[5acrossYOeye]

Originally Posted by Liu Jin

Richie came into the locker room to tell me that he feels I've come along well. He told both Arthur and Jimmy, "This guy, from the time I first saw him when he came in here, and what he is now...two different guys."

Felt good to hear that from one of the men who opened the door in the first place.

didn't think Richie had it in him. good for him.

speaking of his comment...what is the most drastic improvement in your game? Is it chaining everything together?

Also...you said Mike wants you to loosen up/ relax? How is that coming along?

I'm guessing even harder since you're attempting to tame "the killer"?

[Liu Jin]

didn't think Richie had it in him. good for him.

speaking of his comment...what is the most drastic improvement in your game? Is it chaining everything together?

Also...you said Mike wants you to loosen up/ relax? How is that coming along?

I'm guessing even harder since you're attempting to tame "the killer"?

Richie's not a bad guy, just medically crazy while having kind of a quirky asshole personality as well.

I'd say the most drastic improvement in my game is my jab. I thought I had a good jab before, but I almost never threw it. I was one of those kind of counter-punchers, like Joan Guzman. But now my double-jab is pretty near unstoppable if I throw it enough.

Loosening up is hard because I used to fight like a cobra, always poised to strike, coiled up, kind of Chris Eubank-esque. But loosening up is making my workrate better, which makes my other attributes tougher to deal with.

I'm slowly looking less like a guy who goes primarily on athleticism and talent, to a guy who can Box your face off and kill you the moment you wilt.

[Liu Jin]

Liu thinks it must be Old School WEEK at Top Rank...

7am - Watched "The Way It Was" feature on Joe Louis versus Jersey Joe Walcott, which you can see here:

Louis/Walcott: "The Way It Was."

Funny to see these two as old men still taunting each other. Walcott calling Louis lucky, and he was. Jersey Joe did put the Brown Bomber on his ass 3 times in 2 fights.

7:30am - 2mile run.

10:30am - Gym Time:

Diego took the day off to heal up, and David once again no-showed.

1 round ring-jacks.

2 rounds Shadowboxing.

4 rounds Heavybag. Felt strong, never let up pace and did punch-outs the last 30 seconds of every round.

2 rounds body-snatcher.

2 rounds double-end bag.

2 rounds speed-bag.

8 minutes skip-rope. Getting better and faster.

Conditioning:

Push-up circuit.

40 dips.

20 pull-ups.

30 pull-downs.

30 pull-downs behind-the-neck.

Gym Moments:

Today was fun as HELL.

Mike showed up at like 11:15. He started wrapping up and putting on Boxing shoes. Seriously. I think ole Cassius made Mike feel bad about saying he wanted to train again to get back in-shape. Mike got in and Shadowboxed touch-and-run style with Jimmy.

When Mike was hitting mitts with Mitch (who is at LEAST 70 years old), Rodney (the trainer who beat up Hassim Rahman) came in and stopped Dead and said "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOIN' ON IN THIS PLACE!?!?! MIKE, IF YOU GIVE THAT OLD MUFUCKA A HEART ATTACK..."

Then Mitch went after Rodney. People were teasing Mike, but let met tell you the old Killer Mike is still there. He's mean as shit when he's working out, and he's dead serious about getting back into condition. When I turned around I noticed he had my gloves on, I told him it'd be $10 an hour for glove rental.

Then when he needed to skip rope he asked for my rope. He fucked up the first two jumps and said "whadda fuck wrong witchoo rope?" Mitch said "it must be too short"...which is funny because Mike's only an inch taller than me. But then he got his rythm, and proceeded to bet Eddie Mustafa that he can't skip like Mike. Next thing we knew Mike and Eddie had a skip-off. Seriously. Eddie kept trying to get Mike to attempt the double-under, and trying to do it himself. He blamed his inability on his sneakers, and said he'd show up Monday with Boxing shoes and take Mike to school.

I told Eddie it'd be $10 an hour EACH for rope rental.

So between Cassius, Richie sparring, Mike making his comeback, Mitch holding Mitts, Eddie skipping rope, and Jesse Reid did about 30 minutes on a bike, the Old School must be getting tired of us younguns showing them up.

One of Rafael Garcia's Fighters told me today that he wants to see me fight because I look real good in the Gym. I don't even know his name, but he seemed like a nice kid. Interesting bit of info, he fights at 140, and walks around at 165. I walk around 158-162. So I wonder, maybe I COULD make 140 without dying. We'll just have to see if my 29 year old body can take it.

Diego and I, as well as Jimmy, and Sharif have decided that when we all have big money we're gonna pool together and get Mike his own private Gym. Diego started it by saying Mike's too good a trainer to have to share Top Rank's resources. He should have his own place. I told Mike about it, and he said he'd love it. I can't decide what we should call it though. "McCallum Gym"...or "Papa Mike's."

[5acrossYOeye]

Originally Posted by Liu Jin

I can't decide what we should call it though. "McCallum Gym"...or "Papa Mike's."

body snatcher's

[Mr. Sinister]

No, we don't want science fiction nerds showing up.

[Liu Jin]

Liu is tired...

7am - Watched the episode of "The Way It Was" featuring the Robinson/LaMotta fight, which you can see here:

Robinson/LaMotta: TWIW

Suicides x 6.

4 corners sprint drill x 4, with additions of doing jumping jacks going sideways for 30 yards, and throwing 1-2's while back-pedaling.

That was it for today, but as of right now I'm going to take a moment and reflect on this past 6 months or so at Top Rank.

I really can't say enough about the place. The atmosphere, it lives and breathes the Sport of Boxing. I recall the first time Diego and I went in, we didn't go into the main Gym, but when we went in the office to talk to Mitch we got a glimpse through the window. I just looked at Diego and grinned and said "There it is, the real deal." I had never imagined being in that ring myself, moving around, envisioning being under the big lights and before a crowd screaming for my blood while Shadowboxing, plotting how I was going to show the people my opponent's blood rather than my own. But before I knew it...



Now, for all the drama that went on with Richie, I have to say it did us more good than harm to be confronted with his raw emotions so early, and to be thrown to the wolves in sparring early. It served to REALLY harden our resolve to stick around, and be successful. And since then we've gone from being the new guys no one knew or was sure about, to being permanent fixtures that people don't feel right if they don't see during the week. Mufuckas who come to the Gym early just can't function if they don't look up and see this:




And what can I say about Mike McCallum? One of my goals in life now before I'm done with the Sport is to make sure I take every means to make sure this man gets his accolades from the fans. He's changed so much about me as both a Fighter and a man, and yet at the same time been relaxed enough to allow me to be who I am. That's idealistic of a trainer, and not many of them know how to do that. They try and turn you into them, they try and make your style something that just isn't you, rather than augmenting what you're good at with compensations for what you're not good at. Very few trainers know how to push a guy just right, just enough to remove useless parts and turn him into a Fighter, a killer, a machine of hurt. That's what I feel like after every gruelling session with Mike where he takes me to that place where all I know, all I want, all I am is Fighting:



As of this moment Mike feels I'm nearing being ready to fight for money. I get the impression he wants me just a bit more loose, and a bit more busy. But he's said quietly to me "you can fight Pro now." Just biding my time until something is booked, sharpening myself bit by bit, and carefully, because as of this past week I really understand now that there's eyes on me. I'm not used to that. I've survived this long because I'm used to fighting, and to getting my ass kicked. But I'm not used to the publicity of the Sport of Boxing. I wasn't used to the fraternal aspect of being part of a Gym like this, was always more of a lone wolf. It's at the point now where I have to be careful whom I let see me at my best even in the Gym. Where my trainer is holding me back on purpose in certain instances because he doesn't want anyone knowing what all I'm capable of.

I still sometimes think I should have gone Pro the first time I had the chance, back in Virginia when my boy Jesse's Brother Rob offered to get me fights. But then I think nah, because I would probably already be finished as an opponent with more losses than wins, and Mike wouldn't know who I am, nor give a shit to know. Sometimes I do wonder if I'm too old to begin now, if I've been through too much. But that's only 5 minutes every week, when every other hour of every day, the first thing I think about is punching someone, repeatedly. As of right now I honestly feel like I'm only beginning to tap into what I can REALLY do. Mike has said before he feels he's going to make History with Diego and I both, and now I'm really starting to believe him where before I thought it might just be words to instill confidence.

So be ready, soon you're gonna know who we really are:

[codysweet02]

Originally Posted by Liu Jin

or "Papa Mike's."

Go with Papa Mikes, it can be the first pro boxing gym/take n bake pizza shop in Vegas.

[Alex Bon-Miller]

Great reflection, i enjoyed reading it.

The atmosphere of where you train makes such a difference. In your case, i think you have come to foster a professional identity there... one that you might not have been able to construct as efficiently or at all if not among the people you meet day in day out.

[Liu Jin]

Liu loves it when a little fucker hits in the throat, and a week later he still has trouble swallowing...

7am - Caught the fight between Paul Williams and Carlos Quintana. It was closer than a lot of people say, I could see the fight being a point or two for Quintana, but no moreso than that.

7:45am - 2mile run.

10:30am - Gym Time:

1 round ring-jacks.

3 rounds Shadowboxing.

18 minutes punch shield. We worked on inside work mostly, chaining together combinations on the inside. We spent a good 8 minutes on bodywork only.

2 rounds double-end bag. Apparently I have a bad habit of standing up tall when I'm tired. I don't mean to, but it happens.

2 rounds speed bag.

8 minutes rope skip.

Gym Moments:

Started to do conditioning but cut it short to give Jimmy some cheering as he sparred Leo, who is now training with Richie instead of Roger Mayweather. Roger just isn't around enough for Leo, I haven't seen Roger show up to work with him once, and he's been in the Gym nearly as long as Diego and I, and he's sparred maybe 4 times total that I saw.

Mike introduced us to someone, I didn't catch who he was but he seemed important.

David missed out on sparring, he had another partner that didn't show up. One of Floyd Sr.'s Fighters. I asked him if he had sparred the dude already and he said he did, I asked him if he roughed the dude up...he said he did. I believe him, too. The kid can scrap. But what made me feel good, I'm better than Floyd Sr.'s Fighter. David said so.

Oh and Mr. Salif was back in the Gym. And for those of you who wanted to know what the size difference is from when he and I moved around together, and want a visual as to what it might have looked like, here you go:



BTW - Before anyone asks, my shirt says "SHUT UP AND TRAIN", and I wear it twice a week.

[Liu Jin]

Great reflection, i enjoyed reading it.

The atmosphere of where you train makes such a difference. In your case, i think you have come to foster a professional identity there... one that you might not have been able to construct as efficiently or at all if not among the people you meet day in day out.

I appreciate that. Glad it comes across in my expressions here.