By Damian Gray: In the current boxing scene, with promotional wars, major fights not being made and ‘Money’ as king flaunting his wealth as publicly as he can imagine, it is easy to forget that ALL fighters deserve respect.
The only boxers that are truly ‘s**t’ (as I often hear world class boxers described) are the ones who watch, and criticize, without ever taking part. Having the courage to step into the square circle and compete may come easier to some than others and neither type of person deserves less respect.
For those who aren’t intimidated by the prospect of taking up a sport where pain will regularly be unavoidable, where your day begins with an 8-mile jog at 5am, where your diet will be stringent and where you have to push yourself to the very edge of your comfort zone in every single training session 5-6 days a week, then go and do it. Do it, before you criticize a fighter because, in your eyes, ‘he hasn’t faced anybody’ or, in your eyes, his record is poor, or the best one, in your eyes, ‘his chin is suspect’.
Do it and then you may realize that actually they aren’t ‘s**t’ after all, you may realize that they have proven themselves beyond doubt as athletes just by getting there.
For those who already do it, you have my respect as athletes regardless of your records, or your level of competition, or your ‘suspect chin’.
There are also those who are intimidated by it, and they do it anyway! These guys also deserve full credit as athletes having overcome that intimidation to get themselves physically and mentally prepared enough to step into the ring and trade leather with someone your own size who likely wants to beat you into submission.
Why do they do this? Because they love the sport, they love it enough to make the sacrifices and do the work just so they can be a part of it! That might be worth remembering the next time your about to disrespect a person because ‘in your eyes’ they are ‘s**t’.
This is the first article I have ever written on boxing (or anything for that matter!) and all feedback will be welcomed.
Damian Gray.
Comments are closed.