Short Notice

My amateur boxing career is officially getting interesting. I went to the gym with my sparring partner last Saturday and ran into my trainer, who asked about my availability for bouts on June 21 and/or 27. Having discussed my scheduling conflicts on Fridays with him before (my increasingly late nights in the office and lack of a car prevent me from participating in most Friday events from fear of missing my ride or even the fight itself) I began to say "no, I'd like to, but I can't commit to either of those dates." My trainer pointed out that the 21st is a Saturday (and that the bout isn't Friday the 20th like he had originally told me) and encouraged me to fight. And thus, for the first time, I took a bout on one week's notice.

While I am obviously not a world-class pro that needs 3-6 months notice to properly train for a title fight, my training schedule has been erratic since my last bout, and having more than 7 days notice would have been nice. I am by no means in better shape now than I was a month ago, but at the same time I have maintained my conditioning enough that I'm confident a regimented week will let me adequately prepare for a fight. And I think that's my only worry - that come Saturday I won't be fully mentally-prepared, won't completely trust my body and I'll end up hesitating too much during the bout and absorb some unnecessary punches.

But then again, is there a better way to build on a successful fight than jumping right back into the squared circle?

With an above-average physical base, my training schedule the week before this fight (no weight requirement) will look like this:

Saturday: 4 rounds sparring, cardio/leg circuit, plyometrics, abs
Sunday: Weights (high-rep upper body circuit) and 4-mile run with wind sprints
Monday: 20 minute jump-rope, 4 rounds double-end bag, 4 rounds hook bag, 6 rounds heavy bag all with aggressive pace, 3 rounds focus mitts, abs
Tuesday: 4-mile run with wind sprints, Celtics game (World Champs, baby!)
Wednesday: 6 rounds sparring, 3 rounds focus mitts, cardio/leg circuit, abs
Thursday: light plyometrics, short jog
Friday: rest
Saturday: kick ass

All of this worked around 9-11 hour workdays. Bleh.

I'm truly happy that my trainer is encouraging me to fight so often, but I just hope that this quick turnaround turns out to be a positive, confidence-boosting experience instead of a tough bout that leaves me stewing for the next couple of weeks.

All I need to do is make sure that it's me - and not my opponent - that dictates the outcome of the fight and how I proceed after.