ANNOUNCEMENTS

******** COMMENTS FROM THE RING IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY EXCLUDING HOLIDAYS ***** ********

ANNOUNCEMENTS 2

****** [EVENTS] ....**** ... * ********

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Preparing To Prepare For the Brampton Cup ~ The Year In Review

    ENTRY 446



PREPARING TO PREPARE FOR THE BRAMPTON CUP

The 2019 Brampton cup is a little less than six weeks away.
Once the Holidays are over I will have just about one month to prepare.
There is already one guy in my division. I have to make sure I stay below the 81 kg threshold to stay in Light-Heavyweight.
For the Golden Gloves I went up a bit and it turned out to be a mistake.
The problem is going to be resisting all the junk over the Holidays. I'm going to be the only "freak" at the party saying, "I can't eat that. I'm in training". Hee...hee...hee...
Right now I am hovering right around 81 kg, but sometimes I slip to higher.  I have to make absolutely sure I am no higher that 81 at the time of weigh-in.
The current registrant for the Brampton Cup is from Detroit. I have already met him through Facebook. 
I want to make this work because I have never had an opponent from out of Ontario. I think this will be quite interesting.

I have not been to Cabbagetown all month, but that does not mean I have not been exercising. 
I have still been doing my weight training and cardio at Bloor Fitness. I am just taking a bit of a break from boxing training.

Although I admit I have been upstairs in the boxing area doing heavy bag and shadow boxing, a bit, but, hey, it's the Brampton Cup! I have to be ready.

I was very stressed at the Golden Gloves and it was recommended by the Boxing Ontario medical examiner that I take a break. 
Even he could tell that I was stressed out of my head.
This hiatus from boxing is going to help. Then, when I start up again on January 2, I will be refreshed and ready to go.


SAYING GOODBYE TO 2018: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

2018 was an interesting year.
It saw me realize the importance of having a good coach.
It saw me finally finding a good coach, and realizing how poor most of my previous coaches really were.

I have been criticized for frequently changing gyms and coaches. 
First of all, if I want to change gyms frequently, that is my right. More importantly, the reason for doing so is that you really can not tell how good a coach is unless you actually get the chance to work with him. Otherwise, you are making an unfair assumption. 
Let's all be honest, many coaches don't like coaching Masters. There are coaches out there who are only interested in guys who want to become professional. 
It is easier for the younger guys. They can go anywhere and get decent coaching. 


SAYING HELLO TO 2019: THE YEAR IN PREVIEW

No one can really predict the future.
However, we can help steer it into the right direction.
I still have a major announcement to make. I didn't forget. I will be making the announcement right here after the Brampton Cup.


NEW REDDIT MASTERS BOXING COMMUNITY

For boxers, coaches, and clubs interested in the Masters division, I have created a Reddit community to discuss anything about Masters boxing.
Please visit here: Masters Boxing on Reddit for more information or to request to join. Once accepted, individual posts do not need approval.


RAdiO C: \65 SERVER UPGRADE AND MOVING

Metropolis Broadcasting was unhappy with the server performance provided by the last provider.
Therefore, we are in the process of changing providers, moving and upgrading servers.

We are pleased to announce all new programming provided 24/7/365 beginning sometime in January.
Look here for updates.


HAPPY "WHATEVER DOESN'T OFFEND YOU"

From me, "The Brick",  and everyone at Metropolis Broadcasting, we wish you all "Whatever Doesn't Offend You".

We will be back during the first week of January.


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

--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

Friday, December 14, 2018

Brampton Cup Surprise

    ENTRY 445


MY COACH JUST KEEPS GETTING MORE AND MORE COOL

I just recently participated in a discussion on the Masters Boxing Division Facebook group.
I was talking about coaches and about how I have had a lot of poor coaches in the past and about how great my current coaches are.

This past weekend I met the head coach, Peter Wylie, for the very first time and he is an awesome guy. I told him how happy I was with the coaches at Cabbagetown.
I meant it. Although they are not perfect, they are the best I have had in the six years I have been boxing.

My training coach, Johnny Kalbhenn is very humble about his past. He really does not talk about himself. 
Anything I know about him I had to research myself. 
Thus far I know that he was in the 1984 Olympics. That is cool on its own, but I recently found out more. He was in movies and TV shows.
He was a cornerman in the film "Cinderella Man".
He was a referee in "Against the Ropes" and "Phantom Punch" and also in the TV movie "Rocky Marciano".

Wow, cool.

I have not seen any of these, but I guess I will now.


BRAMPTON CUP SURPRISE

Just like with the Golden Gloves, I wasn't planning on going to the Brampton Cup.

However, I thought that this may be my very last chance to be in it, I was still contemplating.
However, yesterday, I guy from Detroit registered in my division.
He actually mentioned it in a comment in the Masters Boxing Division Facebook group. 
He asked me if I was going to the Brampton Cup.
I wasn't sure, but I guess I am now.

That means that after my well-deserved break, it will once again be crunch-time.


I may have considered finishing my break a week early, but that will be the Holidays and the gym will likely not be open most days, so I will rest and prepare.

Brampton Cup training begins in two weeks! 


NOTE: Next week will be the last blog entry for 2018. There will be no blog during the Holidays.

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

--Paul 'The Brick' Brec

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Another Golden Gloves Is History

    ENTRY 444



ANOTHER GOLDEN GLOVES IN THE HISTORY BOOKS

To say the least, this past weekend was interesting.

I enjoyed staying in Niagara Falls.
The boxing club supplied the hotel room. 
We stayed at the Marriott right across from the convention center.
We went for dinner with the coach on Friday and then after we took a walk along the Falls to "work it off". 


View from the hotel

"Work-off Walk"
"Work-off Walk"

Convention Center in Niagara Falls

As for the Golden Gloves, not so much.


Both Masters bouts ended in an RSC 1.

I am not surprised by Ian Smith's bout. I expect it to end that way.

Mine. I expected to do a bit better. I at least expected to go at least the full three rounds.
I was completely thrown off because my opponent changed from his usual technique.

I was told that he likes to work inside. The advise I was given was to jab him away.
I did that and it didn't work. He came in with a flurry from the outside and pushed me back.

He changed his strategy.
I had advice from a former opponent and also my coach gave the same advice because we were expecting him to try to get inside. 
My strategy was different. 
I wanted to fake left, step right, fake a jab, drop to the body and throw a left and right hook to the body, then up and jab the head, pivot right, drop down and jab the body, then overhand right to the forehead.
I really wanted to try that but my coach was dead set on keeping him away with a constant jab.
I did that and it obviously didn't work.

I am now one bout away from becoming Open class.

I have decided to take a few days (a month) off from boxing. I need to unwind and not think about the boxing gym for a while. I need to refresh and get my crap together.

I can still do my running and swimming at the University of Toronto Athletics Department where I usually go on weekends. For the rest of my training, I can go to Bloor Fitness. 
Just because I am taking a break from boxing does not mean I should completely stop exercising.  

I will be returning to boxing training during the first week of January, but I really want to ramp up sparring.
One thing that threw me off was having an aggressive opponent. I need more aggressive sparring. The coaches have to stop with that damn Grandpa Syndrom when it comes to sparring. 
**Don't go easy on the Master because his opponent won't.** 
Open sparring should be just like a competition. Anything less won't help.


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

--Paul 'The Brick' Brec