That Didn't Go As Planned

ENTRY 421


THAT DIDN'T GO AS PLANNED

I wasn't going to do an entry today, but I felt that I needed to do one.

Friday night was my first Bronze Gloves.
It was at the Holiday Inn near the airport.

My opponent was from Combative Concepts. An MMA gym on Kennedy Road.

To make it very short, he overwhelmed me.
He struck fast and hard. At least three sets of at least four punches each that I didn't see until they hit me.
Although I tried my best to keep him away, he just kept up his assault.

The referee issued me a standing-8 at about half-way through the first round.
He asked me if I wanted to continue and I gave him the "YES" motion.
The referee looked at me and he took a couple of seconds as if he was making a decision.
Then after what seemed like forever, the referee made a decision. He made the "out" signal.

That's it.
It was over.

A wise desition. I am not at all angry about him stopping it.
There was no way I was going to win and I would have been hurt.

Although my coach did not blame me for the loss. There were questions.

It was obvious and you did not need to know anything about combat sports to know that there was no way that guy has had more than one bout.
He had claimed to be 43 years old, and there is no way a 43-year-old can be that fast without previous experience in a combat sport.

He either did another combat sport such as kickboxing. The only difference between kickboxing and boxing is that you are allowed to use your legs as weapons. The punching techniques are the same. Another theory is that he may be ex-military.
In either case, there is no way Boxing Ontario would have known about it.
Although, you are supposed to report all combat experience to Boxing Ontario upon registering.

If any of that is true, he should not have won.
Not reporting everything on a competition registration is cheating since it gives the athlete an unfair advantage.

I filed a compaint with an official. I don't know if my coach or gym did the same.

I don't know if anything will become of it, but it goes beyond just not winning. 
I could have been seriously injured.

Fortunately, the referee put a stop to it.

I am frustrated by the situation.
I took full responsibility for not winning in Hamilton. However, I agree with my coach that this time it was not my fault. I did everything I could.
That being said, if I had won in Hamilton like I should have, it would not have made this loss so frustrating.

I had also noted that they have reverted back to using 12 oz. gloves for our division.
They had switched to 16's for the Masters for a couple of years, but this time they used 12's.
12 oz. gloves really hurt, and I am not used to using them. It feels like not having any gloves at all, and it really throws you off when you are used to always using 16's.

Another concern of mine is that this time I did not have the extreme anxiety that I normally have before a bout. As a matter-of-fact, I was not even as nervous as normal. I felt somewhat relaxed.
Now, after this had happened, is the anxiety now going to return?

This is amateur boxing. It is supposed to be fun. A chance to test your skill. It should not be about trying to hurt someone, especially with an unfair advantage.
Not to say that an injury can't happen, it is a combat sport, but it should not be the ultimate goal.

Coming up, we will be having a club show in July. Plus, the Silver Gloves and Golden Gloves tournaments later in the year.
That will bring us to the end of the year and the expiration of my Boxing Ontario competitive registration.

I will then need to decide if I want to continue competing, or stay on the team as a non-competitor. 
Yes, we have some of those.

After this weekend, I am beginning to lose faith in this sport.



═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

--Paul 'The Brick' Brec