Tuesday, May 12, 2009

BOXING

SINCE HE GAVE ME HIS 'BLESSING'

Joe Blessing is what he calls himself. I am guessing he is a late twenty - early thirty something brother, emerging from a 7-year relationship. He has taken it hard, but I do really, really think he is going to be all right (or should I have said 'alright', eh Beth?). Take a look at what he is feeling, and let him know what you think. I am trying to cheer lead myself, and let him run his course of grief for his girl. So check him out.

IT IS SOMETHING YOU CAN'T TEACH

"I know you make great plans and put lots of thought into them so wherever you decide to settle will be the best place for you."This was a nice comment left by Betty, on a recent post where I mentioned going to Carolina from here.

There is a saying, "no one plans to fail, but often people fail to plan". You would figure that someone who thinks as much as I do (as a recreation, no less!!) would be able to come up with something solid and feasible in the way of a course of action.

I am also confident in myself and not too troubled by worries. So what happens? Why am I 'here' and not 'there'? One word answer : execution. I have had breakdowns within the carrying out of my plans and things then have been allowed to unravel.

Most times I have known 'what's what', but let stuff happen anyway. Don't recall thinking that I was powerless, I mean, I like to think that I try to hit the ground running if I am going to hit the ground. The thing is, I shouldn't have had to deviate from my course. That is what is going on now. There are things cropping up, some possible 'mission creep', which is almost unavoidable. Still, there is nothing that says, 'don't go to Nebraska.'

Nebraska ... ah, 'I want to go to there!'

Making adjustments on the fly is different from a complete overhaul. Mistaking small things for major issues is what I am working to avoid.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?


When someone in boxing is called 'a puncher', it is different from someone who hits hard. And I rarely think of heavyweights as 'punchers', though there are some who would qualify by my definition. George Foreman, obviously. Sonny Liston as well. But the Klitschoko bros. who are currently atop the heavyweights, don't qualify. They are gifted, talented athletes, and their punching power is a matter of course. They should hit hard!!

No, a puncher is someone who you watch fight, and like the Randall Bailey - Frankie Figuerora fight, has the ability to concussively end the fight at any moment, under any circumstance. I think that is what Teddy Atlas tried to convey when they were talking about the fight during the lead up. He told the views how the strategy was simple for Figeurora, how Bailey isn't a fighter who looks to out box you, beat on your body, or jab and score points. When the bell rings, for those three minutes, everything Randall Bailey does, is predicated on finding a 'home' for his right hand.

Randall doesn't look like much. Not as imposing as a cat like Tommy Hearns, whom Nigel Benn (himself a puncher, one that I kept in mind when fighting) said, 'has muscle in every department'. He is in condition, but no more so that Bob, the trainer on 'The Biggest Loser'. So where does the power come from?

In my assessment of cats like Bailey, he is a 'target acquired' puncher. Then there are cats like the one here, another favorite of mine, Julian Jackson. The cat he hit, Terry Norris would go on to have a really nice career after this fight. What I remembered about this fight was in the first round, he speeding by Jackson so easily. Norris had faster reflexes, better skills, and could punch a little himself. So what happened?

PUNCH HAPPENS


Again as with Randall Bailey, Julian Jackson is looking to deliver that big right hand. Mind you, he throws the other punches, but when that right hand gets launched something is going down!! In a interview years later, Terry Norris was asked if Julian was the hardest puncher he had faced. You know what his answer was? It was on the lines of, 'I really don't know, because as soon as he hit me I was like, out.' Now, that is deep.

Then you have cats who are like 'dynamos'. Dynamos in the sense not that they can throw a lot of punches, but that they generate a consistent amount of power when they fight. In the case of fighters like Aaron Pryor, and more recently, Manny Paciquao it can be both.

One of the exceptional things about Manny Paciquao, is that he was already rare as a puncher at flyweight, where he began his career. When he finally drew notice as a boxer on the world class level, it was at 122 lbs. A long held boxing axiom is that as you move up in weight, your power is diminished. But there is another 'boxing fact' to Manny that allows him to 'carry' his puncher power with him as he goes up in weight.

Manny is a cat who falls into several categories, one which I will get into later, along with observations on the season finale of one of my fave shows, 'The Biggest Loser'.

3 comments:

Ken Riches said...

Not a fan of the biggest loser, but do like the boxing analogies. I will reserve judgement on my style until I see all my choices :o)

Beth said...

All right! ;)

betty said...

thanks Mark that you thought my recent comment was nice :)

I think sometimes we make great plans and when we try to execute them, we forget to plan for what else is going on in the world around us. Who would have known a few short years ago how bad things would be right now with the economy (I know there were people out there that this is not catching them by surprise, but for the "average Joe" like me, this came out of nowhere for sure). In these cases the best of plans sometimes are so hard to execute. But again, being the planner you are, I'm sure you will figure out a way to get to Nebraska in your timing :)

betty