It took over 6 months to heal. Wasn't painful unless i was lifting something like weights.

Nah, a minute in and I'm bored as fuck.

Good video. You don’t play Boxing. I’ve done White Collar now twice for charity and it both where amazing experiences but it isn’t easy. I was lucky enough due to Covid to have over a years training with a few good coaches but some of the guys in the gym hit like trucks. You have to be careful and know when to say no. Like you say forget Ego.

The white collar boxing I've watched... there's no way any damage could occur due to the inexperience of the fighters. I disagree, as I think it brings people to the sport, makes then realise how hard it is, it's not just brute force, but an art

Hi Fran, great video thanks. I’ve got into boxing in the last year at my local gym and doing 1:1 lessons with the coach. I’m 44 now so not possible to get an amateur license in the UK so as I understand it, if we discount unlicensed, then something like UWCB is the best option to give it a go? Got the registration mtg next week so I will be sure to ask some key questions, particular as to how the bouts will be matched. Cheers

Excellent content ! Extremely well put and very helpful 👍🥊

U r a great coach! Good to come back to some of your vids after a few years and take another look. Greting from Poland. All the best Fran Sands ;)

This video comes randomly exactly on time. Just wanted to know how real fight looks like. Box is box, well said. Yesterday we had video conference with the coach . I think 2 hours per week is not enough for 8 weeks to be ready. Also noticed that many people have pictures from the ring. Not looking amateurs fairly fight based on skills. Everyone easily can say that never has touch with boxing 🥊. Thanks for your honesty advice. I think to skip this risk and join to krav maga training instead or amateurs boxing in town. Just noticed that all clubs are not involved in that. It's make me big red light blinking in my head .

Interesting guy ….very knowledgable ….I’m not a big fan of white collar,I think if you want to box then go join a club and go the amateur way, like it was years ago

Very well spoken.

So true. This is pertinent to going into any type of gym. I visited an American karate gym and it got a little too competitive. ( I had learned boxing on an Army Camp: Camp King, Oberursel Germany. ) A green belt was smacking my arms pretty hard. He was just a teen. So I started wracking him back. Well, their whole gym started seeing me as an unwanted competitor. I really was there just to learn. Every place has a status quo and an unspoken code of doing things. American Karate has a strong Mormon sector. As such the people there may have an "us against the world mentality". I learned some martial arts from guy that was a sniper in the Army; the prevailing sense seemed like teaching someone that was on his side. You should know where people are coming from in that gym you are going to. For some it is exercise. For others it is a serious lifestyle. Some places don't mind seeing you get hurt, if you are not one of their crew & you have already signed a waiver. This is good to know, especially if your past experience has always been inclusive and nurturing. You can learn a lot from an antagonist, but in that environment, you should be darn near the best one in the room on any given day... and you shouldn't be paying money to get your ass whupped.

Hi fran, i,m signed up for a white collar boxing fight in december simply because i was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago now and wanna give something back.
I have a couyple of years of muay thai traning under my belt from a few years agoi and have had 2 interclubs.
At 47 would you advise me to carry on with this fight? cheers mate, loving your channel.

Thank you Fran. This is helpful and interesting for me as a latecomer novice. Andy

Nice one Fran. Got my first white collar in 3 weeks aged 36. Will move and go with straight shots

This guy speaks the truth.

Plenty of incompetent mediocre amateurs in these events ready to hurt another inexperienced person. The whole thing is a f.. money making machine out of the goodwill of people.

I tried a uwcb event at 38 years old to raise a bit of money for cancer research, I have a fighting background from younger years and had my eye on who I thought I’d like to fight , I was suprised when the match ups took place as they clearly had there favoured match ups the remaining contenders where just put together without any regard of experience or size/weight difference, on the night most of the training went out the window and most looked like they where in a pub brawl just looking to take someone’s head off in front of there family and friends, I had a decent fight and it looked like two boxers thankfully as I was looking to win and it was a charity event, I wasn’t looking to hospitalise somebody, so if your a novice enter with caution, there was a pre and post medical check as last think you want is to get in there with someone coked off there nut looking to kill you , it’s a great experience but if you feel you’ve been unfairly mismatched then do yourself a favour and say something as they will listen there decision isn’t final until the the night , one more thing , I thought the sparing was brief over 10 weeks it was mainly cardio so for anyone who hasn’t stepped between the ropes on the night it will be a shock taking your first proper punch , good luck but if your young and are interested in boxing do it properly and find a decent amateur gym and get licensed.

Excellent video. Thank you very much for sharing. More people need to see this before getting involved in Boxing.

Josh conroy's welsh white collar boxing is mickey mouse promotion he has is fighters to give weight away in contests fighters are drinking alcohol & taking drugs before the contests happen conroy paying the medical team to pass fighters these people and plus most of the money raised goes in conroy pocket the man a complete villain

How much of that money being raised for charity actually goes to charity?

Great advice. Am considering doing one on the 29th April.

I fought last year , they put me with a 26yr old 76kg, I was 52! 71kg ., they took minutes to match us up.

We drew ...

Alot of these events I have attended have been so dangerous and the people that put the fights together have made it a complete mis-match, absolutely no idea how dangerous this really is some of the lads going into it were amateur boxers against complete novices, just a complete no no, no doubt a great cause but do your homework if you are seriously thinking about jumping in the ring

had a motivational speaker come who revealed he competed in white collar events as an olympian. All said proudly with a straight face - he didn't even grasp the unfairness

I’m 44 reasonably fit but can’t box club level in U.K. unlike say America. I don’t wanna do the blue collar stuff. ABA should raise the age to 50s at least it’s not fair to those who want to participate within their age category

here's our sick weak society: you are compelled to do periodic courses on safety...ok...sounds fair enough til you hear that it's not just physical 'safety', but now you have to provide, lol...psychological and emotional 'safety'...

I'm doing ultra white collar boxing in July. I'm very much looking forward to it I won't lie, I'm excited to get in the ring and take on this massive challenge. I'm taking it as seriously as I possibly can, because while I do want to have fun and I am excited to do this, I also don't want to get hurt or to seriously hurt anyone else (I say "seriously hurt" because this is boxing and at the end of the day, at least one of us is going to get hurt on some level, can't really get around that fact). I want to get fit, I want to dedicate myself to a challenge, I want to test myself, all of that. But none of that is worth putting lives on the line.

Has anyone here got experience with UWCB? From what I can tell there will be a full medical staff there, a medical exam before and after the fight, I have to fill out a PAR-Q questionnaire, I will have access to private health insurance, they say that we'll be matched to an even opponent in terms of weight, experience and ability (though I don't know how they'll know if someone is lying to get an easy fight). From what I can tell, it all looks to be on the up and up. I've read about a death at one of their events in Leicester though, which is an absolute tragedy and gives me some hesitation. So if anyone here has done this with them, I would really appreciate your opinion on the matter.

sounds like fight club

Love your videos

I started training when I was 35 (in those days too old for ABA) but carried on till I was 40. Sparring now and again with the ABA lads who, to be fair, didn't take the piss out of the old guy, but, obviously were fit and young and competing. It was hard.

Moved around the country and didn't do anything for years.

At 55 I found I had middle-age spread that needed to be got rid of. I contacted a local ABC who basically laughed,

I then found a guy (world champion in his day; OK for one of the lesser belts) who was doing 1:1 training. Really enjoyed that and joined a martial arts gym that also did boxing training.

From that did a well organised charity White Collar fight.

The group was beginners, and those pretending to be beginners to get an easy fight in front of their mates were weeded out

When it came to matching, it was generally within the group, but when it came to it the coaches said "mate, usually age isn't a factor, but that's when everyone in the group is in their 20s or 30s; not knocking 60 (I was 56 by then). So, we've matched you with a guy aged 45 which is the closest we can get. Yeah, he's done it before and he's bigger than you, but hasn't been training for this. He's got some limited experience but you've been training like a maniac [5 times a week, including loads of sparring outside of the White Collar group]. You've got the fitness and the skill.

It turned out well. I avoided getting into a toe-to-toe with him, and stuck to jab and move, and, yes he was gassing out. Points success after the 3X2 rounds. 🥊whoop!

Still training at 62 (63 in January) but am aware that "white collar" is a vary vague term. The boundary between "white collar" as I understand it and "semi-pro" is very vague. The bottom line is that it's all unlicensed and down to the organisers.

If you want to do it, great, but be careful out there.

For myself, it was a "bucket list" thing I thought I'd never do, but what worked for me may not work for you.

So I started when I was 14 it took me 2 years to get my first fight. I competed in amateurs in my early twenties. I'm now 36 5 stone heavier, also loads of wear and tear. I thought about training for masters in amateurs but can't train as much as I Need to, to be a amateur boxer. So.ive decided to fight in white collar plus i get to give money to charity. I've signed up for one and they asked if I had experience I told them the truth as I think I afight should always be fair. They just said that I would have to compete with someone who has had a couple of white collar fights. So I've signed up for January and tye 8 weeks training starts November

Just cancelled my WCB bout and taking the Boxing Gym route. When my gut says this guy is right i dont argue. Thanks man

Thanks for this. I took up boxing quite recently (aged 60) as a means to get fit, while learning something beyond counting times or weights, and to complement my EMDR therapy. I had no intention of fighting necessarily, but when I get the gloves on, I feel like I want to get at it. I have a fab coach and he echoes everything you say (or the other way round). Point being - this is a fantastic sport to be involved with, even at my advanced age, but proper coaching and realistic aspirations are key. If I never get to fight, so be it, but if I do, I'll be properly prepared and matched.

Is there any in Hamilton as I can't travel far

I boxed year's ago with Walter McGowan was my trainer that was 20 odd years ago i would love to do it again

I did UWCB twice and got fairly matched each time and came away with a love for the sport. The camp was managed really well to create a competitive evening. I went on to do the unlicensed white collar fights which tends to be about making money. Out of the 20 fights from the shows I’ve fought on, I’d say you had 2 competitive fights, a large number of guys being paid to lose against raw novices and then complete mismatches. For me it’s a dangerous game, giving lads a false sense of security until they step up against someone who is seasoned and comes into a white collar fight as they will get pummelled regardless of how fit they are, skills always prevail from a guy who knows how to create the angles and land heavy body shots. For me I dipped my toe in and feel like I’ve done enough but I still train most nights which has then opened up new doors into other martial arts. I feel the best I’ve felt in my life. Without that stepping stone of the white collar game that wouldn’t have happened so I think in some cases it definitely has a place, especially if you’re getting into it after 20 years of age.

Thank you for your advice as I was about to sign up and start the training for a white collar event in the NW Having listened to your advice I’m now looking at learning the art of boxing in a more controlled and regulated environment. Thank you for your valuable advice and I’ll let you know how it goes.

I've been boxing a year and a half and not naturally talented so had to work hard to develop my skills as a boxer. I've had 4 white collar fights now under different promotions. They were all without a headguard at 16oz gloves, one of which was 12oz. I lost them all which was disappointing. Two on majority decision and the other two on TKO. I'm at the point now where I don't know whether or not I want to continue. Should I keep going or is it just not meant for me?

I've seen white collar fights online and done of them have bad technique or doing their own blocks etc that's not even boxing, is that allowed?

Sound advice and points well made, I have subscribed

Not all white collar is unlicensed nor semi pro. Governing bodies such as the PBA sanction such as these events making it just as licensed and safe as a board sanctioned fight. the PBA have to get you to agree to the rules and regulations within the Semi Pro rules. Everyone has to have a license. including trainers and cornermen.There is random drug testing for both performance enhancing drugs and any recreational usage. testing.