Welcome back, my friends. It has been a while.
It has been a very rough year for 'The Brick', but I made it through, and now I am back better than ever.
I remember back when I decided to leave Boxing Ontario for the Ontario Boxing Association.
I was going through a rough time deciding what to do. I remember referencing the song "Solsbury Hill". About letting other things go in order to pursue something that could possibly be better.
As you all know, it did not make things better. It made things worse.
The OBA turned out to be a 'ghetto' organization. Very unprofessional with no fixed rules in place. I was very concerned about the safety of boxing under OBA 'rules'.
They would often make up rules as they went along.
Comparing to Boxing Ontario that has very strict safety regulations and has a very good safety record, amongst all sports, not just boxing,
I had to make the decision to go back to Boxing Ontario. However, they were pissed off at me as well. I wasn't even sure if they would allow me back.
As it turned out, the Boxing Ontario door did not lock when I let it close behind me, and the organization was happy to allow me back.
I think that the temporary move away from Boxing Ontario has made me appreciate that organization even more.
I am not the only one. I am hearing many stories of situations where boxers are leaving the Ontario Boxing Association for Boxing Ontario.
All I can suggest to anyone interested in competitive boxing in Ontario is to not even bother with the OBA. They may be less expensive, but you get what you pay for.
Look only for a Boxing Ontario certified boxing club.
Now, with that out of the way, I can look forward to a future in boxing,
My wife asked me when I was planning on retiring from boxing.
I don't know why she asked that, and it was odd for her to ask since she knows how much I like the sport.
My answer to that is: 'I don't know.'
Retiring from a sport you love is generally something you don't plan too far in advance.
All I can say is that I am registered with Boxing Ontario as a competitor until the end of 2018, so it will definitely not be before that.
Since returning to Boxing Ontario, I have been to the Silver Gloves tournament, and I am on my way to the Golden Gloves and Provincial Championships.
I am now on a new team with a new coach.
Although, I have to admit that I have had bad luck with coaches in the past, so I still have my 'feelers' out.
I discovered Coach Billy at a card that my old gym, Stockyards Boxing, was hosting back in April.
He had two boxers there, Mike and Luciano. Both are now part of my team and are really cool guys.
Most of the team are okay people.
There is also Coach Sandy whom usually teaches the girl's classes but often helps the guys too.
So far I have to say I like training at Xtreme Couture Toronto.
Although, I pay a lot train there. Almost three times more than what I paid at both Stockyards and the Toronto Boxing Academy. However, that has a lot to do with my membership type.
In addition to getting personal training sessions with the coach, I have full access to the entire facility including all classes.
That means that I don't have to stick to boxing.
Of course, you all know I won't move from boxing. I have always said that if you are going to train in a combat discipline, pick one and get really good at it.
I have posted about this before.
Any guy who is seasoned at a combat sport can easily kick the butt of a "Jack-of-all-trades" MMA guy.
Connor McGregor knows all about that.
By-the-way, it is reported that Mr. McGregor is in trouble over something that happened in Ireland.
Anyway, back to me and about my training.
I am happy to be back competing in the sport that I love.
I won silver in the Silver Gloves back in September.
The Golden Gloves and Ontario Championship is in just over a week.
For what it looks like now, I will be going. It also looks like I will have the same opponent from the Silver Gloves.
This is a dual-tournament consisting of both Golden Gloves and Provincial Championships.
I am not really sure how that works.
I think what it means is that if you win gold in the Gloves, you are also the provincial champion in your division.
However it is done, this is a big tournament that boxers take very seriously.
I have just over a week to train.
I am working very hard trying to be an athlete and work full time as well.
I am not going to settle for a silver. I deserve a gold.
"With a little effort and a lot of determination, nothing is impossible."
-Paul 'The Brick' Brec, Silver Gloves Silver Medalist
