[Diego Lara]

Sat 12/8: Ran wind sprints in the biting cold wind of the park.

6 rounds of mitt work with Liu. Focused on throwing hooks using sidesteps and slips to set up the right angle for good leverage. Threw short, clean combos that would be easy but effective for me to use in the fight. The work is brutal, and I'm still concerned about my stamina, but I think it's a matter of getting used to my mouthpiece. And keeping my energy up as I cut weight. I will be ready and angry come next Sat, like a brown little Hatton, but with far better prospects of success. Firefox out.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by Diego Lara

Tanks for all the support guys. I'm gonna give it my all and kill that fool next Sat. It's cool that there are others out there that are interested in the journey, the pain, the boils and all else that comes with trying to become a real fighter.

Good Luck man. I always lurk you and Liu's training logs. Kick ass.

[codysweet02]

Just so you know, if you lose you are never allowed back here again.

What kind of mouthpiece did you get? Probably too soon for this commin fight but you might be able to get a holiday deal from galdiator guards or soemthing like that on a custom one. I think it was Pacman or maybe Erik Morales had a custom one but it was a double in 2 parts. Like he had a single made for his top teeth adn one for his bottom teeth. Anyone know who makes one like that?

[Diego Lara]

Lose? Diego doesn't lose. If Diego goes down, everyone goes down with him. Diego does not fail. Whatever doesn't kill him, only pisses him off to the point of being homicidal.

[Diego Lara]

I use a brainpad mouthpiece, which is great for protecting the head, not so great for breathing. I've been having some stamina issues because of it, but I've been training with it so that I can get used to breathing through the thing before my fight.
As for the "fight", it may not happen after all. I'm not sure exactly what the problem is, but Mike's been having trouble assuring me a spot on the card. This is more than a little disappointing, considering the hard work I've put in and how hyped up I was for this bout. Still, nothing is set in stone yet, so the fight may happen yet, but if it doesn't, oh well. There will be other fights, and Liu told me he heard talk of maybe Mike putting me in the Golden Gloves next year. So all is not lost, just in limbo. But don't lose faith guys, this beaner's gonna light some unfortunate welter or lightweight up like a christmas tree after 6 hits of acid, and then we'll see what's what.

[Diego Lara]

Monday was a light day, did some running in the shower, went to the gym, did my normal routine. Mike didn't show up till late cuz he thought I wasn't coming, but it's all good. I pretty much know what to work on if he's ever absent. Yesterday had to drive to Cali for my birth certificate in case I do get to fight, and so training did not resume in earnest until today.....

[Diego Lara]

Wed 12/12: Revisited McCallum vs Toney, to watch the Body Snatcher give terrible Toney a boxing lesson, and then get robbed in a draw decision. It was funny to see Mike do certain moves (like the high/low double jab) that he's trying to instill in me right now.
2.5 m run today.


Gym time: I was supposed to spar Edgar today, so I went light until it was time to work.
1 round stretching.
1 round ring jacks.
2 rounds shadowboxing.
1 round skip rope.

Mike was late to the gym, so I had the honor of having Jesse Reid corner me during my first round.
Edgar has this "thing". Even when he says to go light, he doesn't actually know the meaning of the words "light" or "easy". So that usually turns every sparring sesh with him into a brawl, and I'm easily baited into that. I thought I did well the first round, using my jab, and when I hit him to the body, I always stopped him from coming forward. Hitting him to the head is far less effective, but the little homeboy crouches so damn low, it's all I can do not to bop him on the top of the head with my jab. Still having a lot of problems defending the hook, and surprisingly, he got off a lot of straight rights to my face, and almost busted my nose. This was a little disconcerting, but not as much as was my stamina. I'm having problems keeping myself going, and I feel like it's a combination of weight cutting, stance, and not being used to breathing through my large mouthpiece. I was tiring out in the 3rd round, and I resorted to mostly defence, until the last 30 seconds when I let go cuz he was trying to unload on me. At least I still have that instinct intact. Still, I need to learn to control my body in the ring, not just go into panic/brawl mode. Guts alone won't win a fight, and maybe Mike sees that I need more work before I can enter competition and not get starched when I need to go more than 2 rounds. So if I do fight this weekend, we'll see if I've managed to discipline myself to be calm and think my way through the fight. I have brains, I've gotta use them in order to keep from getting beat stupid. I'm gonna run and do some pushups tonight, and leave it be at that. I was at 154 this morn, probably 156 after the whole day, let's see how mush lighter I get by Sat. Firefox out.

[Diego Lara]

Sad news fellas. My fight has been cancelled due to my trainer's concerns about where I am in my training. I can hold my own in the ring, but as of now, that's most of what I can do. Which isn't to say that I'm not improving, only that seeing as I've only been training for a year, I'm just not at that point where I can go into competition and be confident that I can handle whatever my opponent might throw at me. I hate to have to admit this, but it's true. It's all good though, Mike says that Golden Gloves are coming up soon, and if anything, training at Top Rank and working with pros on a daily basis will prepare to enter that tournament and kick ass. That Mike thinks I'll be good enough for Golden Gloves by then is enough to keep me going. I need experience, plain and simple. Champions can't be forged in a week, a month, even a year. I'd like to have at least one fight by the end of January, and I'm confident that Mike will set something up for me in the new year. So don't give up on me yet guys, I'm getting ready to do something noteworthy in this sport, and before too long I hope I'll be the big guy with his own gym and an entourage to rival a Thanksgiving parade. It's all like ka-kow!!!

[Brandon MacRea]

As a guy with serious pro aspirations, why not jump into the amateur ring as often as possible? It's basically just sparring with a little more kick behind it to a pro, as there are very strictly enforced safety regulations and no negative repercussions/set backs to your fight career, and it acts to familiarize you with pre-fight nerves and whatnot

I don't see what Mike's concerned about?

[Diego Lara]

Thu 12/13: Watched some oldies but goodies today. Earnie Shavers vs Ken Norton, 1st round knockout. Beautifully violent. Also watched some old Max Baer vs Primo Carnera, a "circus freak" in Liu's words, a big guy indeed, but no match for Max's sheer grit and ruthless punching. The last fight was Dempsey vs Willard, an 11 round slugfest that was my first real look at Dempsey's legendary old school "put em up put em uuupppp" style. He stands with his legs wide while throwing, just like me. I'm not as tough as him tho.
2m run today.

Gym time:
Today I was to spar Lori, a 5'10" welterweight who has a fight in Jan. I was her first sparring partner for her camp. It was cool to spar a working pro with Mr Jesse Reid as her corner. First I warmed up.
1 round stretching.
1 round ring jacks.
2 rounds shadowboxing.
By this time Mike was in the gym, and I suited up. We went 4 rounds, and she gave me some kinda work.
Honestly, I think one of my strengths is that I can pump jabs all day long. So can Lori. She was catching me flush with her doubles, and succeeded in nullifying my combos. I was able to catch her to the body, which is something I've gotten much better at as time goes on. Going to the head was alot more difficult, and has always been for me, so I know that tomorrow when we work again I've gotta focus more on that. Once again, I fell prey to a barrage of left hooks once Lori realized that after throwing I didn't always bring my right hand back high enough. This is a problem that has plagued me since I started, and it's very petty, so it has to stop or this fault threatens my very survival in this sport. I simply get hit in the head too much, and I'm either gonna adapt or get beaten stupid one day. My stamina was better today, but I'm still too tight dammit!!! I've gotta work on relaxing or I'll never make it as a boxer. I must. Other than that, I think I did a decent job against a pro with more skill and experience. I was tired at the end, but not dead like I was against Edgar or Liu. That too will improve.
One compliment that Lori gave me was that it was nearly impossible to hit me to the body, so she was kinda coerced into headhunting. Good that I've got that down, now need to do the same with the head. It's take more head movement and more rolling the shoulders. She also said that when something she did was working, after that particular round Mike would tell me what I was doing wrong, and the same tactic wouldn't work next round. I listen to Mike, trust in him, and when I do what he says, it always works, so I pay attention. But it all simply come down to that I need to work more. I need more experience before I can fight, plain and simple. Even Jesse said I'm talented, but I need more experience before I'm ready to fight. That's alot coming from Jesse Reid. So I know I'm not backsliding or stagnating. Mike said I'm trying to develop in this sport in leaps and bounds, and that's just not how it's done. I really think he looks out for me more than I do. I'm grateful that I have a trainer that actually gives a sh-- about his fighters. And I know that I'm just starting this journey to wherever it leads, and I have time. I still have time to learn.
2 rounds skip rope to cool down.

Conditioning:
Only 2 sets of ab machine pyramid and 3x10 twist ups. Now that I'm not fighting, I'm gonna let my body rest a little from the shock of weight cutting and sparring almost every day this week. I'm gonna work again with Lori again tomorrow, and my only goal is to not make the same mistakes again, to have her and Jesse (Mike will be out of town), "You did better today. You learned." That's enough to keep me going. I'm at 153, and once I get down to 145 or so, I've made a pact with myself that I will NEVER AGAIN weigh more than 150 in my life. I'm tired of being a fatty. I wanna be a fighter. Liu overheard Mike talking to another trainer this week. He was saying, "I'm gonna make history with these two guys." Firefox out.