If you asked me a year ago where I thought I would be today, I probably would have said playing collegiate soccer, or finishing my freshman year of college. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to become a boxer, much less go to a national tournament in California. I never imagined that I would be running down the streets and the beaches of Santa Monica. I guess you could say life has a funny way of never going according to plan though, which isn’t always a bad thing.
After being cut from the soccer team, I felt a bit lost. I played soccer year-round for 10 years, and suddenly stopping left me wandering, looking for something to fill that void. First I tried rugby, and after getting punched in the face during the first live practice, I (ironically) opted out. Like an addict needing a fix, I kept looking. I had heard about boxing club from some friends and even joked about joining it to my friends and family. Even as I joked I never really thought I would do it, I just played around with the idea. I ended up going, however, just to see what kind of program they ran. After that first practice I was dead, a product of both an intense workout, and being out of shape. It was then I knew that I had found my fix and I was hooked. I started going regularly, only missing if I had school work to do.
That was in late fall, and it wasn’t long until I started sparring. The first time I sparred it was with a guy named Nick who easily had ten pounds on me, and way more muscle mass than I did. The three minute round started and we clashed, pounding each other like rock ‘em sock ‘em robots, no class and no style. Despite landing more punches I came out looking rocked. I had a nice shiner that didn’t clear for about two weeks, which earned me many different looks from everyone I crossed paths with. Many training sessions later, now in the spring semester we sparred again, by this time we both developed our own style and technique. This time I came out unscathed, and he came out with a bloody nose. Despite literally beating the snot out of each other we never held a grudge, I guess that’s why it’s called the noble art. Sparring is the best way to train for a fight without actually fighting. When you spar you don’t go one hundred percent, you use it to simulate a fight, to make you comfortable when you get into the ring.
I only sparred a few times before I flew out to California, but this would be the first time I officially fought someone one on one. Our school only brought two fighters, myself and Danny Portillo. Danny has been boxing for about six years now, and since the club doesn’t have a regular coach he’s essentially our trainer. My first match didn’t last very long at all, I had grown a little too used to sparring with someone who is an experienced boxer. When I got in there my opponent had me by a few inches, and was a few years older than me. Immediately he began wailing on me, throwing wild punches that very rarely made clean contact. I made the mistake of turning my back when I slipped his punches, and after doing it one too many times the ref called the fight. I felt cheated because the blows he landed didn’t carry any weight, and after reviewing the fight video I saw that the punch that the ref called the fight on was actually one that I blocked. When I left the ring I wasn’t stumbling and my head wasn’t dizzy. My opponent, however, was left with a bloody nose. It was hardly a fight that could be deemed a TKO.
In the moment I was livid about losing in that way. Looking back now, I still haven’t made peace with it. I’m not as upset as I was but I haven’t let go of it. I believe that you have to hold on to those sort of things. Some people say that you have to live and let go because you can’t control things like that. But if you let go you’ll never improve, and sooner or later the same thing is going to happen to you again. I believe that it’s best to hold on to something that once hurt you, so it can drive you to better yourself. Like boxing, life is all about rolling with the punches you can’t simply stand there and take it, and you can’t run away from it, you have to move and adapt to what life throws at you.
