Sometimes uncomfortable surroundings bring out some uncharacteristic qualities.

A prime example of how a fighter responds when he finds himself in his first tough crisis..  Undefeated Gregory Corbin found himself in the first true testing bout of his 15 fight unblemished career last night against the relatively proven Charles Martin..  As soon as the tide began to turn away from him, and he found himself on the end of some return fire, he resorted to low punching..  The fight continued along the same route, and Corbin, regardless of numerous point deductions for flagrant low punching, continued to foul.. Eventually finding himself in an uncomfortable fight that he couldn’t win, and purposely sabotaging himself and being disqualified in his first real high exposure fight..   Sometimes the fighter is just not equipped to cope outside of his comfort zone, under the lights..  Corbin has had decent coaching, some very good quality sparring and possibly the most ideal surroundings for a young fighter to develop under, with guys like Stacy McKinley, Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield accessibly on hand. But at the end of the day, coming to the sport late and finding himself in over his head ill equipped for the first time, brings out some strange qualities..   I wish Gregory Corbin well, he’s a fine young man.

Steps.. Not strides..

The journey to the pinnacle of your sport isn’t a fast one, the small essential ingredients that will aid in your development are added gradually and layered over time.. The layers are added in sequence to bring you along just right.. Nothing in boxing can be rushed.. The most important thing to remember is that every aspect needs to be practiced repetitively, in both a gym scenario and an actual fight situation to become functional over time.. The techniques and drills need to become a second nature of your day to day life, if a man jumps out of the bushes in front of you, I’d expect you to instantaneously strike a stance and assume a defensive demeanour.. The primary reason for having such principles drilled into your psyche, is in the event of you walking onto a shot and being placed into extreme confusion during a fight, that your subconscious will revert back to the things it practices the most, the absolute basic fundamentals in order to overcome the crisis.. You’re not going to be Roy Jones overnight, but the path you take over time may ultimately offer you opportunities along the way to move towards emulating your idol.. Concentrate on the present tasks, the steps laid out today, are structured to develop you throughout a bigger picture, the same reason why newly turned professionals don’t rush in and box 12 rounders from the beginning. 4 round fights against a variety of selected opposition are structured to acclimatise the fighter into the world without headgear and competition vests.. once accustomed and closely assessed the fighter will be moved towards a sequence of 6 or 8 round fights, usually against a variety of fighters that will pose small questions towards their development, offering them the chance to earn valuable ring experience and progression. Now, usually in the region of 14 to 18 fights in depending on the journey so far the calculated risk to put the fighter into a 10 round scheduled bout is taken, this time against a closely matched opponent with a variably similar record.. leading ultimately to the steady building of the complete fighter..

This isn’t to say that the baby steps in the gym today aren’t every bit as important as the 10 round bouts of tomorrow, they all serve the same purpose..

Boxing isn’t a sprint, it’s a long arduous haul.. Enjoy the journey because it has a habit of flashing past before you’ve realised it’s best years..

Principles in life..

Taking a young potential athlete from day 1, onto a correct competent path into boxing has to start from the solid mechanics of the game, ticking essential boxes along the way.. Technical ability and experience comes with time, but Fundamentals such as balance, form, weight transfer, reaction and understanding of instruction are paramount.. My aim is not to move too quickly through key techniques until they are fully instilled.. Boxing is a complex institution with many of its techniques having a variety of equivalent option, no two fighters will stand exactly the same, or punch exactly the same, but regardless of the grey areas, every fighter will develop along the same line of fundamentals.. I have watched 14 year old youngsters lace on gloves for the first time, then 10 years later watched that same individual wait in the locker room prior to their first World title fight.. Boxing as a living isn’t for everybody, but the principles of the sport along with its code of morals and dedication can transfer to almost all of its students lives in a productive way..
Life skills like punctuality and patience are a testament to a lot of boxing’s principle tools, and if I never create a single world champion from this day on, I’m satisfied to observe the betterment of the lives of my students..