[King Kabuki]

Oh I forgot to talk a bit about watching Jimmy spar Leo. We got to see a bit of the old Jimmy. The young Jimmy. He turned up the heat fierce on Leo and bulled in like LaMotta used to, banging Leo in the guts over and over, occasionally coming up high with hooks, and snapping Leo's head back with the double-jab.

Richie was going apeshit. He was screaming at Leo:

"TURN HIM!!! KEEP YOUR FUCKIN' HANDS UP!!! SEE!? YOU AIN'T NO FUCKIN ALI!!!"

He said all this shit because Leo likes to fight cute, hands down, bouncy footwork, fast combinations. All it got him today was beat up.

[Liu Jin]

Liu believes Sharif is eventually gonna kill someone...

6:50am - Watched Sandy Saddler vs Willie Pep. One of the closer Boxing matches I've seen resembling MMA Fights. Complete with Judo throws. You can check it out here:

Saddler/Pep.

Then we checked out Saddler and Flash Elorde. Aside from both of them being Southpaws, Flash was NOTHING like Pacquiao. A slick Boxer, Flash was immensely skilled, enough to give Sandy all he wanted. Too bad he got cut badly, I had him ahead:

Saddler/Elorde.

7:45am - 1.75 mile run.

10:30am - Gym Time:

1 round ring-jacks.

4 rounds Shadowboxing.

6 rounds touch-and-run with one of Jesse's guys, his new Welterweight. A funny thing happened during this, but I'll say what in the Gym Moments. It was good work.

4 rounds Heavybag. Mike wanted me using more head-movement.

2 rounds speed-bag. My right shoulder was killing me, but I think that happens when you do shit like go a round of touch-and-run where you throw nothing but jabs, double-jabs, and triple-jabs. But the kid needed to learn how to slip.

2 rounds rope-skip.

10 minutes on the treadmill. Same stats as last time.

Gym Moments:

Now, what happened when I was moving with Jesse's guy is Mike came in the middle of it and asked the dude "hey my man, you wanna box?" Almost immediately he said "nah".

First time I've ever had anyone refuse to spar me openly, in front of me. I assured him I wasn't the type to try to kill new guys, and would go a comfortable speed for him.

Nick sparred with Wes. They were working good but Wes is pretty out-of-shape. He gassed pretty bad and got smacked around a bit in the 2nd round. It's odd to see him build back up after a bad knockout loss.

Then Sharif sparred one of Eddie's guys. Now Sharif was sick...as in physically ill, all he did was spar and go home, and he beat the shit out of Eddie's bigger fighter, and BAD. Like as in his shirt was covered in blood and so was the other guy's, and Sharif wasn't the one damaged. The dude was tring to bowl him over and overpower him, and Sharif responded by making him pay dearly. I did feel they were allowed to go a little too hard, but I have to admit it was fun as Hell to watch. Everyone was shouting and applauding.

The best part was that the dude was trying to bull into Sharif with his head down, Sharif put him in a front face-lock then put his glove on the dude's ass and held him there, Leo shouted from behind us:

"DAMN!! HE GOT HIS ASS!! HE HOLDIN' HIM BY DA BOOTY!!"

[jamiejamie6661]

great thread i cant beleive i missed it until last night

i looked for your old training thread (which was also animal)
but couldnt find it pehaps because of my internet spazzness
but i have a question
if my memory serves you seem to be doing less volume and not training
as 'hardcore' as you were last time. this is PURELY the impression i get
from reading your log

if this is the case im interested interested in the reasoning
if im off base feel free to abuse me

anyways GREAT thread, you are a lucky guy

[King Kabuki]

I am not nor never was a volume puncher, nor did I want to be.

With regards to how much work I'm doing in my training, I'm going strictly by what my trainer says now. And being that he's a Hall of Famer, and a Former 3-time World Champion, I trust his notions even a bit better than my own feelings on the matters.

[Fight_Song]

Originally Posted by Liu Jin

hope they beat that ass for having the right hand so low.

[King Kabuki]

They did not, because an uppercut immediately followed the cross, which is why the right-hand was low.

Dumbass.

[David Bolton]

Originally Posted by 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:

Good shit, man. I remember reading your crazy as hell log from back when you were in Florida, training by yourself. I remember thinking "now this is fucking dedication", all he needs is the right trainer to take him to the top. Was a bit worried after the training stopped with Vilo but here you are with the great Mike McCallum. All the hard work payed off. Kudos.

[Liu Jin]

Good shit, man. I remember reading your crazy as hell log from back when you were in Florida, training by yourself. I remember thinking "now this is fucking dedication", all he needs is the right trainer to take him to the top. Was a bit worried after the training stopped with Vilo but here you are with the great Mike McCallum. All the hard work payed off. Kudos.

Thanks David. It's been a crazy ass ride for sure.

[Liu Jin]

Liu asks what the fuck is a Valentine's Day? To him, it's just Thursday...

6:50am. Took a look at some ring legends. From Carman Basillio versus Kid Gavilan, to Emille Griffith vs. Benny "Kid" Paret III. That's the fight where Emille killed Paret. Which serves as a lesson to some of you guys. Watch who you call a queer and turn out to be right about it. Because that girly-man might beat you...to Death. Literally.

7:30am - 1.25mile run.

10:30am - Gym Time:

Top Rank was Mike-less today.

1 round ring-jacks.

3 rounds Shadowboxing.

4 rounds body-snatcher.

4 rounds touch-and-run with Gabe, who is Jesse's new Welterweight. This time we had the gloves on and it was light contact like what I did with Cisse. Gabe apparently feels more comfortable with the idea of sparring me now, so we're gonna hook up Tuesday.

2 rounds double-end bag.

2 rounds speed bag.

Conditioning:

Push-up circuit. Cisse was telling me I look ready to fight. He said he's impressed with my progress as he can tell I've been in the Gym and improving every day since he left.

40 dips.

20 pull-ups.

Gym Moments:

I'm glad I'll get to spar a Welterweight next week. He's a bit heavier than me, too, and has quick hands. Diego actually moved around 4 rounds with him before I did, but they did no contact at all. Diego looked good, quick and slicker with defense. He also looked small, definitely like a Lightweight, which is good. And STILL he was putting on the pressure and bullying Gabe a bit. In talking to Jesse and saying Gabe and I can work together, David's sparring is going to shift to Diego, so Diego and David will get to hook up next week.

If Diego's arm is still fucked, I'll offer to spar both David and Gabe in one day on the days they're there early.

Leo was getting berated by Richie again, only today he was sparring a kid significantly smaller than he is. Richie is different with Leo though, as Leo's also 29 with no Amateur background. Seems Richie has learned from having Diego and I. He berates Leo, but he also takes care of him moreso when he's not in the ring.

Leo's brilliant when he lets his hands go because he's so athletic and fast naturally. But he only does it about 30 seconds a round. Otherwise he's defensive, passive, and was getting pushed around by a kid much smaller than him. He needs to either tighten up his defense, or learn to fight every minute of every round because his offense is right-on.

Richie promises him, though, that he'll keep putting him in there to work until he got things right.

[RandomXMAN]

Its a tragedy what has become of Emille Griffith. His documentary was pretty intense esp. when he met Paret's son.