The sport of boxing has a long, storied history that goes far back into antiquity. In fact, in one form or another, boxing has existed for approximately 5000 years—that’s as long as humans have been using writing.
Yet even in modernity, boxing has remained antiquated, as have the training regimens of the pugilists. As late as the 21st century, boxers have been using such draconian practices as dipping their fists and faces in saline solutions or petrol like Tyson Fury, abstaining from sexual intercourse of any kind (“women weaken legs!” warned Micky, the crusty trainer in the iconic Rocky), and even drinking their own urine like Juan Manuel Marquez.
Over time, boxing has begrudgingly incorporated some measures of safety and fairness (weight classes, for instance, were only introduced in 1880, prior to which the David-versus-Goliath matches were not just common but an attraction), but technological advances in the sport have been viewed with suspicion and even contempt. Many fighters and trainers today still favor the old-school approaches. As such, boxing’s moniker of “the sweet science” might be considered somewhat dubious.
However, the once insular and dogmatic culture of boxing has grown more receptive to newer regimes and practices. While the days of trainers yelling at their wards to run six miles uphill or chop down trees may never truly go away, modern training camps have incorporated a gamut of devices and gadgets to supplement their fighter’s progress.
“Be As Water, My Friend” ~ Bruce Lee
A staple of boxing training is the “roadwork”—jogging and running drills. In a typical training camp, fighters are known to run as much as 3 – 5 miles daily, with some even running more than 10 miles on uphill roads! The wear and tear on the body from such repeated strain is immense, and some boxers like Deontay Wilder have abstained from running completely because “it tears up the knees over time.”
Instead, Wilder has substituted running drills with underwater drills. While swimming has long been used by boxers as a full body workout (and Wilder does swim traditional laps for this very reason), carrying out boxing drills in a swimming pool is relatively new. The chief con in this method, however, is the fact that boxers require specialized equipment like breathing masks or breathing tubes to make sure they can still breathe, both of which are cumbersome when punching and trying to perfect form.
To combat this, Wilder uses the Aquajogger to ensure that his head remains above water while the rest of his body is submerged. Aquajogger is a specialized buoyancy belt that operates on the principal of balance in water. On land, our body’s center of balance is near our hips. In water, however, our center of balance is near our lungs, which causes us to change our posture in water (this is why we instinctively fold at the waist when submerged).
Aquajogger is worn snugly across the user’s waist to restore the center of balance to the hips, allowing the wearer to stand and move in water like they would on land. Furthermore, Aquajogger comes with a cable that can be attached to the edge of the swimming pool, letting the user exercise in one spot.
With Aquajogger, Wilder can perform a plethora of running and boxing drills to perfect his form and muscle memory in a low-impact medium that won’t adversely affect his immense 6’7” frame. The water provides natural resistance to his movement which augments his explosivity during a match.
Breathing Power
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko is nicknamed Hi-Tech because of his scientific boxing style. With an astounding amateur pedigree of 396 wins and only one loss, Lomachenko took the world of professional boxing by storm, winning the WBO featherweight title in only his third fight in 2014 and remaining undefeated for nearly six years. Outside of prodigious talent and ambidextrous punching power, Lomachenko’s success is also attributed to a multi-discipline, methodical approach to training. From introducing logic puzzles and other mathematical exercises to augment his cognitive skills and mental endurance, to mastering Ukrainian dance which relies on strong legs, balance and extreme dexterity of the feet, Lomachenko’s camp is a congruous blend of tradition and technology.
Breathing is one particular aspect of Lomachenko’s training that marries tradition with technology. On top of swimming and holding his breath underwater, Lomachenko also uses POWERbreathe K5 to improve his breathing. This handheld inspiratory muscle training (IMT) device is designed with an adjustable resistance mechanism that forces Lomachenko’s lungs and diaphragm to work harder when inhaling. Exhalation, on the other hand, is unencumbered, allowing his lungs and diaphragm to relax. As such, POWERbreathe is essentially “dumbbells for your diaphragm.”
Additionally, the device comes with BreatheLink software that displays all the gathered breathing data—complete with airflow volume, inspiratory power, inspiratory flow, and energy used. It also allows the user to monitor their breathing over successive periods of time. It’s no surprise then that Lomachenko’s stamina is legendary. In fact, his personal record for holding his breath is over four minutes. By comparison, despite their spartan training regimes, Navy SEALs can hold their breath for only two to three minutes.
A Show of Hands
Nothing is more important to boxers than their hands, which are the fulcrum on which the entire sport rests. Unsurprisingly, the latest technology is focused on gathering as much data as possible on hand dexterity, explosivity, speed and power.
Four such technologies include PIQ Robot Blue, Hykso, Striketec and Corner sensors. These all operate on a similar principle: two small sensors are attached to the fighter’s wrist, be it on the wraps, the outside, or the inside of the glove. Once activated, they monitor the number of punches, the power behind the punches, the velocity of the punches, the boxer’s heart rate, and other data. These devices are also designed to be sweat-resistant, as a boxer’s hands sweat profusely during training and matches.
According to its website, Hykso boasts a powerful AI processor that is “trained with thousands of punches and movements of professional, amateur and novice boxers” and can track six degrees of motion “hundreds of times per second.” Hysko pairs with any smartphone over Bluetooth to relay all workout information in real-time. Not only does the app allow fighters to view their progress in numbers or charts, but they can also compare progress with other fighters at the gym.
PIQ Robot is a powerful nano-computer that can analyse nearly 200,000 data points per minute. The device syncs with a smartphone through Bluetooth to allow the boxer full access to all the data pertaining to his or her workout via the app. PIQ also has a simple LED display that provides the boxer with all the essential information about their workout without even needing to get the smartphone out. PIQ Robot is capable of providing feedback for all kinds of boxing drills, including sparring, shadow boxing, heavy bag drills and mitt work. That’s not all though. Once a training session is completed, PIQ Robot also relays where the boxer excels and where he or she stands to make improvements.
Designed be a “smart glove,” Striketec is distinguished from other hand sensors by the plethora of drills, exercises and additional features that come with the smartphone app. The app offers private chat, a public leaderboard, a chance to compete at drills with friends, and even a social media newsfeed.
Corner, too, offers the same tracking ability but with the added benefit of having new drills and exercises added weekly to continuously challenge boxers. Boxers can sync their device with their TV and view their stats (heart rate, number of punches thrown, speed and power of punches, etc.) on a larger screen and engage in online class sessions with dedicated trainers. Boxers can also connect to Spotify to motivate themselves with their personalized music playlist.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
For a sport with such a storied history, boxing is not without its tragedies. The inherent irony of the sport is that the human body is not actually designed to sustain such punishment. We are fragile creatures and this sad reality manifests itself in the form of frequent knockouts, which are one of the reasons behind the sport’s continued popularity. Countless boxers have suffered severe injuries, head trauma and even death because they took one too many punches to the head. Chronic Traumatic Encephalitis (CTE), Alzheimer’s, chronic migraines and memory loss are all too common amongst retired boxers and even boxers who are still active.
While boxing continues to evolve with stringent refereeing and compulsory MRIs following serious knockouts, the dangers of head trauma are still severe and long-lasting. Devising methods for detecting brain injuries as soon as possible is not just desirable but absolutely crucial.
Smart mouthguards, like Impact Monitor Mouthguard from Prevent Biometrics, notify their users any time impact to the head is detected during boxing (or any other sport). Automatically paired with a smartphone, this device will not just indicate that there was an event (i.e., impact to the head) but will provide a real-time breakdown pertaining to the exact spot on the head where the impact occurred, along with the force of the impact, the angular and linear acceleration, time of the impact, and the overall number of impacts received in a match.
As someone who has been an avid fan of the sport and considers it his first love, boxing is beautifully cathartic. It encapsulates so much of life’s great romances and tragedies, but in a language that all humans can understand. It is contained violence and disciplined aggression. It is measuring your ability and skills against another in the most straightforward, unambiguous way possible.
Boxing has given us mythic figures like Muhammad Ali and Julio Caesar Chavez who challenged their society’s attitudes and carried their nation’s pride on their shoulders every time they fought. It allowed men and women from marginalized communities to overcome the hand dealt to them. Yet for all the splendor and glory, there has been too much tragedy. More important than tracking boxers’ power and speed, more necessary than enhancing their stamina, is ensuring their long-term health and safety. As such, technology like smart mouthguards should be made compulsory in not just boxing matches but in all facets of training. As a fan of the sport, I believe it behooves us all to ensure that the health and safety of boxers remains paramount.