XIII. BOXERS ARE NOT TAUGHT HOW TO THINK

          Asked how he managed to beat Ali, the thinking fighter, in their first fight, Joe Frazier answered,  " Maybe while he was thinking I was hitting him. "

          In the movie Star Wars : Episode I,  Liam Neason, the Jedi advised Anakin Skywater -  " Do not think, just feel and the force will be with you "

          Boxing is like driving, you are taught to watch out for everything seen and unseen on the road.  At your first year you are conscious about the wheel, the brakes, the shift gears but as you get comfortable in the driver's seat your moves becomes automatic, a matter of instinct.  The same with boxing, you first learn the basic moves, how to jab, how to punch, how to circle around the opponent, how to roll with the punches. You do those routines for about a couple of years to develop your muscle memories until you're ready for your first fight.

          Once the bell sounds you're on your own.  You have no time to think how you are to attack and defend against your opponent - that's when your training, the hours you spend in the gym, will show how much you have learned and if you have the gift for fighting.

Your corner will do the thinking for you - that's their job, to see what strategy to use and what mistakes you are committing.  While out there fighting that too is the time when you find out for yourself if you have what it takes to handle the burning sensation you feel when leather strikes your face.  The best part of it  being able to see the look of respect in the eyes of your opponent as you withstand the punishment he dishes out. That's when two gladiators really get to know each other.

          I enjoyed watching the Arturo Gatti - Andre Ward first fight, but watching them joking about the fight while both of them was in a hospital bed was really something. They gave everything they have in that fight and hurt each other so bad that they have to be rushed to the hospital afterwards to see how bad the damage was.  In Wilfredo Gomez fight against Lupe Pintor, Gomez was literally carried by his cornerman to his stool after round seven cause he barely had the strength to walk back to his corner after each round. So badly beaten, only his heart and fighting instinct carried him throughout the fight until he was able to connect a good punch to knock out Pintor.

          There are about 6 billion people on the planet and there is only one real champion for each weight division, the heavyweight being the universal crown.  That's why there is so much prestige attached to it,  That's why they are willing to spend endless hours in the gym, endless miles on the road, just to fight for a few minutes in 20 foot square arena. There are simply a lot of things we could learn from the fighters why they fight, why they chose such brutal sports. For fighters too are human just like us only with different desires and dreams.  And looking inwards, why do pay good money to see them fight ? Surely there are a lot more to the sports than just hitting each other until could no longer hit back. Maybe that's why Bert Sugar called it " the sweet science of boxing. "