AARON CHALMERS would never have bet he would be a TV celebrity on the cusp of fighting boxing royalty when he was stuck on the oil rigs.
Chalmers shot to fame on MTV’s hit reality series Geordie Shore but swapped the booze for boxing in recent years.
Aaron Chalmers working as a scaffolder
Aaron Chalmers shot to fame on Geordie Shore
Aaron Chalmers has fought in pro MMA and boxing
And he has landed himself a life-changing fight against American great Floyd Mayweather, on February 25 at the O2 Arena.
It marks an incredible rise for Chalmers, who at one point questioned his life prospects while scaffolding on the rig.
He told SunSport: “I used to stand there, obviously because it was on the water, I used to stand looking into the middle of the sea and think, ‘There’s got to be something better for me, there has to be something different.’
“I couldn’t see myself doing it for the rest of my life, on the oil rigs, but I never f*****g thought it would lead to this.
“If someone had told me ten years ago, ‘Put a bet on that you’re going to fight Floyd Mayweather’ I would’ve been like, ‘No chance.’
“It hasn’t sunk in, I’m going to be honest with you. It still hasn’t sunk in that it’s happening.
“But it is happening and hopefully it’s going to do me wonders for my fight career.”
Chalmers left the construction trade at 26 to sign up for a life of partying in the Geordie Shore house, where he spent four years of his life.
And the same strive for something bigger in life is what has helped him land a meeting in the ring with boxing’s best in Mayweather.
Chalmers, 35, said: “There was something in us, I just knew I wasn’t going to be scaffolding for the rest of my life.
“I couldn’t tell you what it was going to be, but I just couldn’t see myself being on the oil rigs for the rest of my life.
“Which was a good job by the way, I was getting well paid, but there was just something in us, I never settle.
“I always want to push on and try and get something more and, even last year was a quiet year but I kept thinking, ‘I’m going to get something big, something big’s going to come.’
“Now here we are in possibly the biggest fight of my entire life. It doesn’t get much bigger than this.”
Aaron Chalmers had four years on Geordie Shore
Aaron Chalmers made his MMA debut in 2017
Chalmers packed his Geordie Shore bags to make a switch to professional fighting in 2017, debuting in MMA.
After three years, seven bouts and five wins, he made the move to boxing last July, beating Alexander Zeledon.
During the six-year period, Mayweather, 45, officially retired from the sport but has continued to box in exhibition bouts.
And he announced plans to debut in the UK but was left scrambling for an opponent when Muay Thai legend Liam Harrison, 37, pulled out injured.
Chalmers took it upon himself to reach out to a mutual contact he has within Mayweather’s team to put himself forward.
And after a few days of agonising negotiations and waiting, he was given the green light.
Floyd Mayweather beat YouTuber Deji in his last exhibition
Aaron Chalmers had a 5-2 MMA record
Chalmers said: “It’s surreal, seeing the promotion stuff online, seeing him and me in the same videos, it’s like, ‘This is actually happening.’
“It’s crazy. I’m not sleeping too bad, I think because I’m training so hard I don’t sleep too bad!
“But about an hour before bed, I’m thinking, ‘What the f***, I’m going to be fighting Floyd Mayweather, it’s crazy.”
Chalmers has been training since the new year, having accepted a fight on KSI’s Misfits promotion against an 80kg southpaw.
And after being afforded the deal of a lifetime, Chalmers hopes for more to come in a jam-packed 2023.
He said: “There’s been phone calls, Whatsapps, I feel after the Floyd fight things are going to explode on the boxing scene for me.
“There’s talks about fights for me in April, May, July, so everything’s opening up now and that’s before we’ve even had the fight.
“So if I can go in there and put on a good performance, who knows what’s going to come after it.”
Chalmers has overcome bouts of anxiety during his career, fighting off the harsh trolls online.
And now he finds himself just weeks away from an extraordinary exhibition with Mayweather, in just his second boxing bout.
He said: “The thing is, social media these days everyone’s got an opinion.
“So you can listen to everyone’s opinion or think, f*** them and do your own thing.
“I used to look and listen to the comments and think, ‘Maybe I’m doing the wrong thing.’ But if I listened to everyone’s comments I’d never leave the house.
“Apparently I’m a s*** dad, I’m a s*** boxer, I’m a s*** f*****g drinker, everything online I’m s*** at.
“But I’ve had a f*****g successful ten-year career since leaving the scaffold so I can’t be that at things.
“So yeah, I feel like you have to brush it to one side. Everyone’s going to have an opinion, but they’re not doing what I’m doing.”
Aaron Chalmers is 1-0 as a boxer
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it take to become professional boxer?
Professional boxing requires years of dedication and hard work. A minimum of 10 hours per week is required to train to become a professional ring fighter.
Can you learn to box?
You can learn how to box. Find a local boxing gym and sign up for a class. Most gyms offer free classes, but if you don’t see one nearby, you can always look up local boxing clubs on Google.
You will also need gloves, mouthpieces and headgear to sparring with your partners. Once you have the necessary equipment, you are ready to practice your punches or kicks.
What are the 7 punches to boxing?
The seven punches in boxing are jab, cross, hook, uppercut, straight right, left hook, and body shot. These punches can be used to strike the opponent’s head and body.
How much weight should I lift to be a successful shopper?
Lifting weights is important if you wish to build your strength. When lifting weights, there are some guidelines that you should follow. You should not overdo it. Try to lift heavier weights every day. Third, complete each exercise 8 times. Fourth, rest for 2 minutes between sets. Fifth, you can do all the exercises without using momentum. The last tip is to focus on form over speed.
Statistics
- It is just like normal sparring with a partner, but you want to throw punches at 75% of your normal speed. (wikihow.com)
- This article received 39 testimonials and 89% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. (wikihow.com)
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How To
Here are the Essential Skills of Boxing
How to box effectively
Boxing is one of the most popular sports in the world. It consists of two opponents who try to knock out each other’s head. There are different rules for boxing, and they vary from one country to the next. There are three main types of boxing: Amateur boxing, Professional boxing, and Olympic boxing.
Amateur boxing usually takes place at school, college and university. This form of boxing involves sparring with no protection and using padded gloves. Amateur boxing contests are usually three rounds in length, lasting five minutes each. There are many styles to amateur boxing like Kickboxing. Muay Thai. Taekwondo. Karate. Judo. Wrestling.
Boxing is typically practiced in clubs, stadiums or gyms. They use protective equipment, such as mouthpieces, nose guards, shin protectors, elbow pads knee pads, waist belts and groin protectors. Six rounds of professional boxing last four minutes each. There are many different types of professional Boxing such as Boxing, MMA, Kickboxing, Muay Thai or Taekwondo.
Olympic boxing takes place at the Olympics. International standards dictate that boxers must wear protective gear. The competition lasts approximately three minutes for each round. Olympic boxing can be divided into two types: Light Flyweight (Heavyweight) and Heavyweight (Light Flyweight).
Boxing’s fundamental skills are:
- Punching techniques
- Guarding techniques
- Footwork
- Stance
- Body movement
- Defense
- Combination
- Rotation
- Spare parts
Punching Techniques
There are seven types: Left Hook (right hook), Right Hook (uppercut), Cross (cross), Straight, Overhand, Underhand. Each punch has its own technique. Some punches require more strength than others. For example, an uppercut requires great force. A straight punch on the other side requires less power, but is more effective than other punches.
There are also different combinations. These are combinations which combine several punches in order to achieve a specific goal. A combination may have multiple parts. An example of this is a left hook, followed by a right crossing. This will damage the opponent’s jaw.
Guard Techniques
A boxer protects himself by using his body. He does this by using his legs, arms, elbows, hands, knees and feet.
Legs
To defend against kicks, a boxer should use his legs. When he’s hit, he raises his right leg and runs away from the attacker. To avoid being kicked on the sides, he bends at his knees when the attacker strikes from the front. But if the attack comes in the back, he will stand straight and block the kick using his foot.
Elbows
Elbow strikes are very effective because they inflict much pain. You can deliver an elbow strike directly or indirectly. Directly means that you hit your opponent with your forearm while indirectly means that you hit him with another part of your arm.
Hands
Boxers use the power of their hands to block any incoming blows. To do so, they raise their fists above their head and move them towards the direction of the attack. Then they make contact with the attacker’s fist.
Knees
Boxers who are subject to a punch to their stomachs, abdomens, or chests should bend at the knees to absorb the impact. Knee strikes can be used to defend yourself.
Feet
Boxers should respond to being attacked by their opponent by standing back and delivering counter-attacks. This way, he can gain distance between himself and his opponent. In addition, when delivering a counter-attack, a boxer should keep his balance.
Stances
In order to box effectively, a boxer needs to establish a stance. The way he defends him will be dictated by his stance. It determines where he will face his opponent and how he will position his body. Boxers can take many different stances. Here are some of the more popular ones:
- Low stance
- High stance
- Southpaw stance
- Western stance
Moving your body
To win a fight, a fighter must move around the opponent. This involves changing position, speed and rhythm.
Rotation
Rotating his arm to increase the puncher’s reach is a key part of boxing. The rotation is done at different speeds depending on the type of punch.
Combinations
The effectiveness of a combination depends on the timing of each individual punch. A combination that works well starts with strong punches and ends with weak ones is a winning combination.
Spares
Sparring is a practice session designed to improve boxing skills . Sparring allows a boxer to improve his mental and physical skills. Sparring, in conclusion, is about learning how to fight and not getting hurt.
You need to have patience and dedication in order to learn how boxing works. To become a better boxer, you must train hard and for a long time.
