Thoughts on detachment

One of the hardest things to do is to be consistent. It's also one of the most important, so people either struggle and show the wears of the fight or avoid the struggle and allow ebbs and flow to dictate the terms of whatever their situation is. In order to stay consistent, there must be a degree of separation as well as stability in the mind of the person striving for that level.

Passion is good, but it cannot become the fire that burns down the house. Emotions can lift, or it can weigh. Being able to see yourself almost from a third person is a good way to keep yourself from braving the full strength of emotional blasts, both positive and negative. Too much emotion can lead to paralysis, and hinder mobilization of action.

Being able to objectively view situations and emotion is very critical for mental stability, especially through a stressful time period. It is something that takes practice, and a daily reminder to do this is needed.

Also critical to consistency is a continued awareness of the big picture. What are the purposes of your actions you want to be consistent in? Where do you hope to go with being able to keep your nose to the grindstone with these actions for a long stretch of time? Do you want it enough to not become knocked off course by changes in circumstances and mentalities?

Switching up the objectives...

I'm going to be reviving this blog, hopefully for good this time. Since the blog's name is improving-daily, I figure it is a way to track my progress in different important areas of my life. In the future I hope to look back and track my changes in thought, habits, and ethos, for the better. At the moment I am not sure how to attack my shortcomings, but I know that I need to seize moments and time while I can still say I have plenty of it.

For a couple of months now I have been looking more into mental training as a part of martial arts curriculums. Clearly one of my biggest weaknesses as a person, is control, and as an extension of that, vision. Or maybe it is the other way around? I often lack clarity in what I am trying to accomplish, and in turn I do not control myself in moving myself towards tasks and goals. This has been a big problem in the past as I would often sit with no movement towards an objective, letting time and respect slip away. When I was a kid this was a huge problem in being consistent with my goals, coupled with the fact that I was a restless little boy. I will end this entry for now since this window has been up for far too long, but I will keep this blog consistent with updates.

Where is Boxing's New Mecca?

New York has traditionally been known as the mecca of boxing. a lot of legendary battles have been held inside madison square garden, and it seemed like every other block there was a gym that produced champion after champion. for those of us of newer generations, it is probably impossible to comprehend the status that Stillman's gym enjoyed from 1919 up through the 1950s. During the peak decades of boxing, New York was at the pinnacle of the sport. If someone fought in a main event at Madison Square Garden, with a championship belt on the line, it meant they were it, they had made it to the top of the sport. They were truly a historical icon in the sport. Now? It just means that maybe they weren't as sorry as we had thought they were. Amir Khan beat the most well known fighter currently from NYC, Paulie Malignaggi, but this was a guy who has a loosey goosey style, does not tuck his chin, and is more known for NOT being able to punch than for any positive trait he possesses. the mecca of boxing that was NY has spread is clout south to philadelphia, DC, and specks in NC, SC, Georgia, and Florida. It has also spread west to the midwest, Texas, Nevada, and of course California. i think i prefer it this way actually.

Andre Berto Article

http://www.leave-it-in-the-ring.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93:by-frank-zhong&catid=2:articles

Mayweather-Mosley 24/7

http://leave-it-in-the-ring.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81:a-new-intriguing-247&catid=2:articles

Dirrell vs. Abraham.... a breakdown

Andre Dirrell, Olympic bronze medalist from 2004, will face off with "King" Arthur Abraham tomorrow night in Joe Louis arena for round 2 of the Super Six Classic. This is a very intriguing fight, and lately I've been going back and forth a little bit. Dirrell seemed to grow up before our eyes between the first and second half of his fight against Carl Froch, sitting down on his punches, and looking less skittish on his feet. Arthur Abraham looked like Arthur Abraham, cutting off the ring, walking forward behind his gloves, and taking openings when the opponent gives them to him. This method works very well for him because of his wide strong body and his one punch KO power. Dirrell is lightning like a young Roy Jones, and might be slightly more polished as a boxer than Roy Jones was with his combination punching, and he's also a little more sneaky with the different looks he can give AA by his switching back and forth from southpaw.
A couple of things to not underestimate are Dirrell's power and AA's speed. AA showed adaptability and elusiveness when his jaw was broken against Edison Miranda, and he was able to slide shot in between Jermain Taylor's shots during their exchanges. Dirrell on the other hand was able to rock Carl Froch a couple of times when he finally decided to open up in their fight last September. I see AA however still having trouble with Dirrell's footspeed to begin the fight, and Dirrell still being nervous about exchanging with AA. AA is a much more polished boxer and definitely a harder puncher than Froch. AA's has shown some vulnerability to body shots and tends to walk straight into jabs, since his defense often blocks his full vision. Dirrell has shown a good straight power shot to the midsection, and this could be enough to keep the shorter AA at bay and prevent him from cutting the distance, cutting off the ring and going to work with his powerful hooks.
Question marks for this fight is how Dirrell's back is feeling. AA believes it was not because of his back but because of his mind, but either way Dirrell may not be 100% going into this fight. The other question of course is the fact that it's in Dirrell's house, Dirrell being from Flint, Michigan. How will AA adjust to fighting in the states for the first time when the crowd is against him? Is Dirrell ready to take an even bigger leap up mentally to a guy who fights like a rising tide?
This fight is pretty tough to call, I can see either an ugly Dirrell decision with a lot of potshots, movement, and tie-ups, or I can see AA making Dirrell submit from his punishing shots to the body and head. In the end, I gotta go with the more desperate Dirrell in front of the homecrowd, against the shorter, slower and methodical Arthur Abraham. Andre Dirrell by UD.

Part II: Some words for Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr.

Floyd: You've been undefeated, and for the most part, untouched, during your long and successful career. I only remember once during a post fight interview where your face even looked like you had been in a fight (Oscar). You are clearly one of the best and most talented fighters of our era. Your sense of timing, distance, and ability to rely on your counter punches and movement has made you an extremely effective and efficient boxer. I know that it is not just good luck and good genes that you have gotten this far. You are one of the hardest working fighters in the game. Even watching fights of you back when you were 18 you fought like a wiley vet, picking off shots, countering with clean shots to the body and head, mixing up your attack and patiently picking off your opponents as they came at you. You won your first major belt at the age of 21, against the man of the division Genaro Hernandez, and locked down that division by blowing out Angel Manfredy in your next fight and then obliterating Diego Corrales in probably the breakthrough fight of your career, with Diego being the tall lanky powerpuncher that many thought had a great chance of destroying you. At lightweight you showed the dog in you to stand 12 hard rounds with Jose Luis Castillo, and when people voiced their opinion that you lost (I thought he edged you on the scorecards as well), you gave him an immediate rematch and made your victory more clear in another close fight. To me you were haterproof at 130 and 135, but since then you've picked your opponents. I do not blame you for taking the belts from Judah and Baldomir, that makes good business sense, as does the fight at 154 with Oscar, but you could not have picked a worse time to retire. The welterweight division in 2008 was as hot as it had been in a couple of decades.

Of course I have to respect your personal reasons for retiring, but at the same time you must understand that this did not enhance and in fact probably diminished your legacy as a great. Since then, watching you interview is very painful for me, as someone who wants to see you achieve greatness pas 135 but hates the fact that you contradict yourself with every interview and talk to us the fans like we're fools. I know that you like to play the heel image, but I am sure to you it is much more important that we enjoy you as a fighter, than as a person. It is likely that I will never meet you, so I could care less how you are outside the ring, but I would like to see you apply and prove your skill inside the ring with the killer welters. I certainly respect the fact that you are taking on Shane Mosley after your fight with Pacquiao fell through, because Shane to me is more dangerous, but why fuel the image that you are afraid to face a tough opponent? Especially Manny Pacquiao who is the hottest product in the business right now? What better way to enhance your legacy and silence your critics than to convincingly beat Manny Pacquiao, which a lot of experts believed you would anyway? As corrupt and exploitative as boxing is as a business, I will never blame a fighter for trying to get the most money for least risk, but you're in a unique position, that is the riskiest fights are also the most profitable fights. I hope you recognize that, which you seem to be with the Shane Mosley fight, a fight you should win, and afterwards face Manny Pacquiao, or even go up to 154 and face Sergio Martinez and/or Paul Williams.

You have a great opportunity here Floyd. If you don't take advantage of it, I and many people like me, will forever give your legacy an Incomplete. You can obviously make money in other ways, with your ventures in the music business, and the fact that you, being articulate can get a job anywhere as a boxing commentator. Boxing is biggest but far from the only moneymaker for you. But you who for so long has claimed to be Sugar Ray Robinson's superior, the best boxer who ever lived, able to adapt to and defeat any situation you face, MUST rise up and prove this. It's not enough to talk about history, that's something for long retired boxers, you're still active and fairly young. Your legacy is still being built. You have proven before that you have the full package of skills and conditioning, you have to do it again. Society is one that always asks what have you done for it lately. If you are only going to rest on your past, then you are basically retiring yourself even though you are still officially and active fighter.