Exchanging blows with Shawn “Look Mean” McLean in the Garden.
Watch your Back
First and foremost, understand this. If you’re lucky, you might have one or two people in your corner. With the exception of your trainer, no one gives a fuck about you in this world. This is a eat or be eaten world. Everyone is gunning for you. Your best defense is your offense. If you cannot respond when you are under pressure, its lights out. Later for you. Your opponent’s instinct is to maul you. If you don’t come out with the same bad intention, I feel sorry for you.
I am a big boy. When I was young I was 6”6’ 250 lbs. Finding sparring was tough because heavyweights are a rarity. Because I was so big, they threw me to the wolves on more than one occasion. One Thursday evening, some trainers at Gleason’s threw me in the ring with Soviet army champion Oleg Maskaev. He shattered my ribs in the first round. He fractured my nose in the second round. For what? How did that help me when I was 20 years old? That was a long shower at Gleason’s gym.
That is the worst feeling. To be outmatched in basketball is one thing. What is the worst thing that can happen? You get dunked on and get posterized. To be outmatched in boxing could cost you your life.
One time, I fought a former professional football lineman. The ginormous brawler was 285 lbs. of pressure. His boxing skills were minimal but he was a mammoth Beowulf of a man. Frustrated at all of my movement, he bull-rushed me in the 3rd round. He tossed me through the ropes. My trainer Cotto ran over partially breaking my fall. I hit the ground wondering what sport I had signed up for. Cotto and his assistant pushed me right back in the ring. No one even gave me a few seconds to gather myself. I was back without missing a beat, battling a charging rhinoceros for my life.
Other trainers will set you up. If they need to pad their fighter’s record or get sparring work, they will sweet talk you to get you in there. “Hey you wanna move with my kid? He hasn’t been around long. Real light.” Dark realities often lurk within this seemingly simple, innocent appeals. They threw me to the slaughter a few times. I got knocked down, got the wind knocked out of me and had to take a knee more than once. And of course, I was on the other end of some of those scenarios. But I never took advantage of someone with less experience. That can have a detrimental impact on a less seasoned fighter’s confidence and career.
Cutthroat, the boxing world is a microcosm of our society at large. It is a rat race. There are an elite handful of champions and the hordes of dreamers. It is sad to hear young men say they are going to be the next Floyd Mayweathers. If they don’t have a another plan in motion, they are often consumed by the streets. You may win the rat race but you will still be a rat.
On a Mission
This is after running 13 miles in mid-January. I am not sure if it was my sweat or my tears that turned into the icicles that adorn my face. When you are feeling that boxer’s high, there is no looking back. It’s like you are gliding. Effortless, with booming bass from Tupac or Brazilian favela funk bumping in my ears, I am soaring. It is a natural high; I don’t want to come down. When the run is over, it is back to reality.
The concrete is addictive. There is a certain feel when it is below freezing and another when the asphalt is scorching hot. I am not a fan of the winter. Overall I find it difficult to enjoy. But I have never run more than in the winter. There is something special and pristine about battling 12 degree tundra with four layers of clothing on. There is a certain purity when you put on a weighted vest to run in the cold! Then again, there is a certain purity when the sun is ablaze at midday and you are doing sprints across the track and you can see the heat rising off of the scorching red-hot rubber surface. The extremes! Boxing is indeed a sport of extremes.
6 a.m. Time to get it! My feet make love to the leaves, my will makes the concrete bleed.
I once ran 50 mornings in a row. I had another streak of 35 straight mornings. Many other fighters and athletes were paragons of discipline for us to emulate.
This was the trail of tears. I broke up with my girlfriend that day. The Bronx Community College security barred me from going into to train because of the ice. I told the security they could tackle me or call the NYPD to arrest me but I needed to run. I was searching for my sanity out on that track. I ran 40 laps listening to Pink Floyd’s “I wish you were here” over and over. Coming from a family ravaged by drugs, alcoholism, violence and prison, boxing is one way I learned to deal with pain.
The concrete brings with it a host of problems as well. There is nothing natural about running over such ungenerous terrain. Overtime it breaks down your hips, knees and lower back. I now integrate more biking, swimming and yoga but I’ve yet to find the same high.
I was always a Heavyweight fighter. I fought in MSG at 6”6’ 240 lbs. My discipline and study of Life Foods nutrition allowed me to come down to Cruiser Weight. This was the first time I was under 200 lbs. since I was 13 years old. It was hard work and pure discipline to get there! For 6 weeks, I ran and boxed every day. I was 90% pure Life Foods Liquidarian to make this happen. People told me I was crazy. I did not disagree.
Trifectas
I am all about pushing limits. Sometimes my training partners and I shoot for what we call trifectas: a run upon waking up, a boxing session in the afternoon and a yoga class at night. We call that a day’s work. You will sleep well after that routine. The fellas joke that it is a Superfecta if they get lucky at night after completing the Trifecta.
I hear a lot about fighters refraining from sex when they are training. Not our guys. This is not the type of crew that would turn down some passionate moments with destiny. It was alleged that opposing camp once unleashed a series of fire-hot young women in the build up to the Golden Glove Finals in Kansas City to ensnare some of the top Bronx fighters. The idea was that if you could lure them into releasing some of that built-up protein and strength, their knees would buckle much earlier in the fight. Big Horace and Rob laughed it off saying their tactic didn’t work and the adventure only increased their voracious appetite for destruction. They won the national Golden Gloves Championships in Missouri. They elevated their golden chains high for everyone to see, sending a message that these savvy tricks would never curb their appetite for victory.
That is true that no one will care for you as well as you will be able to. sorry that u had to get the blow to the face but every time I got beat up by my Ex boyfriend I learn something. I have a Mission to movie on too and i always get a natural high too. sorry about you know liking the winter but I love it. It helps me freeze up my pass pain. Never hard Pink.F but I love to have a the chance to hear music when I had to deal with my life mistakes. You’re not going to find something better with getting hurt so you will never have to get hit again You have learn to grad yourself and will never give your life choses to someone else.
It is also very true on trust, people will always like to take advantage of the vulnerable in every setting, it is the same as we see what the rich does to the poor.And it is also good to eat health and stay away from junk stuffs.
It is facts that as individuals when we go out to the streets we need to watch out for ourselves because no one else will. I’m glad that even though you had to face so many obstacles as is the cold winter wind you kept focused on your goal professor, because it is what we all should do when we found ourselves in tuff situations or we really want to achieve a goal our determination and discipline should be the only motor that keep us pushing forward.
As I keep reading this article it makes me to think and realize everything that I had pass thru my whole life. Also made me think that everybody is going to get hurt in this life because this is the fuck up life that we live in. In this shitty live If you make mistakes and don’t get up from the flour you are done. is natural to make mistakes but remember that every step that you make have to lead you towards your goals. Some times when I feel like I need something to push me towards my goals and to stop giving a fuck about people that don’t serve me as a friend or anything I listen to Christina Aguilera she has a song named Keep singing my song, this song made me think and see who life is suppose to be. so everyday when I wake up I listen to her album Stripped and by listening to hurt I could make myself a little bit stronger every day that passes by.
Absolutely, you do have to watch your back because there’s always people who want to take advantage of you. In the sports world, there is always this type of people that just see you as a paycheck for them. They don’t care about your health, they just care when is the next time you will fight and that’s it.
I dont nothing to say about this article.
This section shows the shadiness that I’ve always heard about boxing. It is quite disturbing to know that the other trainers were so concerned about numbers that they would risk your life to make themselves look better. Your drive and determination could be felt through your words, it was quite impressive.
I very much relate to the quote “I am all about pushing limits.” I always push my limits which can, for the most part, be good for me. However, sometimes I overdo it and I end up collapsing. With this reading I learned that there is no room for compassion in boxing, we have to be the strongest, not saying physically but rather mentally.
I really Identify myself with this part. I have come to realize that in life everybody is your opponent. If you can’t hold your ground 24/7 you will be eaten alive. Changing the way I eat is a personal goal I am currently trying to work on vigorously being that it leads me to a happier life.
I strongly agree, life is what you make it. If you are not persistent and fight for what you want it becomes very difficult for an individual to accomplish their goals. Never allow circumstances to define your true purpose. The professor has demonstrated commitment and dedication which is an example of positive attitude along with motivation for those who are around him.
Life is something we don’t know what to expect, Life throws punches and we have to be ready to block it or we will get knocked out. One makes their day how they want to make it, we have no control of what is set to happen but we have the choice on what to accept and how we deal with it. The boxing life is like you said a home away from home, it was a place to release and shed the outside world but once your done training its like everything piles up again. You kept your mind focused and determined on what you wanted and how you wanted things to plan out, you went through turmoils, breakups, change, diet, all of that takes a toll on a person but at the end of it all it makes us stronger.
Your trainers were evil! why would they have you fighting bigger and stronger fighters? Maybe it was to make you the best, I’m not sure what it was but I know in life one should always challenge themselves. If it’s too easy then you cannot become better at whatever it is you’re doing. So I am hoping that, that was their intention.
Im sorry but whoever set you up with those fights was an asshole. There is no lesson to be learned from getting your nose and ribs broken. All it does is destroy whatever confidence you have as a fighter and push you out of the ring and back to the streets with the mindset that no matter what you do you can never succeed. There are no friends amongst wolves whether in boxing or.in.life. if you want something you have to go for it you can’t depend on anybody to help you and you can’t trust people that are even close to you to care. When you feel you’ll be alone but when you succeed everybody wants a piece of it. Everyone always wants a piece of the glory even though you were the one that put in all the hard work.
“You may win the rat race but you will still be a rat.” That’s an interesting quote, I’ve never heard it before. I’ll definitely be using that in the future. I think that it’s crazy that all of that happened to you while boxing. But the crazy thing is you didn’t quit. Me, I’m more about this : if something crazy happens to me one then it’s like okay maybe I couldn’t avoid it, but I certainly wouldn’t let it happen to me a second time. I would’ve just quit. But, you definitely did learn a lot while boxing and that fight made you stronger. I’m sure anyone would’ve quit after what you went through. But you didn’t have a poor attitude about it and that’s great.
I definitely agree that to be outmatched in boxing could cost you your life. it is a very dangerous sport along side football. one can gain brain injuries, trauma and even go through depression possibly after losing a fight they were determined to win. this is a cold world we live in where everyone fends for themselves. I think your trainer was trying to show you how tough it is in the ring when they put you to fight heavy set fighters. Boxing takes up a lot of time and energy so one has to be very dedicated in the sport to make it far.
when you use something as your escape, it becomes your own drug, the thing you live, breathe and lose sleep for. You wanna be the best and so you work hard to be the best, even in icy snowy conditions (as mentioned int he article) you do what you have to do, to get it done.
I stopped running in concrete a couple months ago. I was told concrete is real bad on your knees. What can you do though, when training has to be done.
Like I said in my comment on the first article, boxing to my opinion is way too dangerous, it ruin the life of the boxer and his families. One blow to the head and the person can be severely injured or even die. If “no one give a fuck about you in this world” when it comes to boxing like you said, then I think is really a bad sports. I really enjoyed playing soccer, I use to play soccer when I was in high school back in Ghana. Unlike boxing where no one cares about you except your trainer and if you are lucky one or two others, soccer we play in a team of eleven players, where each player is the keeper of the other player. We come to the defense of each other in a game when every a player is being attacked by the opponent. Also I will say that was smart of you to lose wight from being 6″6′ 240lb since 13 to becoming under 200lb. The healthier you keep your self the happier you become, and enjoy life.