Canada Day With 'The Brick'

Welcome to Entry 163.

A special Canada Day entry.

There will be no more entries until next Wednesday.







SPARRING REPORT FOR WEDNESDAY

On Wednesday, I sparred Connor.
He has not been boxing for that long, and not that good yet.
However, he caught me with a wild right hook, right above the ear.
He hit me so hard, that he left a bump and bruise.
Guys have to learn to take it a bit easier while sparring. It is only for practice, and you should only be using about 80% power.
I know before, I didn't care, but that was because sparring was my only outlet.
Now that I compete in real bouts, I don't want to get injured from sparring.
If you one is to be hurt, let it be for something worth while.


TAKING IT GRACEFULLY ON THE CHIN (PICNIC)

The CHIN Radio International Picnic is on this weekend and Tuesday.
On Saturday at 2 PM (but likely later because they never start on time), will be the boxing as held annually.
This year will be something different. It will be an Ontario verses Quebec tournament.
Okay, that is definitely something I want to see. Who wouldn't?

I will be at the picnic all three days, taking photo and video for Metropolis Media, daily from about noon until dusk. Come over and say "Hi".

The weather is forecast to be great for the weekend, partly cloudy with a high of 30, but humid.

See you at the CHIN Picnic, Saturday,Sunday, and Tuesday at Exhibition Place.

http://www.scotiabankchinpicnic.com/

Happy Canada Day weekend!

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"The Brick", member of the Stockyards Boxing Team

Stockyards Boxing and Fitness, 215 Ryding Ave., Toronto

STATS

Record: 0 / 1  / 1 

Weigh-in on June 20 / 2014 @ 86 kg / 190 lbs. {no change}

Last bout: June 14 / 2014 [Loss by Decision]

Next scheduled bout: N/A

Training schedule: Monday to Sunday, sparring 3 times weekly

Coaches: R. Soucé, J, Emon

Resting HR: 64 - 68
Stance: Orthodox 

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Cheers.

  

'NOBODY BEATS THE BRICK'

The Return of 'The Cobra'

Welcome to Entry 162.

In this post: 'The Cobra' returns, 
and Coach Rick tries to kill The Brick,
also, Mississauga Transit once again makes an appearance in 'The Stupidity Files'.
Plus,  'The Brick' gets a new smartphone, and it could be his greatest challenge ever...







'THE COBRA' RETURNS...'THE BRICK' IS NOT IMPRESSED

I went in for sparring on Monday, and Richard was not there, only Junmar.
That was a bit uncomfortable, since Junmar coaches 'The Cobra'.
Speaking of...'The Cobra' was there, helping Junmar with his fitness class.
Really? So, now he is something special?

'Cobra' came over to me and asked, "I am doing a class now, so can you come at 5:30 to be in my class?"

Okay, so this is the rundown: The guy who supposedly "beat" me on the 14th of June, now wants me to join his "fitness" class?
.......The fuck ???
While I was mentally flipping him off, I politely told him that the bus that takes me to the boxing gym, the 71A, does not leave the terminal until 5:36, and depending on traffic, will get me to the gym by 5:50 or 5:55.

Of course, if I really wanted to, I could take an earlier bus -but- I don't want to.
Richard is my coach, and he wants me at the gym by 6:00 on Mondays, so I am there by 6:00, as requested...by the coach.

Overall, 'Cobra" is a nice guy, but I usually don't take fitness classes taught by other boxers..
I mean, you are just another boxer. How do you get off pretending to be a coach?
Most of these guys don't even do the exercises they are trying to get other people to do.

I told 'Cobra' that I wanted to re-match him, and he said, "Well, whatever. I don't take it seriously."
Well, I do.
This is the first time I have ever taken a sport seriously.
You see, I never really bothered trying to be a serious athlete, knowing full well that it would not work in my favour.

There are two types of people in this world. Those who get everything served to them on a silver platter, and then there are the peons. 
I am a peon. I have accepted that. Therefore, in the past, I did not see any point wasting time participating in sports.
Most of you know about my return to boxing, but just as I expected, I lost my first match for apparently no reason, except that I am a peon.

I am not quite ready to quit, but this loss did turn me off quite a bit.
I will have to see what happens in my next bout, which will hopefully be in September.


COACH IS TRYING TO KILL ME!

On Saturday, I went to Stockyards Gym right after work, so I was there by about 10 AM.

I did a warm-up plus shadow boxing, which I always do.
Then, Richard had me spar four rounds with Dharius. He's only 14, and not very big, but very fast. He had me running around that ring like crazy.
After all that, Richard wanted me to do Phil's fitness class.
The only reason I did  Phil's class is because Richard was present.
However, I think Rick is trying to kill me. 
I did not complete Phil's class. I did not do the boxing part, but I did the fitness part.
Not bad considering not having any sleep.


NEW PHONE, NEW HEADACHE

Rogers sent me a Blackberry Q5, and it is one of those touch-screen deals. 
I don't like those. How the hell do you control it? I am a button and dial person. I am really not into fingering my phone.

Someone asked why I like Blackberry so much.
It is not that I like Blackberry, as much as I don't like anything else.
What else is there? The Crapple Gayphone, overpriced garbage, or Ass-Roid, which sucks, and Rogers is not offering anything with Winblows right now, so....what else is there?

MISSISSAUGA TRANSIT DOES IT AGAIN, GOOD JOB !

I am stuck taking Mississauga Transhit a bit longer to use up the tickets they gave me, that they gave me the run-around to get.
I originally went to the City Centre Terminal as instructed by MiWay customer service, and nobody there knew anything about it.
I complained, and they sent the tickets to the Islington Subway ticket booth.
Surprise, surprise, they were there, so now I am using them.

However, they are doing nothing to improve their service.
On Thursday of last week, both the 3 and the 26 were late leaving Islington.
They were both supposed to leave at 9:50, and neither showed up until well after 10:15. It was 10:18 to be exact for the 26. I have no idea when the 3 got there.
I mentioned it to Miway, and their (usual) answer, "According to our records both buses departed at 9:50."

Oh, okay. The bus is supposed to depart at 9:50, and does not even show up until 10:18, but the bus is not late.
Don't freaking tell me the freaking bus is not freaking late, when I am freaking standing right there, and I don't see a bus.
There is something seriously wrong with these people.

Okay, then. Let me put this into a language that their little minds can intake:
I am the customer. I pay the bills. If I say the bus is late, the bus is freaking late. Live with it.

Mississauga is famous for two things, "It is not my/our fault" and "Sometimes things happen".
Do you know what these are?
These are excuses for laziness, and Mississauga is full of that, and full of other things, too.

...and still the cry-baby capital of Ontario.

"I'm from Mississauga...I'm sorry."

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"The Brick", member of the Stockyards Boxing Team

Stockyards Boxing and Fitness, 215 Ryding Ave., Toronto

STATS

Record: 0 / 1  / 1 

Weigh-in on June 20 / 2014 @ 86 kg / 190 lbs. {no change}

Last bout: June 14 / 2014 [Loss by Decision]

Next scheduled bout: N/A

Training schedule: Monday to Sunday, sparring 3 times weekly

Coaches: R. Soucé, J, Emon

Resting HR: 64 - 68
Stance: Orthodox 

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Cheers.

"Nobody Beats The Brick"

Somebody Beat 'The Brick' ?

Welcome to Entry 161.

In this entry, a summary of my Comeback, 

and 

meet Mississauga, not the city, the cat!







Somebody Beat 'The Brick' ?

Well, this is it.
I have reached my goal.
My goal was to step into the ring for a competitive bout, and I did.

Although the outcome was not what I expected.

I lost.
Although, I feel I should have won.

Here are some photos from the bout:

Go here for the video: FIGHT NIGHT XX, Bout 6

I really don't see how I lost.
You can clearly see that I put him on his ass at the end of Round Two.
However, just like with every other sport, boxing officials are blind.

I would not mind re-matching with him.

My coach said something very interesting to me after my loss.
He said, "It does not matter. The point is you got back into the ring after all this time and at your age, and that takes balls."

You know. that really means a lot to me. Some coaches bullshit their athletes, but I have to say that Richard is always honest.
I am lucky to have him as a coach.


Huge Difference Between Sparring and the Real Thing

There is definitely a difference between sparring and a competitive match.

There is more energy. I guess you get pumped-up by the audience.

Also, the difference in the size of the gloves throws you off. 
You wear huge gloves for sparring. You may as well wrap sofa cushions around your hands., but competition gloves are so much smaller. It feels like you have no gloves on at all.


What's Next ?

My next bout, I hope will be in September. 
As I said, I would like to re-match with Leo, or take on Matt's challenge.

Now that I have had my taste of competition, I know what to expect, so I would like to get into the ring at least every second month or so.

I will be taking this week off, until Saturday.
I will be talking with Coach Richard over the summer about my next match.

Hopefully, the officials will be a bit kinder to me. I really can't keep a 0/1/1 record. 


A New Member Of "The Brick's" Family 

The Brick has a kitten, only 6 weeks old, and I just named her.

Since we all know that Mississauga is the pussy capital of Ontario, I have named my kitten 'Mississauga', or 'Missy' for short.


World, meet Mississauga:

...and, Mississauga sleeping in the letter tray:

   

-----------------------------------------------

"The Brick", member of the Stockyards Boxing Team

Stockyards Boxing and Fitness, 215 Ryding Ave., Toronto

STATS

Record: 0 / 1  / 1 

Weigh-in on June 14 / 2014 @ 86 kg / 190 lbs. {up}

Last bout: June 14 / 2014 [Loss by Decision]

Next scheduled bout: N/A

Training schedule: Off until June 21

Coaches: R. Soucé, J, Emon

Resting HR: 64 - 68
Stance: Orthodox 

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Cheers.

A Great Father's Day Gift...

 Welcome to Entry 160.

This will be the last entry until after my Comeback bout, so I can concentrate on training.

Next bout: June 14 @ George Bell Arena 
                 vs. Leo "The Cobra" Ronin

A Great Father's Day Gift...

This coming Sunday is Father's Day...and a great gift for dad would be a ticket to boxing.
Bring dad to Stockyards' boxing show on Saturday at 7 PM at the George Bell Arena.
There are 11 scheduled bouts, including mine. 

The poster only shows Stockyards' team members.









Preparing For Ronin

Okay, so all this time I was thinking that since this was my first "real" bout in a long time, that it would only be an exhibition.
Richard informed me on Monday, that my "Triumphant Return To the Ring" is not an exhibition match, but in fact a competition match, for points, the real thing...like Coca-Cola, but maybe a lot more painful.

Way to put the pressure on.
I mean, this is it. This is really "it". All I have been working for that last few years is finally happening.

It will be myself, "The Brick" Brec verses Leo "The Cobra" Ronin. An all-out Heavyweight battle, in front of a lot of people.

I was looking at the gloves they wear for competition, and they are a lot smaller (thinner) than exhibition or sparring gloves. They are 12 oz gloves as opposed to 16's used in sparring.
Wow. There is not a lot of padding on those. I mean, you can knock out a guy with those.

Not that I am overly worried about Ronin.
He is smiling in the photo. He won't be smiling on Saturday after I hand his ass to him in five different pieces.

I have been monitoring his training, and he has not done squat in the past two weeks. Maybe 2-3 rounds of sparring and a couple rounds of shadow boxing a week. That's it.
Really? How can you prepare for a fight like that?
Maybe he still thinks it is an exhibition. 
Keep thinking that, Leo. Please do. All the better for me.

Also on the card: Boxing colleague Justin Stephenson, also a Master's Division boxer, who will be doing an exhibition with George Fintos.

This month's boxing at Stockyards Boxing is brought to you by Geritol.

I have less than four days to prepare for this.
I will continue the regular training schedule through to Thursday, including a bit of sparring on Wednesday.
I will be taking Friday off.
It is normal for boxers to take off the day before a match.

I will also be taking the following week off, to continue my regular training schedule the following Saturday morning, June 21.
The only thing I might do is a bit of running through High Park on a nice day, or some treadmill at Bloor Fitness. Other than that, it will be a dead week for me as far as training goes.


Coming Up For "The Brick"

I may already have a match for the following show in September (Stockyards will not be hosting any shows in July or August).

Matt challenged me to "go" in September.
Let me tell you a bit about Matt. He is 53. Yeah, a 53 year-old boxer who has not had a lot of sanctioned ring experience.
He has done a bit of "underground" boxing. You know "Fight Club" type stuff, but he has never been in the ring with Boxing Ontario officials watching.

I accepted his "challenge". 
Now, it is just a matter of getting Richard to agree.
I mean, hey, he's 53. What is he going to do? Break a hip?

NEXT SCHEDULED BOUT: JUNE 14 @ George Bell Arena

-----------------------------------------------

"The Brick", member of the Stockyards Boxing Team

Stockyards Boxing and Fitness, 215 Ryding Ave., Toronto

STATS

Record: 0 / 0  / 1 

Weigh-in on June 6 / 2014 @ 85 kg / 188 lbs. {up}

Last bout: September 21 / 2013 [Exhibition]

Next scheduled bout: June 14  / 2014 @ George Bell Arena

Training schedule: Monday to Sunday, with sparring twice weekly

Coaches: R. Soucé, J, Emon

Resting HR: 64 - 68
Stance: Orthodox 

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Cheers.

Saturday Sparring ?

NEXT BOUT: VS. LEO "THE COBRA" @ GEORGE BELL ARENA, JUNE 14, 7 PM

                             

Welcome to entry 159. 

In this entry, sparring report from Monday and Saturday ! 
Plus, June 14 venue change--no need to drive to Vaughan.

Also, in the 'Stupidity Files',  Mississauga Transit, again.

SPARRING ON A SATURDAY ?

On a nice Saturday morning, while others are out with their families shopping and going to the park or a walk along the lake shore, what does a boxer do? 

Sparring.

Coach called me into the gym for sparring on Saturday morning. I did two rounds.

Also, I did sparring on Monday evening, four rounds.

I have to get ready for the 14th. I am fighting "The Cobra". 

Sounds tough, but what happens when you drop a Brick onto a Cobra?

CARD MOVED BACK TO TORONTO

June 14th card has been moved back to George Bell Arena. 

Those who want to watch the Brick kick some Cobra ass, now don't have to travel all the way to Vaughan.

In this week's Files, the City of Mississauga.

Oh, yeah. 

No transit system drives me more crazy than Mississauga Transhit.

You know what they told me? I am not allowed to talk to the drivers.

Apparntly I complain to much to the drivers.

Really?

Excuse me, but nobody is going to tell me who and when I can talk to someone.

...and if they were on time once in a while, I would not have to complain.

Ummmmmm....duh.

Let me tell you what it is like to ride a Mississauga bus. It is like drilling teeth without freezing.

I have decided to start using Brampton Transit instead. I would only have to leave five minutes earlier, and I would not have the headaches.

It is not that difficult. Just take the TTC number 191 to Humber College, then take the Brampton number 511 to Kennedy, and then the Brampton number 5, which will drop me off at the door.

I told MiWay exactly where they can stick their buses.

Now, they are offering me five tickets - after I told them I was not going to use their service any more.

Their timing is impeccable isn't it?

That explains a lot, actually. 

"6 Dunce-Caps" for MiWay. 

Yeah, I know it only goes up to four, but I have made an exception for these stupid moron idiots.

You know, Mississauga is the headcase capital of Canada, and the majority of them work for Mississauga Transit?

I'd like to fight a guy from 'Sauga. 

I'm going to ask Richard for my next bout.

I want to beat the crap out of a guy from 'Sauga just to prove a point.

The point that Mississauga sucks...at everything.

Here is an idea: Instead of sending people to jail, make them live in Mississauga, and have to ride Mississauga buses everywhere.

NEXT SCHEDULED BOUT: JUNE 14 @ George Bell Arena

-----------------------------------------------

"The Brick", member of the Stockyards Boxing Team

Stockyards Boxing and Fitness, 215 Ryding Ave., Toronto

STATS

Record: 0 / 0  / 1 

Weigh-in on May 30 / 2014 @ 84 kg / 187 lbs. {no change}

Last bout: September 21 / 2013 [Exhibition]

Next scheduled bout: June 14  / 2014 @ George Bell Arena

Training schedule: Monday to Sunday, with sparring twice weekly

Coaches: R. Soucé, J, Emon

Resting HR: 64 - 68
Stance: Orthodox 

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Cheers.