For years people have been asking me why I love boxing.
Actually, I often get questions on why I associate myself with this sport that can be uniquely perceived as violent.
I see boxing as “the noble art”, a name that was given to the sport at it’s beginning, showing the mindset of its English creators.
For me, it’s not a question of facing an opponent but rather facing ourselves. Facing oneself is actually the only thing that a boxer always does. He faces his own fears, his limitations, his expectations, his anger, his love, his pain.
The boxers that I work with, share that same point of view.
They are not looking to fight somebody to destroy him or her. They know that the person in front of them is there to offer them an opportunity to meet him or herself, and also the inner demons that may be present in the dark corners of themselves.
Boxing is also a tremendous School where we learn to observe our emotions. We can learn to stay calm in moments we’re usually emotions take over, mainly fear.
Remaining in control and calm in adverse situations is the challenge of a lifetime.
Achieving this, allows one to remain resourceful and hold space in which we are proactive. This space is useful in and out of the ring and can contribute to a happier life.
Fights
Dave Leblond
Participating with the Dave Leblond in the contender Series in Jamaica in both 2017-2018 remains one of my life’s the greatest experiences.
The contender was a tournament in which team Canada would face team Jamaica with eight boxers representing both countries.
It was the first time that I was participating in an international contest with a boxer and for that matter alone without the main coach. So this was quite a challenge for me and for us as we had to learn a lot of things very fast.
Dave was at his debut and only had one previous professional fight.
Against All Odds team Leblond did extremely well and Dave Leblond surprised everybody by facing bigger and more experienced boxers than himself.
Throughout this adventure Dave Leblond slowly gained the respect and the love of Jamaican fans and became an overnight star in Jamaica people recognized him in the streets when he was walking around. I was also getting recognized, though surely not as much, as Dave and I were exploring Kingston together.
We made a lot of friends, which was such a special experience.
The most important thing that happened, however, was that Dave and I developed a profound bond.
Dave brought me more then I brought to him. Through him, I was facing my own life challenges, my ghosts of the past and present.
I think today you know there are losses.
Fortunately, the victories were far more numerous then I could count.
Dave Leblond vs. Tsetsi Davis (2017)
So Dave Leblond became a Cinderella story when he faced Davis in Jamaica in 2017. This was his first fight in the contender series.
Dave was supposed to be an easy opponent that would allow Davis, a country favorite, to move on to the next step of the competition with no problem.
Leblond only had one fight under his belt.
Davis had over 20 professional fights under his belt. And with significant opponents too!
Leblond, against all odds, did so well, and won according to the public and many experts. Nevertheless, Davis was declared the winner after 5 rounds…
People that were either present at the venue or saw the fight on TV, became very vocal about what they felt was a robbery.
Everywhere in the media and on the streets had this topic in mind.
We launched an appeal based on that decision which we lost. Meanwhile, we got an offer to come back in the tournament in less than 2 weeks after the Davis fight.
Dave Leblond would face an new and upcoming fighter named Nico Yeyo.
Click Here to Read About Leblond’s Fight with Nico →
