Kenny Weldon on Boxing

By Boxing News - 08/08/2009 - Comments

Weldon1By Sam Gregory: PHILOSOPHY…”Boxing is the art of hitting an opponent from the furthest distance away, exposing the least amount of your body while getting in position to punch with maximum leverage and not getting hit.” With over 40 years in boxing Kenny Weldon has one of the most impressive resumes in the business. He has trained 35 national amateur champions, 3 USA Olympians and worked with over 30 world professional champions over 42 years as a trainer. His amateur record was 114-9-2 and he had 58 professional fights with a record of 50-7-1 with 26 knockouts.

Kenny has been a fighter, trainer, cornerman and clinician all his life. He has worked for several of the top managers in the world as well as Main Event Promotions and Don King. Kenny Weldon’s definition of boxing is recognized around the world and his “YOU CAN LEARN TO BOX INSTRUCTIONAL BOXING VIDEO” is the number 1 instructional video of its kind selling almost 2 million copies worldwide in 7 different languages. Kenny is renowned as well for the creation of “Reaction Punches”, “The Evaluation Line” and the “ISH Bag” in gyms around the world.

When I talked with Kenny this week he told me he is currently working with four pros and about 100 amateur boxers a week through his gym in Houston, Texas. He said, “I have five amateur assistant coaches who handle the bulk of my amateur program.” He went on to say how much he loves working with his amateurs, “I feel an obligation to do so. I give 12-15 coaches clinics around the country and abroad each year as well.”

Kenny considers himself “an evaluation guy”. He does about “10-15 one hour evaluation videos on how to prepare for specific opponents for many managers and trainers around the world”.

When I asked Kenny what he thought were some of the problems with Olympic boxing he said, “USA boxing has too many chiefs and not enough Indians. The entire program needs revamping. The board members themselves need to insist on a head coach who teaches boxing and leaves social programs and politics to someone else. Someone with a ‘proven program’, a history of winning at an elite level; then give him the authority to do so.”

What does Kenny think about a guy with only a few amateur fights and wants to turn pro right away? “To turn pro with less than 50 amateur bouts is crazy,” he said. “The problem today is not the boxers but the coach’s ability to teach at a professional level.”

When comparing the fighters of today to the great fighters of the past Kenny said, “The fighters from the 30-60’s who went on to be great were trained by great teachers. The fighters were hungry for knowledge and to prove themselves to the world. They were willing to give whatever it took to do so. We still have this today in our kids. I laugh every time I hear a couch say, ‘the kids are not like they used to be.’ Yes they are! They have two feet, two legs, two knees, two hips, two shoulders, two arms, two hands, two eyes and a brain. They still fight in a 20X20 ring with four corners and have better boxing equipment to train with than ever before in history…WE HAVE LOST THE SWEET SCIENCE to fathers, lack of knowledge, political correctness, and out governing body.”

“Our boxers can no longer throw all ten punches, move all four directions, pursue, retreat to the corner and get out of the corners. We have become average. Average no longer beats the rest of the world now that they have become us and we are becoming who they once were.”

“Hopkins should have never gotten rid of Bowie Fisher. Roy Jones should have never gotten rid of his father. They could have been with the greats of all time. Bowie and Roy Senior made them through fundamentals and great knowledge and both may have cost themselves greatness. Instead they went with ‘looking good’ and changing the way they fought to please themselves and others. In the end, the boxing ring remains 20X20 with four corners…a place one must know as he knows his mothers face. Real knowledge never gets old.”



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