ABSTRACT
Doubt and self-doubt are a central aspect of all sports, centring on fear of failure. In boxing, doubt can be particularly acute. You can lose your self-worth in a boxing ring, you can lose your livelihood, your friends, your routines, your support network, your self-respect. You can even lose your life. Those with high fear of failure often adopt specific avoidance-based goals and ‘self-handicapping strategies’ that have negative effects on performance and psychological well-being. This is the challenge faced by all boxing trainers. They must stop that young kid losing the fight before he even steps into the ring. There is evidence that fear of failure is passed down through the generations. The parents self-handicap in their own lives, and this is then passed on to their children. I studied one trainer in a most humble part of Sheffield who had succeeded in breaking this chain of transmission. Wincobank in Sheffield was full of families who no longer tried; Brendan Ingle had to block this process. I outline how he did this when he made a world champion, removing all doubt from this young fighter in the process. I also detail the consequences.
