Danny Garcia & Angel Garcia Expose how Sparring Ruins Fighters
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
- Former 2 Division World Champion Danny Garcia 37-3 21KO's and Trainer Angel Garcia Expose how Hard sparring Ruins Fighters Careers. #dannygarcia #angelgarcia #boxingsparring #boxing #boxingnews #ysmsportsmedia
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SPARRING IS THE REASON WHY FIGHTERS HAVE MENTAL PROBLEMS NOT THE FIGHTS ! GYM WARS 💯
Know it all!
@@frankt5987 yup that's why you gotta be smart and not take extra punishment
Some sparring is beneficial but an old timer told me that sparring the right partners is more important than the sparring itself
@ewwwyourfac3 Eight hard rounds with Hagler will change your mind. Vito was ruined so was Mugabi and Mustafa Hamsho. These fighters were totally changed after Hagler they never beat another good fighter after him. Vito would get hit and start staring into space. HARD FIGHTS CHANGE FIGHTERS TOO!
@@seriousone8229 yes but it's a combination of both but they lost to the better man and got paid
respect to a dad looking out for the best interest of his son
Angel an underrated trainer. He wasn’t the most experienced but turned his dear son into a multiple weight class champ
He knows from experience. Just listen to his CTE mouth.
@@AJ-iu6nwnice insult d-bag. he sounds quick witted still, the slight slur is probably from all the drug abuse he did in his young days
@@LeadLeftLeon Angel is not underrated he is right where he belongs TRASH
@@AJ-iu6nw thats from all the coke Angel was never a fighter lol
Thats a fact, just look at James Toney, all he did was spar, no road work or other training, just hard sparring and it shows. You can barely understand a word he says
Toney always sounded like that, LOL.
@@JohnEastmanExAttyAtLaw no he didn't, not even close
@@BrownBomber92181 he was never Shakespeare. that is for sure, LOL.
@@JohnEastmanExAttyAtLaw yea, thats for sure lol. But he never slurred like he does now, its really bad
He sounds like Biden...
I agree, back in the day sparring in Philly gyms was wars..no longevity!
Legendary Wars ❤❤❤
''sparring in Philly gyms was wars=Brain damage has/will...happen!
Philadelphia Gyms were known for ruining more Fighters then they made.
@@kevinmahon7848never heard this one
@@kevinmahon7848it's not just the gyms it's the culture of Philly. I'm not gonna dox a gym but I remember it got so intense in a gym it turned into guns in the streets. Now not only did they have a bout to worry about they now had to worry about some beef
Old school fighters like Sugar Ray Robinson very rarely spared more than 3-4 rounds 1 or 2x a week...they worked on specific things and sparring 100s of rounds for free was not necessary when you fought regular anyway.
How would u kno u must of been there!!!!
How you know that
@@augustine2024 , I was not there...but my grandfather was there during those eras.
This is true 👍
Imagine padding your resume and getting paid while honing your skills against the bum of the month on the regular. All this while receiving seldom criticism. from the fan base. Maybe even reach more fans.
I’m not saying this critically. For pros today who thrive on real visceral hard contact, who want to tour, and who are physiologically resilient; it seems like a lost golden age.
But course there’s an oppressive, exploitative quality to the classic form of boxing industry too. And while it hasn’t exactly gotten better today, there’s at least space for fighters to look after their mental and physical health.
Personally I believe the best way to improve your fighting skills is to actually fight. But it comes at a cost(if you aren’t a defensively minded wizard). How can you improve skills when your brain is compromised.
It's always pride involved in sparring. I can't remember a sparring session where we kept it light.
Rarely happens it’s a running joke in our gym
“Light spar is pretty much code for let’s fight”
So true. Famous last words “we’ll go light”
@@richardsalazar7842 🤣🤣🤣Facts
In UK amateur boxing its only hard sparring when you go visit another gym. at our own gym we would practice and keep it technical.
youre not suppose to spar light, unless you want to fight light too. what you do in sparring is what you do in the fight as well. if you just do boxing for hobby then its different you can spar only light if you want.
Came to practice my jab and end up getting in a war . Is crazy !!!!
Can’t play boxing
Yes you can play it.
@@californiacombativesclub202 how do you do that one a hungry fighter trying to take your head off ?
Lmaooooooooo
Yes, really 'sparring' was meant to be 'playing boxing'. You are doing 'pretend' boxing.
The problem is these guys who decide sparring is no-playing real boxing fights
There's a fighter called Troy king, dude bragged about how he gave amir khan that 'work' in camp so they kicked him out, seemed aggressive and looked like a top prospect till a retina issue derailed his career. Sad in a way, but it reminded me of what Danny said here. Came to work the jab, and your opponents wanna say they worked you over
I agree with the professionals. They in the sport. I think sparring has lost its initial point since social media became a thing. You use to spar to work on game plans or weaknesses, now it’s to one up the fighter and brag abt getting the best of them.
They are so inactive these days that they have to do something to stay a bit relevant.
@@MrClassicmetal that’s by choice or who they chose to sign with. Staying sharp don’t mean you have to use someone as a come up. These cats don’t have no honor or integrity for the sport.
@@d3uce3306 That's my point, I agree 100%.
You'll notice that it's usually guys from a certain promotional outfit who love to yap about those mythical sparring sessions.
@@d3uce3306it’s hard to stay active no matter who you’re with. Mostly only the star fighters can fight at will like Canelo, AJ, Tank. They can fight as little or much as they want.
Angel Garcia needs to hop on a podcast. Lots of wisdom
Sparring is like a 2 edged knife...On one hand its like the main tool to actually learn how to fight...I remember myself looking like Floyd Mayweather on the bag, throwing sharp and fast, working on the angles etc, but in sparring i was getting beat up by guys that their technique was all over the place just because they sparred all the time...By the time i started sparring regularly, i was improving vastly each session and i'm not kidding! All the flashy things i was doing on the bag/mitts i was finally able to do on a real opponent...But this brings me to my second point which is wear and tear physically as well as mentally...And the mental part i think is the most important... Knowing that practically every day of the week u gotta show up to training and go to war with some random guy (or guys) takes away the fun i think...At least for me that's what did it
I need to hear this, been out of the gym cause of health problems and studying strategy’s and perfecting technique, understanding timing and distance all that so when I go back and start sparring consistently I’ll actually make progress and not just gain sparring ability which I eventually lose once I turn it down abit
There’s a reason why Gerald McClellan complained about headaches after the wars he had in the Cronk gym…
even joe rogan complained about headaches after taekwondo class. he said it was one of the reasons he quit fighting
@@cheetonation Yeah, CTE is real in combat sports. Especially if they're sparring constantly. CTE is also very common in football. Jovan Belcher, Aaron Hernandez, Junior Seau, Chris Henry, just to name a few, took their own life and were later diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
@@waedjradi everyone knows what CTE is, at least anyone who has an opinion worth following. I'm pointing out that even a guy like Rogan who hasn't put in a quarter of the work McClellan has felt the damage back then. that's how vicious sparring is.
Garcia is so right about what he's saying 💯
That is why in soviet amateur boxing system there were no hard sparrings. You were not allowed to hit your opponent like a crazy . There were a lot of work "in pairs" where fighters were working on technique, speed, movement and tactics. Most of boxers with over 300 bouts (fighting without gear at early days) had clear mind at old age.
you are a liar and a coward
Dmitry Pirog was saying that too, when he was coming to the US, he had to bring his own guys from Russia cuz in the US guys only spar to kill. And by bringing his own guys they could do light work practicing slow sparring or working as you said in pairs , working on certain things whether it's infighting, defense, jab etc. Anthony Yarde actually said the same thing he doesn't really spar spar
@@MishaElRusito
ydksab
@@MishaElRusito great info. Didn't know that.
From what I heard russian wrestling is similar and most soviet style training. The philosophy was something like why go 110% 3-4x a week when we can go 70% 6x a week minimum. Seen it so many examples now, that style of training wherever it may be is superior in my opinion. Am I saying the 110% every session who cares about cte won't make you a good fighter too? No, but it'll give you long term health problems and are far more prone to injury and burnout.
Sparring is important , but not excessively
also muay thai fighters generally do light technical sparring. Also, some say that’s because they have so many real fights anyways
@@PS-lv1mr Its all technique in MuyThai no hard sparring to the head.
@@PS-lv1mr Yup, and most of them are humble. Very friendly in the gym but bloodthirsty killers in the ring.
Carlos Monzon once said “you Americans box too much.”
Makes sense, because Monzon's game was to punish guys until they crumbled. Guess he figured it wouldn't be long before a boxer was finished if you put that style of attack on a guy week after week in the gym, himself included.
I have seen too many lost careers in the gym. The fights didn't make them punch drunk the gym did it.. I can remember the wars in the gym.
One of the biggest reasons that Ali ended up getting so punch drunk is because of all the gym wars that he had back in the 70’s. There were a lot of young heavyweights who wanted to make a big name for themselves, and beating up the great Ali was a way to do that. I remember a big heavyweight from Miami named Jeff Simms busting Ali’s upper lip open in the gym once..nobody wanted to just SPAR with Ali, they wanted to FIGHT him!
lmao no
I agree
@@jasonvoorhees5640 yes
Are you talking about Muhammad Ali? He had parkinsons totally different....did the punches help probably not but it was genetics.
This was "GOLDEN ". I know it went over the heads of many.
Absolutely golden
How tf could something this simple go over anyone’s head
@@madebychikar7651 exactly
@@madebychikar7651you would be surprised , the stupidity in this world is unimaginable.
''Sparring is a fight''💯
“I’m thinking today ima come use my jab now I’m going to war” the realest shit ever !
Errol Spence got his eye ruined in sparring getting ready for pac
Danny speaking facts even the best fighter in any gym has a target on their back in sparring so it’s for real like that for guys like him who are world champs.
He's right. Too much rough sparring ruins fighters.
Very true. I remember years ago when I boxed when I was training for fights, I always prayed to God before I sparred . sparring is a fight. Just like Danny said.
Yes this topic needed to be open for conversation👍
I miss Angel Garcia interviews. Him telling reporters like it is, cussing out disrespect fighters, calling out bias in the sport. The good ole days.
The perfect example of maximum sparring wear & tear is James Toney. He sparred way too much and with heavyweights!
Crazy I had him in mind. My fav fighter thoe🫡
Toney was magic ..Lights Out would have stopped Canelo in 6 rounds and u can name the event Vegas or LA Sports Arena
😂 I don’t think so
@@Korilakkumasusie I do
@@prellyseverereason 💯🔥 Too easy for Toney.. Canelo would have been picked apart slowly.
Eye is looking south of the border 😂😂😂
Angel always been a buzz in interviews and press conferences haha
LOL, but he's not wrong. Same happend to Joel Diaz, he became a trainer cause he got fucked up in sparring when he was a pro, his eye is also looking south of the border.
Angel gave away he frequent Taco Bell when he said south of da border
@@jlove8445 what is your ethnicity
@@mikeyrose4183 I'm Sub-Saharan backround, half Ghanaian, half Senegalese.
What is your ethnicity?
Kronk gym always sparred hard and now tommy hearns talks like a man of 90
kronk had Gerald McClellan stoping Toney, sparring Hearns when hearn has a fight coming , and there was judges, kronk was great for boxing but also killed lots of unknown careeers
If you can avoid the hard out of control gym wars, it’s very productive. Sparring for me, is the main thing that has gotten me better.
how often or how many total rounds per week or month? I myself think 3 rounds per week (12 per month) is perfect
@@ElementFreedivedepends on your goals… the sweet spot is always changing
@@californiaswimteam Yeah, my goals are #1 not to incur long term damage by taking punches to the head and #2 to get better at fighting/sparring. So yeah one can spar 100's of rounds and surely get much better.....BUT gonna take lots of hits.
@@ElementFreedive hell yeah if there’s no real urgency there’s no need for damage… longevity is the name of the game!!
It's a great things if you work with people that know how to spar with speed and know what level of power to throw, to the point where you have to focus but not feel like you're in a fight.
Idk how it be now a days but I know when I was fighting amateur 07-09, my gym had PLENTY of gym wars. That was when I got completely burnt out of it. Hard sparring every day like it was basically trying to stay alive.
Danny dad be having me laughing 😂
When I heard Terry Norris had more than 300 amateur fights, I quickly understood where his condition came from. He was clearly effed by those amateur bouts, the sparring sessions, and the fights where he took some very deadly shots from Simon Brown, Julian Jackson and the guy from the US army who dethroned him.
Wow I have been watching boxing for a long time and this is the first I ever heard of this
Same bruh
Same but it is interesting perspective. I once read that a typical camp involves 50-100 rounds of sparring.
Bernard Hopkins was talking about it long before. He said how do fighters go to the clubs after the fight instead of resting? After all the beating in the gym and not in the fight. He also said sparring takes away more of your health than the fight itself
Muay thai fighters spar light and dont suffer as much post career as boxers
Yea but don't get paid like boxers so it's no incentive to go extra in sparring for muy thia
@@rootofalleviit’s got nothing to do with pay 🤦♂️
@@rootofalleviThailand is a poor country, and that’s where that sport is the most popular and highest level, so of course the money isn’t the same, but they definitely figured out a better way to spar than boxers have for longevity. Thais be having over 100-200 fights easy…because they know how to train without damaging themselves. And we’ve seen plenty of them cross over into boxing and become world champs there as well..
@@Gus375eh they also past prime by like 25 and get in pro fights as small children, getting kicked in the head as a child isnt good for brain health. Also culturally traditional muay Thai just isnt as aggressive as a sport, composure is more valued than pure violence, thats why Ramon Dekkers lost so many matches that westerners felt he dominated
@@JeffPenaify if you’ve ever seen a Dekkers fight you would know he was a blood and guts type of fighter aka he absorbed a lot of punishment and no, thais fight all the way till about their mid to late 30s..what are you talking about? They also show much less ill effects of the fights. saenchai is like 42 and still fights. Traditional muay thai used to be much more aggressive, watch some golden era fights, you seem to be lacking some muay thai knowledge, watch more fights..
realest boxing interview on the net
This is the one thing Muay Thai does better during camp than Boxing and MMA. In Muay Thai you do it to learn and it is prohibited to go hard during sparring, that's why they got over 200 fights and still going. Also, amateur boxing in Cuba does it well as well, during sparring they aim to hit the shoulders instead of the head.
Just don't train with insecure people and you'll be alright. Can't just spar with anyone.
Great conversation to be had here. If you’re interesting in boxing from a historical standpoint, you’d find in the pros and amateurs you had guys who had hundreds, if not several tens of fights and lived long lives without much decline. Look at Mexican fighters famed for wars, practically all their greats are alive and lucid. There is genetic qualities that affect who can handle punishment-- most iron chinned fighters usually don’t suffer much trauma after IMO, and many guys had trauma without much sustained wars. Why? Sparring is a key answer. Particularly in Philadelphia, you used to have the famed Philly Ring Wars, and Philly fighters were famously hard to beat-- Marvin Hagler’s losses were mostly to Philly fighters. But they had a short prime from all the wars. Chris Colbert, can barely handle a shot now because he was famous for extensive sparring. James Toney, a defensive wizard who fought an extremely long career, taught by a legendary trainer never took a huge beat down-- but is slurring heavily. Toney famously says he only sparred, didn’t do heavy bag or etc. Sparring is the only true way to hone your skills-- but it should be measured and kept controlled. I don’t think in the 20s-50s extensive sparring was the norm. Maybe some historians can answer.
Toney slurring is definitely from sparring. Everyone he's worked with says he's the worst, every round is a war. He says he spars that way because he was brought up in a pit ass gym where guys try to flatten you 24/7. At least that's what I think he was saying.
@@back40flopdogg30actually Micky Rourke got his face rearranged by sparring top guys like Tony. That's why his face looks all crazy today. So yeah, Toney was crazy in sparring
Danny said Lloyd Banks line “uglier than a master p sneaker” 😂😂
Very under rated rapper
Banks most punyiest rapper ever tho. Those old G unit mix tapes still sound better than 99% of stuff since they came out 🧨
@@NixonS243 Very. Back in the 2000’s when 50 and G unit were the one’s, I always thought Llyod was the best/most underrated. Rotten Apple was always bumping in my car.
Speaking the truth, but my lord it’s so hard listening to this man
I train a fighter to a world title the boxer never sparred I was told by many people at the time it can't be done, couldn't agree with you enough thanks for the content.
who?
Love Mr. Garcia, dude always keeping it 💯
Look at James Toney. All he did was spar. Bro can’t even make a clear sentence nowadays
Danny Garcia is a beast , I hope they make that fight between him and Lara
Danny is a disappointment. Stop your nonsense.
Yea, that’s the problem with most boxers, there only gym fighters from leaving all their fight in the gym. I was like that as well until the end of my boxing career.
"Now his eye is looking South of the Border" Danny Pops is absolutely wild for that 🤣🤣
He did drop some gems in this video though for real 💯
Thanks Danny and Angel🥊 smarter not harder
Them infamous Philly gym wars spring to mind
I’ve been in boxing since I was a kid I coach now all my life I’ve seen my own team mates get destroyed and generation after me get destroyed cause of too much and hard spars .. lead by trainers who have never been in the ring … honestly it’s sad a couple that I trained with only in our early 30s slurring bad and one can barely hit the bag .. boxing is boxing but trainers need to do better at protecting younger fighters
@@JDirty-w-tha-30 if you join a gym from the outside coming it can be a little difficult to discern who is a knowledgeable trainer or who just teaches punching and no defense just fight your ass off and say a prayer kind of trainer.. my purpose is to train the mind and body and slowly build young kids or grown men into a sound intelligent boxer … If you want to join a gym check one out get a feel for some of the trainers … keep in mind good trainers almost never yell or smack their fighters or have to be the loud one .. and a good trainer will ask what do you want out boxing .. compete? Just be in shape? Or self defense? Those are the 3 main reason people walk Into a boxing gym .. and from there a good trainer will know what to do .. not throw you in the ring quick .. a lot of drills and when the time comes to spar a good trainer will take it slow correct your mistakes in the ring with you and build you up from there
Glad to see you guys talking about these gym wars & how ppl don't care about the fighters.This makes me think of Andrew Golota v Tyson! Golota was hurt, really hurt, & his corner tried to send him out for another round. So Golota quit & I'm glad he did. If you don't take care of you, no one else is either.
You gotta love Angel Garcia.. authentic old skool boxing dude.
My trainers growing up where old heads from vieques PR they came up from that old school in the 60's and they always told us sparring is to practice the motions and learn not hurt your stable mate
cowards
Right
@@jasonvoorhees5640 lol u sound stupid
Sparring is the best exercise for getting better as a boxer, but it also brings you cte
Danny a gd dude. He got one of them fathers where he always had to be apologizing for & trying to compensate for so he ended up having good manners & bein a respectful dude lol.
It's so true, I wish I had thiught about this before all the sparring I did in my youth.
And I didn't even get very far, sparring caused an injury that stopped me dead in my tracks as a young man before getting to my 2nd amatuer, now I've got crazy headaches and can't even box anymore.
Stay safe and spar smart or hard but less often if you're going to spar.
I respect how honest they are 🫡
100% I used to be all about hard sparring every week.
Now I can’t spar at all and can’t fight anymore.
Still teach and do light sparring or just body sparring know.
But it’s SUPER easy for me to get a concussion now. And when I get hit, I feel loopy for a few days after. Takes a while to feel “normal” again.
To many concussions.
It’s nothing to play with for sure.
Sure you may think it’s fun today, but when you get a bad one, it sticks with you for the rest of your days and you have to learn to deal with a new “normal” now.
I’ll never feel how I felt mentally in the past, I was hunting / looking forward to that for a while, but it’s something I have to let go of and understand this is just how life is now.
I’ll say this, sparring is important. But you don’t need to have hard gym Wars every single day / week.
It WILL come back to haunt you one day 🙏🏼
Absolute truth, Mayweather has destroyed many boxers in his gym...
Dad looking after his boy , good to see 👍
Real shit 💯
Look at the old school fighters when they spar, it's not like these gym wars today
Go watch footage of sparring with Ray Robinson, Ray Leonard, Joe Louis, or Cuban amateurs today who dominate Olympic boxing. Emphasis on skills and defense, but not trying to kill someone.
Larry Holmes as well he was actually fighting foreal in sparring lol@@acetofresh1
@@acetofresh1Tyson as well
@@trechinotre3742 well I’ve head of Tyson knocking out dozens of sparring partners in , so I don’t think he’s included.
@@raw5889 that's what I'm saying..we talking about going Hard in sparring and Tyson. Goes hard
A lot of fighters leave their fight in the gym from sparring hard and often. Sparring can sometimes be worse than an actual fight. Don't burn yourself out sparring, there's so many other things to work on preparing for a fight.
One of the best things I've heard about sparing. As a young heavyweight whoa in his forties now, I wish I heard this sooner.
Mannn i never looked at boxing this way ima look at it way different and i used to train as a kid for a while and stopped in my teens but im thankful in the same time for not continuing it as my teens. 🙏🏼
I don't know why i have a strange attraction to these pair boxing didn't have this in a while God bless!
Great interview
You guys are speaking the truth! Thank you for sharing.
Sparring is about working on what you learned and applying it. The more emotional the sparring, the more wear and tear (not just your brain, but your joints, tendons, muscles)
These guys know what theyre talking about..facts
Danny and his pops one of my favorite combos!
I’m happy danny kept his dad as his trainer all the way through
One of the best to do it
Danny’s career wasn’t bad at all
They said Rolly ended Richardson hitchins career
Explain…
@@sonofapollo5892 Rolly cracked hitchens very hard in sparring, gave him some brain damage. He has never been the same after that sparring session which is why today he is not as aggressive.
@@gibememonistfu 😂 you think this anime or sum you don’t know nun bout boxing
@@gibememoni sheeeeesh if this is true thats insane\
Send the video
Danny Garcia has always been an understated fighter... any current champion would wanna avoid him.. boxing is so fixed it's unreal
danny garcia is a coward and him and his father state as much in the interview
The exposure was so intense it gave me a sunburn
True gym wars take a lot out of you
No, you know what the real problem is, it's that mfs don't know the definition of sparring. It's all these big ass egos that think they need to prove something in the gym, that's not sparring, they've turn it into a pissing contest and it's a damn shame.
You are soooo right,Learn boxing not these fake war and fake coaches just want to see a fight,Learn boxing 🥊🥊🥊.
Sparring is real it’s not like you take fake punches lol casuals
Thats true u gotta be smarter an preserve your ur strength an energy an be healthy can’t come to a championship fight worn out .
I think we have to look at maximizing the returns of sparring. What percentage better are you getting after the rounds? Were they quality rounds? Did you have the tools to defend yourself or did you take damage for no reason?
Just imagine someone who is lacking defensive tools, and also lacking learning awareness. Over a 5 round hard sparring day they are going to take more damage and learn less than someone who has the tools to defend and also learn efficiently.
I hope that in time, fight culture can learn to optimize sparring rounds, maximizing skill attained vs damage taken.
Calzaghe rarely sparred to save his hands
Like this guys. Very true. Ppl should learn from them.
Now you know why, every gym has that one dude, who's really good, but never made it out of the gym wars to be noticed (outside the gym).
Straight facts, I train more than I hard spar
I always liked the way Danny fought
Sparring is to work on your craft not get beat tf up
If your coach or any gym is doing this leave immediately
I use to box in the amateurs and sparring I rarely did but would do when needed with a plan. Here in FL GYMS are filled with the logic that the more you spar the better? filled with prid *all EGO* these same individuals could rarely speak due to brain damage. I will never enter a FL boxing gym again.
Agree totally .
Wow! Indeed, many things can be overdone.
The problem is that heavy sparring ABSOLUTELY works when it comes to preparing for an actual fight
The issue is that the human brain isn't built for constant heavy sparring
My grandpa’s brother was a sparring partner for Joe Louis in the boxing gym on the Westside
I hated Garcia Sr but he made me love him 😂tough love does work 😂
This is real shit! People need to hear this.
Dam sad....😢 Glad he protected his son.
Very wise words from the dad and son duo. I always liked Danny Garcia, he foght and beat alot of big names. In my opinion the best Rican fighter after cotto during his time
A true fighter/martial artist knows how to spar full speed without injuring his sparring partner... It's all about control and keeping the ego in check. Never spar or even train with a dickhead with something to prove.
This could be the decline of Spence, to be honest. 20 rds that's crazy especially when you know he's not going light sparring. He's going 100%
Beating up bums don't count. It said wars.
He got a detached retina and lost the Manny fight because of sparring.
Boxing the only combat sport where every sparring session is like a fight. I get it buts it’s crazy
He has a point but this doesnt apply to the majority of people here, most of the pros had so much experience sparring and fighting, they have seen so many punches etc they could be hit w a baseball bat they would still have the same muscle memory. But until you havent seen a million punches coming at you, havent executed a counter a dozen times without fear. its good to spar.
Many of my friends who won international titles in amateur say that they mostly spar nowadays to get the timing and style of the opponent. I think thats why mitts are so popular in the pros
Im no robert garcia, but i am an experienced amateur boxer, i will say this, sparring is critical if you want to be any good at fighting. To get good at fighting you have to fight. But unfortunantly it comes at a price.
Now i personally would say that not every spar has to be hard. I acually have sparring partners that ive worked with for years and we can throw fast punches without putting much power in our punches. I feel that is how most spar sessions should be , but i feel it is also important to spar hard at certain times but also be defensivly responsible, and another thing with my normal partners we all pretty much know each other and have each others timing and rythem down so that makes it wayyyyy less likly to get hit hard with a clean shot, and we know when to pull our punches. But at the same time it is still important to spar with different partners too though, but in the end i would say take things in moderation when it comes to sparring. Also me and many partners have more of a learning mindset then a competive mind set