Expert: Jack Rose - 7/1/2011

Question
QUESTION: Jackson, let me start by saying I'm 40, now  I had 11amatuer matches 15yrs ago at which I was very successful losing only 1. I had a coach that wanted me to go pro, but coming out of military, I needed work and never took him up on offer. I have kept up sparring occasionally. My question is I have this itch to go pro, I had an idea to fight some masters fights and then make that move,just to be smart and get rust out. What you think?

ANSWER: Terrence,

You could turn pro for the fun of it just to see what happens although any hopes of a title shot are likely too far down the road. It will take you years to build a respectable record because you don't fight much in the pros. If you get 5 fights a year your doing great. Even if you went undefeated you would be mid to late 40's before you were taken serious enough to be offered legit fights.
But that doesn't mean you can't take a few fights just to see how you do. If you came out blasting and knocking people out then you might turn some heads. But you would really have make a lot of noise in a short period of time.

If I were you I would fight the masters fights and make my goal to win the ringside world championships as that is the most competitive masters division in the world. But I also would not fault you for chasing a dream. But, I have to be honest... it is quite a long shot.

good luck

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yeah your right, dangerous to, not only that, but you got stay pro no more turning back to fight amatuer.  I will focus on masters,I just need to train myself on a fast pace system.Any pointers on that? By the way your boxing technique sounds very similiar to the style I've developed through the years. Great job on allexperts,more boxers should look at this sight,and talk to you. Thanks T

Answer
Thanks...  and yes, you need to get lots of sparring. The more time you spend in the ring the better.
Spend all your time in the gym working on boxing skills and sparring. Do all of your cardio and exercises outside the gym. Meaning, take full advantage of gym time and working with your trainer.

Tell your trainer you are shooting for the ringside masters. You should get more attention than if he just thinks your coming in for a workout. Make sure your trainer is behind you, he is the guy who will keep the machine oiled and running smoothly.

Offensively focus on being aggressive and controlling the tempo of sparring sessions. Meaning, don't be the counter puncher. Countering only gets you so far in the amateurs. Be the boss in the ring. In the masters, you can stop many guys early who are just doing it to mark it off their bucket list. It gets you to the cats who are really competitive like you quicker.

Plenty of sparring will get you there quicker. Just make sure your technique is correct before you start the sparring or you'll develop bad habits that will be hard to correct.

good luck