Liu's gonna be known across the Globe...
6:50am - Began the morning taking quick peeks at one of the toughest mufuckas to ever put on gloves:
DanielZaragoza.
Sorry for those of you who don't speak Spanish, but you can see he was insane.
YouTube - Carlos Zárate vs Daniel Zaragoza
7:20am - 2 mile run.
10:15am - Gym Time.
It just occurred to me today I usually get there around this time. No Mike today as he was at the Press Conference for Clottey/Judah.
10 minute stretch.
1 round ring-jacks.
2 rounds Shadowboxing.
2 rounds canvas heavybag after gearing-up.
6 rounds sparring.
This was a bit different style of work, fast paced, maybe 40% power, but very very technical. I'm starting to see what I'm really good at and where I have liabilities, and with this style of work Diego got to see that just bombing away isn't going to improve where there's holes. It was more clear where the gaps in both our games are. For my part, I need to counter with more combinations as opposed to single-shots, and stay inside when I hit a rhythm as opposed to moving out. Sometimes I move in and out too much. I also need to pace better, I'm either full speed ahead or defensive overmuch.
2 rounds double-end bag.
2 rounds speed-bag.
Conditioning:
Ab-machine circuit x 2.
40 twist-ups.
That was it as my body is a bit fried.
Gym Moments:
Not much to speak of as the Gym was very quiet today. Though there is another Fighter there from Canada who is in his 30's comes from a kickboxing background, and got into Pro Boxing because there's no real money in Muay Thai in America (or Canada he says), and he preferred Boxing over MMA. Diego was watching him hit the bag because he moves like a pressure Fighter and has very good combinations.
Beyond the Gym Moments:
Here's another good photo from Cotto/Margarito night:
Diego frisbeed the sombrero after the ending of the Fight, and all night Mexican fans pointed at his shirt and yelled "ZAPATA!!!!" I wish I had a Sombrero because I would have looked like a Mariachi.
And here's two photos of myself and Sharif which I had been waiting to receive:
These are courtesy of
Danny Flexen. Boxing News UK was in town to cover the Cotto/Margarito fight and Danny and his photographer came to the Gym to talk to some of the guys (though the photos above were from Danny's digital camera, not the Pro obviously). Rafael Sr. pointed him to Sharif saying he might want to start there because Sharif is a future World Champ. Sharif is very soft-spoken and people have a hard time with his accent, and when asked about his style he pointed at me and said "Dis man can tell you everyting." So Danny started talking to me. He was very interested when he found out that both Sharif and I train under Mike, and was delighted at Mike's affinity for nicknaming his Fighters after 80's Greats.
He was a pleasure to speak with, very savvy, and took our numbers for future interviews. He also spoke to Diego and took his name down as well.
