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32 lessons in boxing and life
32 lessons in boxing and life (17 - 32)
BY Marv Dumon
32 Lessons in Boxing & Life (part 1)
. Over the years, I have gathered and internalized 32 lessons in life. I found parallels between these lessons and the fistic competition that is boxing.
32 Lessons in Boxing and in Life
Life Lesson 1: If it’s not an absolute must, it won’t get done. And it won’t get done consistently.
How many fighters do you see that cut corners during training and are no longer hungry to become the best that they could be? Mike Tyson's partying in Japan prior to the shocking upset of James Buster Douglas is a memory that will always stay with me.
Life Lesson 2: If you want to be really good at something. You have to tune out a lot of what people have to say, especially when you’re young.
Nineteen-year old WBC super flyweight champion Marvin Sonsona, from the Philippines, undoubtedly will have a lot of older people giving him all sorts of advice. He only needs to focus on three things and tune everything else out: training, personal finances, and family.
Life Lesson 3: Great success requires insanity and irrationality. You have to be crazy enough to do it all day, most of your days.
If you come across a great boxer, you're seeing a person crazy enough to do over a thousand sit-ups per day, and run several miles per day, over 300 days a year. He's risking a broken nose every time he gets into a sparring session.
Life Lesson 4: Know when someone's earned respect.
Plenty of boxers have serious health issues down the road. Yeah, we read and hear a lot of cynical and downplaying comments in the media, many coming from non-athletes and plain fat or old people. Accord these boxer warriors their proper respect. They've earned it. Cynics have not. It's funny how the world works. Nobodies degrade somebodies. My advice: climb in the ring and get your ass beat. You won't appreciate the sport unless you've received a good, painful beatdown.
Life Lesson 5: If you don't do it, you don't know or understand it.
In boxing, like other fields, credibility still matters. It is up to the listener to tune out noise.
Life Lesson 6: Keep adjusting and fine-tuning. But the goal remains the same.
Former two-time light middleweight champion Fernando Vargas always struck me as a naturally gifted fighter who fell short of his massive potential. Yes, he lost to Felix Trinidad, Oscar de la Hoya, and Shane Mosley (twice). But it was the way he lost. He did not improve as his career progressed; no serious efforts were put in place to rectify his flaws. While he was a great power puncher, he did not take care of his health, did not develop a serious, snappy jab, and remained an easy target by not being an evasive fighter.
Life Lesson 7: You have to be careful with your tongue, and what it says. Hurting other’s people’s feelings, and discouraging statements, can slowly kill a spirit. There is a reason why the bible values the spirit more than the flesh. Because this is where life actually is.
For me, Cus D'Amato was the greatest boxing trainer who ever lived. He had a way of caring for his fighters, including Mike Tyson. Cus saw past the immediate problems and anger a person may have, and instead saw a person's potential. He saw the good in people, and interacted with others accordingly.
Life Lesson 8: As Dr. Wayne Dyer says: When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
When you are positive, things improve. When you are negative, things get worse. The late Cus D'Amato saw things in Mike Tyson that others did not. Others only saw a young, hopeless thug. But D'Amato predicted to a teenage Tyson that he would eventually grow up to become a great heavyweight champion. Another teen was training in the same gym: Lennox Lewis. Cus, being impressed with the two, said to both teens that in the future, the two would meet in a championship bout. They did. Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis, many years later, would eventually square off in June 2002 for the WBC, IBF, and IBO heavyweight championship.
Who was the best heavyweight among these fighters?
Evander Holyfield Lennox Lewis Mike Tyson Larry Holmes Vladimir Klitschko Donovan Ruddock Created on Oct 11, 2009
Life Lesson 9: Do things early. Show up early. Finish early. Early, early, early.
Champions start during their childhood. When other kids are playing with their toys, or eating ice cream, boxers are hitting the punching bag. They wake up early. They train when others are sleeping. It's all about being early. Slackers are late. Cynics are very late. Many in the opinionating media are late, and some . . . very late.
Life Lesson 10: Money is a motivator, but it is not a lasting motivator. Things outside of yourself are the lasting motivators. Country, family, etc.
Psychologists tell us money is not a permanent motivator. Why? Because when you have lots of it, then what is the purpose for continuing to push yourself? Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Are you listening?
Life Lesson 11: Be a giver. Not a taker. If you want to get more value, give a whole lot more.
Zab Judah was not happy with a proposed $500,000 purse as an undercard fighter. Want value? Give (and impress) more.
Life Lesson 12: Be careful what unsolicited advice you take in, or accept as reality.
When people say that you’re too this or too that, or that you’re too young, or need to “ease up” on your preparations or training, do they really know what they’re talking about? Are they a billionaire or a successful athlete? Then what the hell do they know?
Life Lesson 13: It's about being appropriate. Being appropriate to the situation at hand. In the military, it's called situational awareness. In the streets, it's not being a fool.
Someone asked comedian George Lopez if he had any advice for Oscar de la Hoya during his training for the highly anticipated Manny Pacquiao fight. Lopez immediately said the he would not offer any advice to a 10-time boxing world champion. It was not appropriate to do so. A comedian giving a hall of fame athlete an advice for a fight?
Life Lesson 14: Have that eternal celestial fire in your breast called conscience. Pursue excellence while having a heart.
The recent typhoons in the Philippines personally brought out Manny Pacquiao to help ease the suffering of the victims. Most boxers would not have done anything, lest leave their training camp before a big fight to personally hand out goods.
Life Lesson 15: Doing and finishing, and doing and finishing is an infinite cycle. And the only thing that matters.
You see many former boxers who become dead broke. They've stopped the cycle of doing and finishing. Whether in sports or in another vocation. Doing and finishing matters.
Life Lesson 16: Being gentle and kind is not the same as weakness. You may carry a big stick, but speaking soft makes the world a better place.
Lennox Lewis, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, and Manny Pacquiao have great personalities and sense of demeanor outside of the ring. As human beings, they are cordial and respectful. Don't take their kindness as weakness.
BY Marv Dumon
32 Lessons in Boxing & Life (part 1)
. Over the years, I have gathered and internalized 32 lessons in life. I found parallels between these lessons and the fistic competition that is boxing.
32 Lessons in Boxing and in Life
Life Lesson 1: If it’s not an absolute must, it won’t get done. And it won’t get done consistently.
How many fighters do you see that cut corners during training and are no longer hungry to become the best that they could be? Mike Tyson's partying in Japan prior to the shocking upset of James Buster Douglas is a memory that will always stay with me.
Life Lesson 2: If you want to be really good at something. You have to tune out a lot of what people have to say, especially when you’re young.
Nineteen-year old WBC super flyweight champion Marvin Sonsona, from the Philippines, undoubtedly will have a lot of older people giving him all sorts of advice. He only needs to focus on three things and tune everything else out: training, personal finances, and family.
Life Lesson 3: Great success requires insanity and irrationality. You have to be crazy enough to do it all day, most of your days.
If you come across a great boxer, you're seeing a person crazy enough to do over a thousand sit-ups per day, and run several miles per day, over 300 days a year. He's risking a broken nose every time he gets into a sparring session.
Life Lesson 4: Know when someone's earned respect.
Plenty of boxers have serious health issues down the road. Yeah, we read and hear a lot of cynical and downplaying comments in the media, many coming from non-athletes and plain fat or old people. Accord these boxer warriors their proper respect. They've earned it. Cynics have not. It's funny how the world works. Nobodies degrade somebodies. My advice: climb in the ring and get your ass beat. You won't appreciate the sport unless you've received a good, painful beatdown.
Life Lesson 5: If you don't do it, you don't know or understand it.
In boxing, like other fields, credibility still matters. It is up to the listener to tune out noise.
Life Lesson 6: Keep adjusting and fine-tuning. But the goal remains the same.
Former two-time light middleweight champion Fernando Vargas always struck me as a naturally gifted fighter who fell short of his massive potential. Yes, he lost to Felix Trinidad, Oscar de la Hoya, and Shane Mosley (twice). But it was the way he lost. He did not improve as his career progressed; no serious efforts were put in place to rectify his flaws. While he was a great power puncher, he did not take care of his health, did not develop a serious, snappy jab, and remained an easy target by not being an evasive fighter.
Life Lesson 7: You have to be careful with your tongue, and what it says. Hurting other’s people’s feelings, and discouraging statements, can slowly kill a spirit. There is a reason why the bible values the spirit more than the flesh. Because this is where life actually is.
For me, Cus D'Amato was the greatest boxing trainer who ever lived. He had a way of caring for his fighters, including Mike Tyson. Cus saw past the immediate problems and anger a person may have, and instead saw a person's potential. He saw the good in people, and interacted with others accordingly.
Life Lesson 8: As Dr. Wayne Dyer says: When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
When you are positive, things improve. When you are negative, things get worse. The late Cus D'Amato saw things in Mike Tyson that others did not. Others only saw a young, hopeless thug. But D'Amato predicted to a teenage Tyson that he would eventually grow up to become a great heavyweight champion. Another teen was training in the same gym: Lennox Lewis. Cus, being impressed with the two, said to both teens that in the future, the two would meet in a championship bout. They did. Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis, many years later, would eventually square off in June 2002 for the WBC, IBF, and IBO heavyweight championship.
Who was the best heavyweight among these fighters?
Evander Holyfield Lennox Lewis Mike Tyson Larry Holmes Vladimir Klitschko Donovan Ruddock Created on Oct 11, 2009
Life Lesson 9: Do things early. Show up early. Finish early. Early, early, early.
Champions start during their childhood. When other kids are playing with their toys, or eating ice cream, boxers are hitting the punching bag. They wake up early. They train when others are sleeping. It's all about being early. Slackers are late. Cynics are very late. Many in the opinionating media are late, and some . . . very late.
Life Lesson 10: Money is a motivator, but it is not a lasting motivator. Things outside of yourself are the lasting motivators. Country, family, etc.
Psychologists tell us money is not a permanent motivator. Why? Because when you have lots of it, then what is the purpose for continuing to push yourself? Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Are you listening?
Life Lesson 11: Be a giver. Not a taker. If you want to get more value, give a whole lot more.
Zab Judah was not happy with a proposed $500,000 purse as an undercard fighter. Want value? Give (and impress) more.
Life Lesson 12: Be careful what unsolicited advice you take in, or accept as reality.
When people say that you’re too this or too that, or that you’re too young, or need to “ease up” on your preparations or training, do they really know what they’re talking about? Are they a billionaire or a successful athlete? Then what the hell do they know?
Life Lesson 13: It's about being appropriate. Being appropriate to the situation at hand. In the military, it's called situational awareness. In the streets, it's not being a fool.
Someone asked comedian George Lopez if he had any advice for Oscar de la Hoya during his training for the highly anticipated Manny Pacquiao fight. Lopez immediately said the he would not offer any advice to a 10-time boxing world champion. It was not appropriate to do so. A comedian giving a hall of fame athlete an advice for a fight?
Life Lesson 14: Have that eternal celestial fire in your breast called conscience. Pursue excellence while having a heart.
The recent typhoons in the Philippines personally brought out Manny Pacquiao to help ease the suffering of the victims. Most boxers would not have done anything, lest leave their training camp before a big fight to personally hand out goods.
Life Lesson 15: Doing and finishing, and doing and finishing is an infinite cycle. And the only thing that matters.
You see many former boxers who become dead broke. They've stopped the cycle of doing and finishing. Whether in sports or in another vocation. Doing and finishing matters.
Life Lesson 16: Being gentle and kind is not the same as weakness. You may carry a big stick, but speaking soft makes the world a better place.
Lennox Lewis, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, and Manny Pacquiao have great personalities and sense of demeanor outside of the ring. As human beings, they are cordial and respectful. Don't take their kindness as weakness.
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