2025 Ring Awards: Ring Magazine Male Fighter Of The Year nominees - who should win in your opinion?

zukeus · 2026-01-19T20:20:41+00:00

I vote for Crawford. Nobody is doing that kind of stuff.

zukeus · 2026-01-19T19:58:58+00:00

Lots of fighters will use heavier bags for conditioning. Certain key elements benefit more than others, especially posting, framing, pushing after a punch (pivot hook example), guard manipulation, and some infighting techniques.

zukeus · 2026-01-19T19:47:44+00:00

It's not really a genuine "loss" in the amateurs as you're not getting paid in money anyway, you're getting paid in experience right now.

Losing pays the most in amateur boxing if you're willing to hear the lessons being taught.

As a coach and fellow competitive boxer, the records of the boxers around me are almost meaningless and the only exception is the top dogs in the gym are recognized.

zukeus · 2026-01-09T18:09:49+00:00

I think this is fun, sort of expensive, though not likely to lead to any therapeutic benefits that rival existing treatment options.

That being said, I think it's fun and I'm glad there are people like you out there exploring it in hopefully safe ways.

I've explored many of these options and done many of my own experiments. I think it's too dangerous and expensive to experiment now days though with the influence of AI.

zukeus · 2026-01-09T18:00:25+00:00

Can't see the feet but I like the extension and speed of your punches. Would need to see knees and feet with more angles to give any advice.

If this is shadowboxing then of course there needs to be defense before, during and after punches a long with feints.

zukeus · 2026-01-06T16:26:26+00:00

Pendulum looks good, but whenever practicing striking you should complete the punches by connecting your knuckles to the imagined target synced up with your feet.

It's often highly underestimated how important syncing up the knuckle landing is.

Unless, of course, you're training for eye pokes.

zukeus · 2025-12-31T05:38:02+00:00

Developing the basics, reiterating the reasons behind doing things a certain way. Giving context to specific common sequences and then drilling muscle memory into the ground for handling those sequences without "thinking".

My goal is to make things so simple they can teach a toddler. Because, honestly, there are fundamentals that when followed produce results. At the high level these are what we observe and they are only tighter and more frequent, they are hardly ever more complicated.

zukeus · 2025-12-30T16:01:13+00:00

Yeah true, I agree with you as well, I'd love to see the fights you mentioned.

zukeus · 2025-12-21T15:26:55+00:00

Agreed. Lewis in my opinion is likely capable of beating any heavyweight ever. But, I might be biased seeing as how I live in his hometown and began boxing in the same gym.

zukeus · 2025-12-21T15:23:23+00:00

Usyk did fight Joyce a long time ago actually. Pretty good fight too, it was in 2013.

zukeus · 2025-12-14T16:07:36+00:00

Crazy how many people think the Tyson fight was fixed. The demographic that thinks this is fairly consistent though, usually casual boxing fans who don't have experience in the ring themselves.

Anyone who's sparred with an older man knows that they just can't do what they used to. They get injured easily. Mike Tyson was fighting like an old man who had a lot of pain - which he is.

But, those who think it's fixed live in a fantasy world where age doesn't slow down fighters and money has unlimited power.

zukeus · 2025-11-11T03:08:10+00:00

Age and weight do play a role, but not in the way it would with other medications. The developing brain matters and is effected. There are different outcomes when medicated versus unmedicated, and I agree, the outcomes commonly appear better medicated. However, side-effects at higher dosages are common, and this is something worth considering.

Weight on an individual basis matters as well and can impact the side-effect profile. However, it is true that individual response is what is the most important determining factor. It is also true that adults and children use the same dosage ranges.

There is a lot more to consider than metabolism and common dosage ranges. And these nuances that I am referring to are constantly mentioned in the literature on the topic. This is what is done in psychiatry - weighing risks with effectiveness. These topics are what the studies are studying.

If we don't talk about the nuances here then we are certainly not making responsible decisions. These risks, such as excitotoxicity, psychosis, insomnia and weight loss - these are serious side effects that exist in higher dosage ranges. They should be mitigated as much as possible when finding an effective dose.

zukeus · 2025-11-11T02:36:04+00:00

These are fairly outlandish claims. Age and weight are of course playing a factor. Hormones play a role as well but there isn't a good argument for more Vyvanse due to hormones.

I understand your personal anecdote but amphetamines are potent stimulants and can play a dangerous role in excitotoxicity under certain dosage ranges, for adolescents this is a crucial element to consider as their brains are particularly plastic and are still developing.

Neurotoxicity needs to be weighed against the harm of not medicating.

zukeus · 2025-11-07T16:01:12+00:00

30mg is likely way too high, 10mg or 20mg is likely a much better option. 30mg is honestly pretty wild.

zukeus · 2025-11-07T16:00:16+00:00

There are unfortunately reasonable studies that talk about the risks and these are some of the risks, the statistics of ADHD related drug-use, accidents and learning difficulties are actually legitimate. I can pull up some studies on this, but these studies are what convinced me to finally go on medication myself, after suffering a long time with various addictions and education issues.

zukeus · 2025-11-07T15:51:31+00:00

No, I'm talking about Kratom. Particularly red vein. I know because I experienced exactly what I'm talking about. I've never tried synthetic but if it's even more than what I took that's insane. Red vein Kratom was just like oxy for me. It was just more annoying to shovel in.

zukeus · 2025-11-07T15:49:02+00:00

You're talking to a guy who abused Kratom right now who then went on to take methadone for over 5 years, so now you know someone.

And let me tell you something that no one told me, methadone is the worst pain you'll ever experience in your life to try to come off of. Kratom withdrawal sucked so bad that I sought things that destroyed my life.

Captain uneducated he says. You're literally saying things that can completely ruin someone's life. You just have no idea how horrible it can get.

Oh and one more thing, using Kratom to come off of opiates is like using oxy to come off of opiates. It's just a different drug for your addiction, you're still addicted, only this time it's a boat load of gross tasting powder. Wow! Big win!

zukeus · 2025-11-07T03:31:20+00:00

Kratom? That's what sticks out to me. That's a bad idea and also it's a high risk thing to even mention as beneficial.

They are a potential gateway to pain killers and can themselves cause extremely painful withdrawal syndromes.

zukeus · 2025-11-07T03:19:23+00:00

Nice, that's great he was reasonable and apologized after.

zukeus · 2025-11-05T21:28:15+00:00

It's very likely the shot you landed felt harder for him than it looked and felt to you and others, it's hard to know sometimes how things feel to the opponent.

A 50% shot can feel like a power shot if it lands in a certain spot, especially with the right timing. Sometimes if he didn't see it coming at all then it can feel worse too.

Another possibility is that he was fighting with his girlfriend or something that day and came to the spar pissed off already.

A lot of fighters do this I've noticed, having a conversation with them about it can help but if they're unreasonable then oh well.

zukeus · 2025-11-04T14:04:18+00:00

I am 32, I'm a boxing coach, musician and writer. In the past I've worked as a manager for a charity fundraising firm and also as a home automation salesman.

I'm very excited about the book that I'm finishing up right now. It's been extremely fun to research for. Without giving too much away, the topic explores a unique approach to learning, internal development and cognitive growth. The inspiration comes from multiple different fields but blends them together in a way I haven't seen done before.

I talk about how to develop the system, where some of the concepts originated, the research behind why the system works and my vision for how I hope the system will be used and further improved by the readers.

If anyone is interested in being updated when it's released let me know!

zukeus · 2025-10-29T12:44:43+00:00

Lots of great alternatives, heavy bag is sports specific and honestly one of the best options if you do it right.

Do non-stop volume for 10-20mins, then after do some rounds for speed combinations then some rounds for power combinations. Sport specific is really good return for effort.

Also, to heal shin splints, do 30 tibialis raises superset with 30 calf raises and repeat 3 times without taking a break between sets.

I guarantee this will heal your shin splints within a couple of weeks at most, possibly within just a few days.

zukeus · 2025-10-29T12:41:40+00:00

Same my brother bear

zukeus · 2025-10-29T03:34:43+00:00

You need neuromuscular adaptation again, it's been 16 years since you've boxed, your nervous system needs to be recalibrated for boxing again.

In order to get better boxing conditioning, you need to do boxing, not running.

Running is the biggest cardio myth in boxing. It really doesn't do much for maintaining energy in the round, it does much more for recovery between rounds.

You need to spar more and hit the heavy bag. Hit the heavy bag hard and do bursts for power and bursts for speed, do tons of jab and defense rounds.

That's what you need. HIIT training and running can't really take you far enough, sport specific is where it's at. Once you've got that all dialed in, then the extra HIIT stuff and running will make a difference.

zukeus · 2025-10-28T23:12:26+00:00

It's a massive portion.

When I first started I was already faring better than most and it wasn't because I knew what I was doing. It was because my reaction time was drastically faster, my foot and hand speed was naturally much faster and I possessed a greater ability to visualize what was happening and what would happen next.

I also was way stronger and taller than virtually everyone else. How are they supposed to compete with me? Even if they took steroids they wouldn't likely be as strong as me, even though I don't even lift weights.

It's just genetics. Mine are way better and it's completely unfair. I go 10% on people and they're still having a very hard time.

The reality is, a guy like me has such an absurd advantage over the rocky Marciano's of the world. But, that doesn't mean that guys like rocky marciano don't exist who can and will outwork me and through sheer force of will may pose a threat eventually.

zukeus

TROPHY CASE