Mike Tyson and the late Cus D'Amato
Fear is a powerful thing. It can cause chest pains,
palpitation and hives. It’s all in the mind and to conquer it is to
succeed. A fearful mind is not a focused one. To be at your best you
need skill, perseverance and focus. Conquering fear is a great asset
that contributes to success.
Legendary boxing trainer and manager Cus D’Amato once
spoke about fear and the importance of conquering it:
"Boxing is a sport of
self-control. You must understand Fear so you can manipulate it.
Fear is like fire. You can make it work for you: it can warm you in
the winter, cook your food when you’re hungry, give you light when
you are in the dark, and produce energy. Let it go out of control
and it can hurt you, even kill you….Fear is a friend of exceptional
people."
"There is no such thing as
a natural puncher. There is a natural aptitude for punching and that
is different. Nobody is born the best. You have to practice and
train to become the best."
"The next thing I do, I
get them in excellent condition….Knowing how the mind is and the
tricks it plays on a person and how an individual will always look
to avoid a confrontation with something that is intimidating, I
remove all possible excuses they’re going to have before they get in
there. By getting them in excellent condition, they can’t say when
they get tired that they’re not in shape. When they’re in excellent
shape I put them into the ring to box for the first time, usually
with an experience fighter who won’t take advantage of them."
"When the novice throws
punches and nothing happens, and his opponent keeps coming at
him…the new fighter becomes panicky. When he gets panicky he wants
to quit, but he can’t quit because his whole psychology from the
time he’s first been in the streets is to condemn a person who’s
yellow. So what does he do? He gets tired."
"This is what happens to
fighters in the ring. They get tired. This is what happens to
fighters in the ring. They get tired, because they’re getting
afraid….Now that he gets tired, people can’t call him yellow.
He’s
just too 'tired' to go on. But let that same fighter strike back
wildly with a visible effect on the opponent and suddenly that
tired, exhausted guy becomes a tiger….It’s a psychological fatigue,
that’s all it is. But people in boxing don’t understand that."
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