How boxers handle ring rust in 2026

How do boxers handle ring rust in 2026 at the moment in professional boxing at all levels of pro boxing in the entire sport? A look at some ways.

Ring rust is of course a very real thing. The main way for fighters to avoid it is of course to stay active and busy in the ring.

That is the first and most important, and clear answer to that frequently asked question in boxing and is very relevant in the sport at the moment.

Look at only last year in 2025 when many think Ryan Garcia maybe came back into top flight world championship boxing a bit too soon in the sport.

After a year off from the sport due to a ban from boxing due to trace amounts of a prohibited substance in his Devin Haney fight previously (a win which was later changed to a no contest) he picked up a lot of ring rust.

How boxers handle ring rust

What is ring rust exactly? For those new to the sport ring rust can basically be defined as a fighter being out of sorts needing to shake the cob webs off due to not actively competing in the sport for a prolonger period of time.

It is real and only the very special elite level world champions usually can overcome it when they jump straight back in at the deep end of the swimming pool after not boxing for a long time.

Garcia went in against Rolly Romero last year and looked terrible in New York, losing on points.

His ban is served now and he takes on Mario Barrios next up on February 21st in another immediate world title fight and much of the ring rust will be gone but not all of it.

There has been a lot of time again between fights for him even between that Romero shot and now the Barrios WBC welterweight title shot.

Other ways boxers can keep ring rust at bay in between fights in staying in the gym, sometimes referred to as staying in the lab in the sport, working on their fight craft and not leaving it.

This keeps their skills sharp in the fight game and their timing down somewhat.

Sparring in between fights is also a crucial aspect of staying somewhat fight ready and sparring and getting ready for a fight is a lot different for a boxer just looking to keep in shape between fights.

Whether it it the best boxer in the world like Terence Crawford or anyone else, at the end of the day, ring rust is real.