Never Saw It Coming

Well, it appears that I have some new fans peeping on my boxing blog, and they are from the church where I work and worship! How cute is that? Welcome, folks!  You know exactly who you are, so I won't name names.  But stay tuned to this space twice -- and sometimes three times weekly -- because they'll be plenty for y'all to read and discuss.  Don't forget to leave me comments, will ya?  Thank you kindly!

I was catching up on going through The Ring magazine over this Labor Day weekend. I was reading an article where a boxer was describing a bout.  "I was hit with a punch that I didn't see until it was being pulled back from me," the boxer said.  That has happened to me on more than one occasion.  Trust me, it's an odd feeling.  When that happens, I'm always thinking, "Okay, I know I was hit.  But when?"  It happens so fast.

This is yet another reason why people have to be focused when inside the ring.  One moment of daydreaming could mean being laid out and carried out.  Even if a knockout does not take place, taking a punch out of seemingly nowhere could seriously throw off a boxer's game plan for the rest of the match. Can't assume, "Oh, that was just a lucky shot," because the other person may just have fast hands.

I believe that this is also why a lot of coaches and trainers yell from ringside, "Be first!" in terms of throwing punches.  Yes, it is important to try and gauge what the other person will do.  However, in the world of amateur boxing, there's often no video to be had on another boxer before a fight.  Sometimes, something may be found on the Internet somewhere, but we can't bet on that.  When I fought Meg the firefighter the first time, the only footage I found was of one of her colleagues holding the punch mitts for her at the fire station.  Also, most amateur fights consists of short rounds.  None of that luxury in the gym of having three minute rounds to get to know a sparring partner's ways.

Gotta move often and quickly to avoid fast hands.  Gotta watch out for incoming punches.  Gotta cover up against fast hands.  Hmm. . . .sounds like what sometimes we all have to do figuratively in life as well.