Reflection

I want to clear something up very quickly before I get into what I want to blog about. I've received many messages from 'loyal' friends that feel that I won the fight yesterday. While I appreciate the support and loyalty, you must all undestand that you must seperate that from the judgement of the fight. I didn't win. Plain and simple. Loudest cheers don't get you points with judges! My opponent won in all categories, He controlled the pace, was the aggressor, landed more shots, landed more power punches and inflicted more damage. My own cousins, trainers, and teammates all concede to these facts. Sometimes you see what you want to see, you wanted to see me win, so you saw the punches I landed and they were amplified in your mind, but I assure you, I definitely didn't win the fight. In fact I was a little nervous before they announced the winner, sometimes judges get influenced by the crowd and the winner gets some "hometown' gift and gets the decision, you see it all the time,but I'm glad that didn't happen, I wouldn't want a victory that way, it would've been bad for the sport and Ontario Boxing , and I wouldn't want to be part of something like that. Ian won the fight, fair and square and clear, so everyone put your minds and hearts to rest, the right call was made.

I was very emotional. I'm an emotional person. I apologize if my tears made anyone feel uncomfortable, that's just the way I am, win OR lose. I put so much ino boxing. I've worked extremely hard at it. I put everything into this training camp. I made the weight again, I got so many sparring rds in that I was forced to take more recovery days than I normally would, I had injuries(every boxers has injuries...24/7), I had stuff going on in my personal life(isn't that always the case with everyone!), I knew my opponent was faster, stronger, more experienced than me going in. This fight had been built up for a while. So when it was over, I do what I've become accustomed to, a tool I've used to help me stay sober, I just let everything go. I let everything out. It's funny that I used to play poker for a living! Because I have no 'poker face' now! Happy, sad, angry, emotional, you don't ever have to guess how I'm feeling, I wear my heart on my sleeve, you'll know. So there were so many factors leading to my emotional reaction, but if you know me, it isn't anything new. I had friends come see me from so many facets of my life, I had support there from all angles, there were my Beertown Fam, my cousins, co-workers,my neighbors, The Barnes family. The list goes on, I actually can't even list everyone there. My best friends from grade 8 were even there(I hadn't seen 1 in over 20 years), supporters from my blog that have been there right from the beginning, through it all. Truthfully though only about 20% of the people that said they were coming did! But I was extremely grateful, the ovation was tremendous, something I'll never forget.The BBSV community and my teammates and ALL the guys I've had sparring wars with, I really didn't want to let them down. I have so much love and respect for them, that I am always trying to be worthy of their company, I want them to be proud that I'm a teammate, I want to represent them and Syd. It was my first time having Saul in my corner and I really wanted to get the win for him. For most people, it would be the first time they would see me fight. My dad was there. I can't really get into the details, but let's just say it meant a lot to me that he came. After all these years,43 to be exact. To have him there to see me do what I was born to do. After everything I've put him through. I've waited 43 years, and so has he, to see me happy. When I'm in the ring I'm not alone. The demons I carry are always there too, and the significant people I've lost in my life, they are all there, weighing my heart down. I'm an emotional person, give me all those factors, let me sit on it for a month...when that fight was over there were going to be tears, win, lose or draw, sorry.

I wanted to thank all those who came to support me and my team, it was a day I will never forget. I also want to credit my opponent Ian Vasquez, he fought with determination and heart and will, I aspire to fight with his spirit, congrats Ian, you deserve it. You deserve to eat the junk food too! Although I didn't win, I did the same thing I set out to do at GoldenGloves, when the bell rang to end the fight, I had nothing left to throw, I left it all out there.

FINALLY!

It definitely has not been an easy journey. If you were to tell me 3 years ago that I would only have ONE competitive fight under my belt at this time, well, I wouldn't believe you. When I hooked up with Syd, I knew my boxing journey would never be the same. I was in good hands, I knew deep down that I was going to be able to pursue my dreams. I never thought it would be this good. Syd as my head trainer, Shawn Murray in charge of my progress, Lucas Rowe, the technical guru, Denton Daley, my mentor, Jarrod Guille the experienced liver killing specialist, Erika Gmeindl, the strength and conditioning coach, Derek Lacey the passionate knowledge. Not to mention all the competitive boxers that help me on a regular basis. If I don't achieve my goals in boxing, there's no way I could blame anybody but myself. Syd's gym has given me everything I could ever ask for and more.

My first competitive boxing experience wasn't supposed to be Golden Gloves. It was something I didn't even have in my scope. During that weekend I really didn't know what to think. Here I was living my dream, I was finally going to compete, I was going to box, something I had waited my entire life for. It was so emotional for me. But I couldn't get too caught up in that, I was too busy starving my ass off trying to make weight! And the one thing I wasn't counting on was how enjoyable my experience with my team would be. I had never really been a part of anything like it. It was special, something I will always treasure for the rest of my life. After my fight, I was overwhelmed, I did it. I finally did it. I just couldn't believe it. Some people I'm sure were a little confused by all the tears, but I just couldn't help it, the fact that I won the Gold medal had nothing to do with it, I couldn't care less. I competed, I boxed. It was the happiest moment of my life. And to be part of Team Destiny, to be a part of this amazing team of youngsters, I took that experience with me more than my own individual triumph.

After my fight(which was in April) we were on our way. I sat down with Syd and the plan was laid out. We were going to get as many fights in, get as much 'ring' experience we can, and chase the dream to turn professional. My May fight fell through, then my June 16 fight was met with disaster, and the event that ruined my summer, I fractured my ribs in 2 places in sparring, it put me out for almost 10 weeks, and was my 4th cracked rib in less than a year and a half. Adversity. Well, all that is done now, I'm back in business, with a fight in my 'hometown', against an opponent that I wasn't qualified enough to fight in June. I've worked hard, made my most significant improvements since I've started, and I feel like I'm ready. It has been a whirlwind journey, a whirlwind year, a whirlwind summer, hell, the last month has been chaotic! Every area in my life has suffered, except the boxing. So, I've put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well, in front of my family, friends, my team, the community, and my BBSV family. I hope I can deliver.

So I hope myself and my teammates get a lot of support, I know that I will appreciate anybody that comes out to support the event. This entertainment is unquestionably great value. Where else can you watch a bunch of great boxers, willing to demonstrate their skill with class and heart, willing to lay it all on the line for themselves, their team and their community.