A Happy Valentine's Day

Had another crazy week at work and missed a few workouts as a result, but sparred today for the first time in weeks and felt good. Felt terrific, actually - fought smart and smooth and went five strong rounds. Definitely got a huge boost of confidence from today's workout and sparring session, especially since I was working with a guy who's a solid amateur fighter and likes to keep the pressure on. Didn't gas, didn't really get caught, and my counterpunches were timed perfectly - all of which are usually concerns when I get back in the ring after a layoff.

In terms of measuring myself for my bout next Saturday, I feel like I'm about an 8 - in great shape, sparring with the best of them, but just don't quite feel over the top yet. The bout is just an exhibition though, so that in itself will be just another measuring stick and stepping stone to bigger accomplishments. And, moving forward, I know that it will all only get easier - I doubt (hope) work can't maintain this breakneck pace, but even if it does, I know that I can maintain a relatively solid training schedule. More on training later though - tonight I'm focusing on spectating.

Going to spend Valentine's Day watching what, in my opinion, is a pretty great solid card on HBO. (What? You think anything comes before boxing training/fandom, even on Valentine's Day? Psh...) I've seen everyone on the card fight before - for some reason I like having scouted fighters a bit before watching them - but am most excited to watch Cintron/Martinez and Angulo/Rivera. I've always been a big fan of Cintron's and felt bad watching him wilt under Margartito's pressure (both in the ring and his breakdown after) twice and now feel worse that those two losses (his only two) might have been due to his opponent loading his wraps. At the same time, I can't help but be more and more of a fan of Martinez. His slick, sound style and ridiculous speed are literally inspiring - after watching him fight a few times, he's become one of a few fighters whose traits and styles I've tried to emulate a little more. The only strike against him is that he's a southpaw - I hate southpaws. Both fighters are looking for that huge, career-bolstering win tonight, and I see Cintron being unable to land his flush kayo punch and Martinez outpointing him for the win in an entertaining bout.

Rivera is a a fringe contender turned journeyman and I anticipate a reasonably lopsided fight where Angulo will simply overwhelm and overpower the salty veteran. Gotta love fighters like Angulo - you know exactly the type of fight you'll get from him everytime he climbs in the ring.

Campbell/Funeka should be a good fight, but I'm pretty unfamiliar with the latter and still new enough to Campbell that I can't quite bring myself to be overly excited for one of his fights. That, and the idiot couldn't make weight which peeves me beyond words. (You're getting six figures for a bout and have months to get down to a set weight. No excuses - get down to that weight or I reserve the right to dislike you for disappointing me.) All in all, it's a well-rounded card with the potential for some serious fireworks.

So here's to Valentine's Day and my love for boxing. I've been working hard and training harder, and I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday than sparring in the a.m. and watching some great fights at night.

Striking a balance

The past week+ of training has been nothing short of fantastic, thanks largely in part to quickly striking a work/play balance outside of the office. While this may sound like it's just increased self-discipline now that I'm healthy and training again (which it is), the fact that it's a work/play balance and not a work/life balance is a significant new development occurring largely because of the better logistics and culture of my new job. It's refreshing having to tell co-workers "sorry, can't make happy hour tonight, walking over to the gym," instead of calling and canceling on one of my training partners because I've got to stay late to rack up the billable hours and have it get too late (and me in too bad of a mood) to screw around with the commute out to the gym at 8:30 p.m.

Bitter? No. Just loving the new job and the newfound ability to synch up the different facets of my life - namely training consistently.

Some quick bullets regarding how the past week played out:

- Past 7 days of training synopsis:
Sunday: Upper body circuit, abs, 3-mile run
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 9-round bag circuit (3 heavy, 3 hook, 3 double-end), 3-rounds focus mitts, abs
Wednesday: Upper body circuit, abs, 3-mile run
Thursday: Rest (unplanned - flu)
Friday: Rest (unplanned - flu)
Saturday: Plyometrics, 12-round bag circuit, abs (bundled up to sweat out the flu - kinda worked)
Sunday: Crazy cardio and leg circuits with Antonio, 3-rounds focus mitts

I definitely want to start detailing my workouts (better than above) on a daily basis. I feel like typing out my workouts would help me see any possible holes in my routines and just make everything more efficient and consistent, although I'm confident that will happen on its own as my training gains some momentum. I guess putting it all out here will help keep me honest, but then again there's no lying or faking it in the ring, so...

- Being sick sucks. 'Nuff said.

- Looking to start sparring this coming weekend. That way I'll have 3 weeks of training behind me, have a comfortable cardio base and (hopefully) have some ring rust off before putting the headgear on. Speaking of which, Tommy (reminder: one of the best 140 lb boxers in the country) introduced me to a couple people he thinks would be good for me to spar with. I was glad to have my phone book expand, but couldn't help but laugh when he told his sparring buddy "Yeah, Jonathan's a good fighter. Great to spar with - real durable."

Yeah, that's right. I'm durable. I can fight the nation's best, he can hit me (essentially at will) and I'll keep right on coming. Durability - the stuff of champions, baby.

- Stayed in Saturday (after a great workout) to watch the Mizzou game (and by game I mean 52-10 ownage of Nebraska) and Boxing After Dark, which featured bouts with two fighters who are always entertaining (Yuriorkis Gamboa and Alfredo Angulo) and Sergio Martinez, a fighter I'd never seen fight before but whom I was completely impressed by. If you're reading this and aren't keeping an eye on these fighters, well, start. But then again, before long you'll be able to see shades of all three in me: Gamboa's otherworldly athleticism, Angulo's straight-punching aggression, and Martinez's blazing hand-speed and pin-point precision. That, and James Toney's love for food...