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Inside Mark’s Training Camp: How Mark Salgado Prepared for His Pro Debut

Congrats to Mark Salgado for winning his pro debut against the very tough C’maje Ramseur. C’maje Ramseur was a 1-0 boxer with a strong amateur pedigree, fighting in his hometown Sacramento. We had seen him in the amateurs as he beat one of our fighters in 2017 and again at the Golden Gloves. Mark made a statement tonight beating him decisively, with a 1st round knockdown en route to a 4th round knockout.

Mark’s training camp was an entire team effort, all organized by Jesse Huerta with several team members stepping in and working together. I’ll dive into how we organized our training camp and the following topics below:
• How an entire community came together to support Mark: his coach, his S&C coach, running coach, photographer, chiropractor, sponsors, Dreamland Boxing, and our extended boxing community
• Mark’s Sparring Approach: Quality Over Quantity
• How we structured Mark’s training over 6 weeks to peak at the right time
• Mark’s weight cut and how he comfortably weighed in at 133lbs, 2lbs under the 135lb weight limit
• Mark’s grueling track workouts and how his HR monitor helped pace him both for his sprints and recovery runs
•How Mark’s training, both S&C and running, were designed to mimic his fight

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Conditioning for Boxing - Dreamland Boxing team running Mission Peak

Conditioning for Boxing

A fighter’s worst fear is gassing out in the ring. There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and you have an opponent who will show you no mercy as he or she tries to knock you out.
Everyone knows you’re supposed to run. But how much? How far? Read more to learn how to optimize your conditioning for your next boxing match.

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Boxing 101: Coach Ian Cruz in competition

Boxing 101: There Is No One Right Answer

Boxing 101 – There is no one right answer in boxing!
I get asked a number of questions while coaching: Is the shoulder roll better than the high guard? Should I cross-block or keep my back hand by my cheek? Do I block the uppercut with the same-side hand, or do I use the opposite hand so I can free up my other hand for a counter-punch?

If you’re asking questions – great! The truth is, there’s no one definite answer to every situation. You’re in there with a live opponent who can react to your every move and pick up on your tendencies.

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Mike Tyson Roy Jones JR

Fighting Past Their Primes: Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr. RECAP

The Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. exhibition came and went, and I wouldn’t say there were too many surprises. It was a glorified sparring match, with Mike Tyson showing glimpses of his footwork and body punches and Roy Jones using his speed and elusiveness to try to evade Mike Tyson’s attacks. Here were a few of my observations from the fight:

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Teofimo Lopez vs Vasiliy Lomachenko: Thoughts

Coach Ian – Week in Review: My 30 mile birthday run, a Teofimo Lopez – Lomachenko breakdown, the benefits of Topo Chico, talking with an American Ninja Warrior, boxing drills, Vicky Zhao shooting for Dozen Boxing, Sara Koshfam shooting for Checkmate Boxing, happy birthday to Coach Masaya, How to Get COVID Tested, and more!

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Coach Ian Cruz, Dreamland Boxing

Boxing and Safety During COVID-19

Boxing and Safety During COVID-19: While we’re all adapting to “a new normal”, we’ve had to modify our workouts to comply with county regulations and ensure our members’ safety. Rather than stopping what we do, I’ve tried to make small adaptations without compromising the effectiveness of our workouts. ??

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Sweet Science: Coach Ian Cruz and Jesse Huerta corners Moises Benitez at Dreamland Boxing

The Sweet Science

Like a game of chess, a boxing match has an infinite number of combinations and different ways a fight can play out.
In the beginning of your development, I find it much more important to understand themes (changing levels/speed, countering and feinting, fighting on the inside vs the outside, etc) than to just memorize combinations. Just like in chess you learn basic strategies and tactics (center control, when to castle, forks, pins, discovered openings, etc) before memorizing openings.

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