Claressa The Magnificent

We started off with three young women who were part of the Team USA Boxing team that went to the 2012 Olympics.

Queen Underwood was tough, but unfortunately, she lost a close fight in the lightweight category early on.

Marlen Esparza, who had been beating down everybody all her way up to the Olympics, tried her best.  But she ended up on the wrong side of a decision during the flyweight semifinals.  Esparza had to settle for a bronze medal. 

The American male boxers fell one by one, some due to bad decisions, some due to not bringing it when they were inside the ropes.  Then 17-year-old Claressa Shields, from Flint, MI, became America's last hope to bring home a gold in boxing. 

Claressa Shields fought a great fight, and now she is the youngest person and first woman to earn a gold medal in boxing at the Olympics.  She won in the middleweight category against Russian Nadezda Torlopova.  A great day for women's boxing!

All of the women made history, and all are champions!

Olympic Medals and a TKO

Alex sparred for the last time with Andres tonight.  He returns to college next week.  "I'm sorry to see him go," Alan said later.  "He's got it all.  He can give a punch, he can take a punch, he moves well."  "I hope he can train while he's at school," I replied.

Two guys showed up to observe the gym in action.  One was named Daniel.  He and I had connected previously on Every Block, a web site.  The other was named JR.  Daniel told me that he does Muay Thai, and that it's hard to find people to train with.  "I put ads on Craigslist, but I get a lot of odd replies," he said.

Professor and Andre arrived together at the gym.  Andre didn't spar, but Professor got into the ring with Andres, as he promised to do again this past Monday. 

Gene stepped into the ring with Tommy.  It is sometimes hard to maneuver around Tommy because he's a southpaw.  Alan was getting on Gene for pawing at Tommy instead of throwing straight punches. 

After they finished, Alan showed Gene how the pawing looked.  Sara and I, who were waiting to spar, were laughing at how Alan was imitating Gene.  "What are you laughing about?" he asked, and we told him.  "But that is not how you're supposed to throw punches.  It's like a cat throwing punches.  I don't know why people do that," he told us. 

Sara told me to make her do one more round.  She usually does one.  I could have done three or more rounds because I was feeling energetic after having spent most of Tuesday and today in bed.  I caught a cold out of nowhere.  I was fine Monday night.  I woke up Tuesday morning to clogged sinuses, pain, and the feeling that my face was going to fall off.  Luckily, the worst of it passed by late today, and I was able to come to the gym. 

I was popped under my nose, and was very glad my mouth was closed at the time.  Sara and I moved around a lot during the first round.  Whenever I'd rush in with a flurry of punches, Alan would tell her to grab me.  She grabbed around my shoulders.  "Good," Alan said, "but next time, grab her arms."  During the second round, Andre was also giving instructions from the side, mainly to me.  "Where's that uppercut, Hillari?  Tap her hand down, then follow with a punch.  Always follow a couple of punches with one more," Andre said.

Near the end of the second round, Sara and I were near the ropes where onlookers were standing and watching.  She threw a punch and stepped to her right.  I stepped to my right, rared back and threw a right hook.  Sara slumped against the ropes.  If Alan and Andre hadn't caught her, she would have fallen to the canvas. 

Immediately, I tore my gloves off, then I took her headgear off.  "Are you okay?" I asked, while holding her shoulders.  "Yeah", she said faintly.  Marcus shook his head.  "It's that hook you throw that no one ever sees coming," he said to me.  Sara stood in the ring for awhile, trying to get her head clear, as Alan watched to make sure she was okay.  "It's part of the game," he told her.  I hadn't hit someone hard enough to cause a TKO in a long time.  Nice to know that I have the capacity to do that.  But it still worries me when someone is hurt badly because of a punch I threw. 

Before going to the gym, I saw more of the Olympic boxing matches.  Marlen Esparza tried her best against her opponent from China.  Teddy Atlas kept pointing out that Esparza was bouncing too much.  Her corner people must have told her during the break after the third round to slow that down, because she did.  But the girl from China had long figured out that all she had to do was to time Esparza to get her punches in.  Also, Esparza was shorter than her opponent and she was leaving too much space between them.  I recognized that because I have the same problems in the ring.  Esparza will get a bronze medal, but not the gold that she hoped to get.  Afterwards, she told a reporter that she was finished with boxing.  Her next move will be to go to college.  Esparza's eyes were red, and she was crying after the interview was over.  Tears came to my eyes, too, as I had been following her since she had been working her way up through the Olympic trials. 

Claressa Shields owned the ring during her match like a boss.  Her opponent was not busy enough.  It was just like Teddy Atlas commented, her opponent seemed to be waiting to throw big punches.  But a fighter can't base their whole game plan on knockout punches.  Shields fought like a tigress every time she was backed against the ropes and backed into corners.  After each round, Shields was always way ahead of her opponent on points.  Now Shields goes into the finals in an attempt to get a gold medal.

All of the American guys on the boxing team have been eliminated.  Even when Esparza collects her bronze medal, and if Shields get the gold, the guys are going to be talked down about for a long time.  Some of the losses were due to poor referees, bad judging, and that horrible computerized scoring system.  But some of it was also due to the fighters not being prepared to fight under the international amateur boxing rules.  This is the first time that no American male boxer has come back from the Olympics with a medal.  Team USA has got to be better and do better.

Eating Garbage

The close up above was the result of Alan and I playing around with my camera.  His eye was operated on last week, and he says he can see clearer out of it. 

A couple of guys came in, a tall one who told Professor, "I'm a Rasta", and a shorter one who told Alan he'd had some boxing experience while attending high school on the south side.  They both received information about the gym, and they appeared interested about signing up for the fall session.

Jason and Andres sparred for a couple of rounds.  It looked as if Andres was giving Jason a chance to practice offensive moves.  Jason got some good punches in; Andres encouraged him on.

Alex sparred with Andres before Jason did, then after Jason was done, Professor stepped in the ring.  He caught Andres with several good straight rights and lefts to his face.  Andres would back Professor up in the corners and throw hard body shots until Professor pushed him off and slid out of that spot.

With just a few seconds before the bell rang during their last round sparring, Professor went to his knee in a corner.  Alan and I thought he had taken one of Andres' hard hits, but Professor said, "I'm just tired."  Later, he would say he learned a lesson not to step into a ring with the attitude of schooling somebody.  He and Andres plan to spar again on Wednesday.

I sparred with Andres for two rounds.  You can see in the picture above that I look like someone in a fairy tale trying to take on a giant.  Andres appeared a little tired because he had already sparred several times before I got to him.  But after the first round, I felt more worn out.  

Earlier this morning, I had gone to the doctor to get my medicine refilled.  The check up revealed three things that caused me to roll my eyes in frustration: my blood pressure is high again, my blood sugar is slightly up, and my weight is slowly creeping back up.  "You exercise in here all the time.  I don't get it," Alan said.  When I told him about my weight, he commented, "You must be eating a lot of garbage."  "You're right.  You know I don't cook," I told him.  Unfortunately, summer increases the times I'm eating ice cream (not the sugar free kind which I should be eating instead), as well as the times I'm eating out.  I was supposed to cut down on my food budget and eat at home more, but that hasn't exactly been successful.

Before going to the gym, I caught the last of the Olympic boxing broadcast for the day.  There was a fight between heavyweights, a British boxer and a Chinese boxer.  The British boxer won.  I had set the recorder at wrong time, so I missed Marlen Esparza and Claressa Shield's quarterfinals fights.  They both won.  They'll fight again on Wednesday, so hopefully, I'll get the time straight. 

Most of the guys were hugging me before they left the gym today.  Alan smiled, "What's with all the love?"  "My pastor had the nerve to say he thought I joined the gym to pick up guys," I laughed.  "If he saw all the hugs you're getting, he might think that!" Alan said. 

The Queen Falls and More Olympic Problems

I was half-asleep this morning, with the TV on and the VCR/DVD player already recording the first women's boxing matches of the 2012 Olympics.  My fading in and out ended when Queen Underwood stepped into the ring against British boxer Natasha Jones.  Announcers Teddy Atlas and Bob Papa mentioned that Underwood had fought against Jones before and lost.

Now there have been some bad referee calls and judges' decisions all throughout the men's boxing matches (Errol Spence Jr.'s match really stands out).  But Queen Underwood's loss -- a close one, according to sports observers -- appeared to be justified.  The female fighters fought four, two-minute rounds.  It seemed that Queen Underwood didn't do enough the first three rounds, but rallied in the fourth round.  However, she couldn't make up the lost points that far into the match. 

Underwood did a mighty job of holding back her emotions as she answered a reporter's questions right after the match.  I felt so bad for her that I was wiping away tears.  Partially because she lost, but mostly because of all she went through to get to the Olympics.  I wasn't aware before today that she and her sister had been victims of abuse from their father.  Boxing helped save her life.  Gotta give her respect.  Today, she became the first American woman to have a boxing match at the Olympics.  Like Laila Ali who was commentating on the women's matches said, Queen Underwood is still a champion.

Elena Savelyeva (in red in the photo above), a Russian who became the first woman to win a boxing match at the Olympics, stated that there is no prejudice against women boxing in her home country.  If only that was the case every where else in the world!

There was a match where one woman held another woman by her arm up against the ropes (sorry, I can't remember their names at the moment).  The woman against the ropes was punched four or five times in the face.  The referee should have got on the other boxer about holding, but nothing was said.  In another match, a woman was knocked to the canvas with a right.  It should have been counted as a knockdown it wasn't.  Atlas and Papa were grumbling all morning about the bad calls and dubious judges' decisions.  I couldn't blame them, and I was agreeing with them.  It appears the women boxers are getting jacked just like most of the male boxers have been so far.

Beat Down Fantasies

Kenny returned to the gym on Wednesday.  "I've been working on my book and studying for the LSAT," he said.  After getting caught up on what was going on, he quickly got to work training and giving tips to others in the gym. 

Alan's left eye, which took a beating from Andy and I the other week, was still bloodshot.  "When I have my right eye operated on tomorrow, I should ask the doctor to look at the left one," he smiled. 

No one sparred last night, which is unusual.  Kenny kept saying "I'm out of shape, I'm tired", but he did do a lot of boxing drills.  Several of the guys got in the ring and threw around one of the medicine balls.  Whenever someone missed, all had to do push ups and burpees.  I should join in when they do that, but I have to build back up to the number of push ups I used to be able to do.  I haven't done burpees since I was in high school, I believe, and I wasn't good at doing them back then.  Professor invited Amy to throw around the medicine ball the next time we're all in the gym.  Alan keeps saying that Amy must have a six pack for all the crunches that she does each time she's in the gym.  "I want to see that six pack," he said.  "I'm telling Riva," I told him.

Broke a promise to myself to do a little on the exercise wheel (for ab work) each day.  I didn't use the wheel in the gym, nor did I use the one I have at home.  I'm tired of looking like I'm going to give birth in a few months.  Earlier, I passed a woman on the street who was pregnant, and I tightened my stomach muscles as I went by.

Paul (seen in the photo above on the red bag) was imitating Igor last night.  Igor was long gone by that time.  I laughed, but then it made me think that perhaps I should stop complaining about Igor.  As usual, Igor interrupted Alan while he was in the middle of a conversation with me.  Alan and I exchanged looks, and I gave Igor the side eye, but I said nothing.  He asked about when the gym fee was due.  Igor's been there about ten years, the same as me, but on and off.  I didn't get why he a) is not aware that fees are due every eight to ten weeks, and b) why was he asking Alan, when the fees aren't paid directly to the coach.  Sigh. I can grumble all day and night, but all I can do is have fantasies about taking Igor on in the ring.

I have fantasies about beating up another guy, who constantly works my nerves at the church's food pantry, as well.  Jesse told the pantry volunteers several weeks ago that I was a "mean lady".  I won't allow Jesse to scam the pantry, disrespect me, or disrespect the volunteers, which is why he thinks that.  This past Monday, he made the mistake of saying it within my earshot.  I snapped on him, and Jesse had the nerve to chuckle.  Jesse should have been banned from the pantry three years ago when I first caught him scamming.  But Pastor Roger is a lot more patient with people's shortcomings than I am, so Jesse is still allowed to be there.  I had a boxing T-shirt on that day we had our run-in.  I should have pointed to it and told Jesse, "I not just wearing it to make a fashion statement.  Watch yourself."  Sharon, one of the food pantry volunteers, was a witness to Jesse being a smart mouth that day.  Jesse was unaware that her presence saved him from me really going off on him.

Alex will be returning to Ohio State soon to continue school.  I'm going to miss him.  I hope he's able to continue training while he's at school. 

I heard someone got knocked down five times during one of the Olympic men's boxing matches.  I really should have been recording those matches since they all take place during the day.  But I'm really saving up my blank DVDs to record the women's matches which begin this Sunday.  I will be talking about those matches on here as they take place.

One To Three

On Monday evening, Alan told me he talked to Jake (Jacob).  Jake said he'll return to the gym when the Fall session begins in a few weeks.  Professor, who was in the gym, smiled, "That's what's up!"  He had just been talking to Andre about Jake.

I was a little delayed in leaving my house for the gym because I was watching the Olympics.  I got home from work just in time to catch the tail end of the boxing competition.  It's unfortunate that boxing is shown early in the morning and in the afternoons during the weekdays.  I'm thinking about watching some of tomorrow's matches on the computer at work.  Over the weekend, I was able to watch a majority of the matches.  I had to agree with analyst Teddy Atlas that the current computerized scoring system is a problem.  Fortunately, that system will be gone when the Summer Olympics take place again in 2016. 

Andres was MIA last week due to work, but he was back in the gym, taking on all comers.  In the photo above, Alex and Andres mixed it up during what was another entertaining sparring session between them.  The two are a year apart in age; Alex is 19 years old and Andres is 20 years old.  Andres popped Alex several times with some hooks.  The impact looked as if Andres was throwing bricks instead of his fists.  Alex rebounded to catch Andres with some solid straight lefts and rights. 

Jason (in the black top) was iffy about stepping into the ring with Andres.  Andres got him with something -- I can't remember what punch it was -- and Jason stopped for a minute to get right before continuing.  They are both about the same height, but Andres is bigger than Jason in weight. 

Andre (in the blue jersey) was more successful in keeping Andres away and off of him.  Andres appears to be grinning in the above photo.  He's always encouraging people to hit him harder.  Andres had Andre up in the corner, but Andre threw some quick inside shots and spun out of the situation. 

I sparred with Andre, which was another exercise in frustration.  For every one punch I threw, Andre would come back with three fast ones.  Alan kept telling me to block his jab with my right, but I couldn't block most of the punches he threw.  A couple of times, Andre did give me a chance to work on offense, but then it was back to him zipping in and out, and me missing him with most of my punches. 

Alan said that anyone who signs up for a boxing class at one Chicago Park District field house can train at any Park District boxing gym during the session for which they are signed up.  That got the attention of most of us.  Jason told me that he doesn't work out elsewhere, so he might try out one of the other gyms to get an extra day of exercise in.  Bill at Hamlin has told me several times that I could come over there and get some sparring in.  I need to do that; perhaps I could spar with Meg if she's still training there.  Professor suggested that Andre go up to Seward Park on the near north side and check them out.

Later, I was telling Alan how I was ticked when I read boxing promoter Bob Arum's comments about women's boxing in the latest issue of The Ring magazine.  "Women's boxing will be laughed out of the Olympics," he said.  Really?  Three of those women boxing in the Olympics will take home medals.  It may not be Queen, Marlen, and Clarissa, who are all from the USA, but it'll be someone.  When the women get the gold, silver and bronze medals around their necks, I'd like to see if Arum will laugh then.  If the man is smart, he'll sign them all up to box professionally. 



Respect The Women

A friend of mine from high school stated he wasn't going to watch the women's boxing events at this year's Olympics.  A lot of men -- and some women, as well -- don't believe female athletes competing in sports that were formerly the exclusive domain of men can bring the heat.

In the case of boxing, some don't want to see women trading blows.  "Women are delicate, women should be frilly, fighting is not ladylike," and other tired, played out statements are uttered.

There are still male coaches who like Frank, Clint Eastwood's character in the move Million Dollar Baby, who growl, "I don't train girls."  Some like Frank, eventually see the light.  I've heard male coaches, including the one I have now and the one I had before him, say that females are easier to work with because they listen better.  Females don't appear to come into boxing gyms with the ego problems that a lot of males -- regardless of their experience or lack of  it -- seem to have. 

The first boxing matches between women took place in 1720, in London, where the 2012 Olympics are being held right now.  Those women had to be rough, because they were allowed to maul, scratch, kick, and use their knees in order to get a win. 

This year's Olympics is the first time women's boxing has been included officially.  But during the 1904 Olympics held in St. Louis, women's boxing matches were included as a featured event. 

The first official women's boxing match was held in 1876 in New York City.  I could keep going on with other historical facts about women's boxing, but the point is, women's participation in the sport has been going on for awhile.  It's not going away despite the disrespect that continually is hurled at it. 

I'm concerned that if none of the American women on the boxing team come home with medals -- doesn't matter if they are gold or not -- critics will use that as justification to continue to not raise the profile of women's professional boxing, but to downgrade women's participation at the amateur level, too.  Women have fought too hard, both literally and figuratively, to be put back in a corner. 

I will be cheering on all of the female boxers from every country who's participating in this year's Olympics.  I'm especially proud of the young women from America who worked hard to get to London.  All of deserving of respect for reaching for excellence in the toughest sport in the world. 



In The Woman's Corner

I watched a very good documentary which was part of CNN's "Latino In America" series of reports.  It followed a young woman, Marlen Esparza, and her quest to get on the women's Olympic boxing team for 2012.  She had the number spot at the Olympic trials until other challenged sued to have a shot.  Esparza had to go to Colorado to face the other contenders in the ring. 

She looked very good in training and during the fights the documentary highlighted.  Esparza has some dangerous hooks, and she's a pressure fighter.  I was rooting for her to go all the way.  Then she lost to Christina Cruz, another Latina.  It was the first time Esparza had ever lost a fight, and she had been involved with boxing ever since she was eleven years old.  She's now twenty-two years old.  She was crying, and I felt bad for her, too.  But what can you do after a loss and/or missing out on a fight?  I remember Ivy, a fellow member at my church asking me what I was going to do after I was denied an opportunity to have a bout a few years ago.  "Go back to the gym and train," I answered.  Esparza did the same thing.

I was impressed at the way she got up early in the morning to do roadwork, then hit the gym to do drills, spar, and lift weights.  She also watched what she ate very carefully.  "Wow, I feel like a lazy bum," I thought, comparing her every day training to my twice-a-week efforts and my half-assed attempts at adding a day or two more of exercise outside of the gym.  But then, she's going for Olympic gold, and she has to be on top of the game.  Esparza had to face Cruz again to get another shot at the Olympic team.  "This is a lifestyle for me, but it's a hobby for her", she commented. 

Esparza is a national amateur champion (six times), and she did beat Cruz the second time they met.  I clapped and hopped in my seat.  It warms my heart to see women advance in this sport.  Gloria Peek, a prominent US Olympic boxing coach who was also in the documentary, commented, "Women have entered the last male stronghold." 

Making The Team

It was pretty much a full house in the gym Wednesday evening.  St. Louis joined in the mix of the guys who sparred.  I was in the back on the uppercut bag, while he was in the ring with Ralphie.  I turned around after the bell rang to end the round, and I saw Ralphie down on one knee. 

Sometime later before Ralphie and I sparred, he said that St. Louis had got him with a wicked body shot.  "I was open, and he hit me.  I felt a sharp pain," he explained.  St. Louis is a little taller than Ralphie, and is built in a lean way.  "Be gentle with me because I'm fragile," Ralphie smiled at me.  I had to laugh.  I was amazed at the energy I had while sparring with him.  I wish I had that type of energy more often. 

Oksana and I worked the punch mitts.  She gave me some great advice about holding my hands in closer to protect myself.  Oksana also pointed out that sometimes, I don't distribute my weight very well over my feet.  I have had problems with balance lately.  I have to make sure that my feet are shoulder width apart at all times in the ring. 

There was a good article in the Red Eye newspaper about women being allowed to box in the 2012 Olympics.  Tiffany and Samantha, were profiled in the article.  They both are training for a spot on the women's Olympic boxing team.  I had seen Tiffany win a Golden Gloves championship.  She's good; she fights like a guy.  Didn't realize she's 4 foot 11; that's shorter than I, and I'm really short.  I hope the both of them make it onto the team.