Tyson Fury’s Daffy Training Regimen has Nat Fleischer Spinning in his Grave

The late Nat Fleischer, the co-founder and publisher of The Ring magazine, the self-proclaimed Bible of Boxing, was regarded in his day as the world’s foremost authority on all things fistic.

In addition to looking after his monthly magazine, Fleischer wrote many books. Most were small biographies of famous fighters but there were also instructional manuals for boys and young men interested in learning the science of pugilism. In fact, Fleischer’s first book was a training manual. First published in 1929, “Training for Boxers” (with a foreword by Jack Dempsey) sold more than one million copies at $1 each according to Fleischer’s 1972 obit in the New York Times.

Fleischer’s three “how to” books for aspiring boxers were heavy on the importance of leading a virtuous life outside the ring. Don’t masturbate, he commanded his readers. Masturbation, in Fleischer’s view, was the scourge of civilization.

The same admonition against “self-abuse” was found in the Boy Scouts Handbook. British military officer Lord Robert Baden-Powell, credited with founding the world-wide Boy Scouts movement, also railed against this temptation. The son of a clergyman, Baden-Powell didn’t invent the popular saying “idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” but, among other things, His Lordship believed that excessive masturbation led to idiocy.

If that were true, that doesn’t bode well for Tyson Fury (insert your own joke here). At Monday’s press conference in Los Angeles, Fury said that as part of his preparation for his rematch with Deontay Wilder, he would be masturbating seven times a day. “I have to keep my testosterone pumping,” said Fury by way of explanation.

Fury’s impulsion flouts conventional wisdom. Old-time trainers believed that masturbation and sex in general were to be avoided in the days preceding a fight. Celibacy was useful for keeping a fighter focused on the task at hand and the retention of semen was thought to be useful for keeping a boxer on edge so that when the battle commenced, he had a reservoir of pent-up energy ready to be unleashed.

It was written that Primo Carnera’s trainers tied a rubber band around his scrotum when he went to bed at night to keep him from having a wet dream. Like so much that was written about the Ambling Alp, this was assuredly nonsense. However, fanciful yarns like this exposed the mindset of many old trainers whose philosophies, however quaint, were passed on to future generations of boxers and trainers including some who are active today.

Muhammad Ali said that he stopped having sex six weeks before a fight. Freddie Roach has been quoted as saying that he exhorts his fighters to “practice discipline” for 10 days before a bout. This was never an issue with Manny Pacquiao who reportedly adhered to a higher standard, eschewing sex for 21 days.

David Haye, who held world titles at cruiserweight and heavyweight before retiring in 2018, remains active in the sport as a manager and promoter. When it comes to his views on getting ready for a fight, the “Hayemaker” is a throwback.

I don’t ejaculate for six weeks before the fight. No sex, no masturbation, no nothing. It releases too much tension. It releases a lot of minerals and nutrients that your body needs, and it releases them cheaply. –             David Haye

 For the record, although the evidence is slim, Haye’s beliefs lack scientific support. In fact, a 1999 Italian study found that testosterone levels actually increase as sexual activity increases.

That finding suggests, egads, that the Gypsy King may actually be on to something. However, the view from here is that whether Tyson Fury masturbates 70 times a day, if that were humanly possible, or masturbates not at all, it won’t matter a bit if Deontay Wilder lands his Sunday punch flush on his jaw. He’s going down and the ghost of Nat Fleischer will then hover over the ring and bellow, “I told you so, you big lug, now go home and be a good role model and from now on keep your hands away from that appendage in your quiet hours.”

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