I have mentioned it before in this column, but I am probably one of the most athletically-challenged people you will ever meet. I don’t know the ins-and outs of various sports. For instance, I can watch a football game and understand very little about what’s going on. This is a major problem and I recognize that, so I’m getting help via a football tutor. The first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem, right?
Basketball comes a bit easier for me. It just seems less complicated than football. While I still don’t understand the technical aspects of basketball, I can watch it with more understanding. I know the difference between the shots and I understand fouls…some of them anyway.
Baseball? Forget about it. For me, it’s like watching paint dry.
Even though I’m not the biggest sports enthusiast, I do like to support our local teams by going to games, wearing jerseys, and doing all that trash-talking to my friends in other states. Most of my trash-talking is recycled verbiage I hear my sister (who is a major sports fan) and other family and friends say. So don’t worry; in my own unique way, I definitely represent Indiana sports. I also recognize that even for a sports novice like myself, there are great benefits to athletics. Some of those benefits include developing a hard work ethic, exercising patience, and also being a team player.
Despite my limited knowledge (or interest) of the aforementioned, there is one sport that I absolutely love: boxing.
I cannot remember when my love for boxing was ignited, but it has had a special place in my heart for a long time. For me boxing is very clear and easy to understand. There is little debate about what’s considered a clean move. There is little “gray,” everything is black and white. I love reviewing the fighter comparisons before the fight. From their height, weight, distance of their reach and their record I am able to determine who I think will be the victor, even if I’ve never seen them fight previously.
Another boxing favorite for me is all the drama leading up to the big fight. I love boxers who make things a bit more exciting by trash-talking. Some of my favorites are Roy Jones Jr., Floyd Mayweather, Prince Naseem Hamed, and of course the No. 1 trash-talker of all time: the greatest, Muhammad Ali.
I recently watched the Mayweather and Victor Ortiz fight on HBO. Though the fight was incredibly short (it only lasted four rounds), I took a lot from it…lessons that can apply outside of the ring.
Ortiz’s back-story – Perhaps it is the journalist in me, but I love learning about people’s lives. Our life experiences make us who we are. Oftentimes understanding where a person came from and previously experienced makes me a bigger fan of theirs than their specific craft that made them popular. Prior to watching the fight I knew plenty about Mayweather, but not so much about Ortiz. For instance, I did not know that Ortiz was abandoned by his mother at age 7 and by his father at age 11. He spent a lot of time in foster care and boxing was his way out; it was his escape. Knowing that a kid who experienced so much reinforces the need for local Boys & Girls Clubs, area gyms, and mentors. If these things didn’t exist for Ortiz, who knows how he would have turned out.
Playing dirty is always a bad move – Despite what Ortiz claims, the head butt he gave Mayweather, was a dirty and underhanded move. Granted, it may have been done in the heat of the moment, but it was still dirty. Whether you’re in the ring, a business executive in corporate America, or a quiet person with a manipulative, vengeful spirit, playing dirty is always a bad move. In one way or another, your misdeed will come back on you. What goes around comes around. Ortiz’s repercussion came fairly quickly when Mayweather hit him with that unexpected left-right combo.
Protect yourself at all times – In the case of Mayweather/Ortiz, protecting yourself at all times was a boxing basic, but the same theory can be applied outside the ring. Protect yourself at all times – by saving money, being responsible for your health, being selective about the people you grant access to you, by being a hard worker, etc. Protecting yourself at all times is essential. What’s that old saying? “Self preservation is the first rule of the nation.”
Being graceful is always classy – Ortiz lost the fight and the left-right combo that knocked him out was payback for the head-butt he landed on Mayweather. While Ortiz could have joined others by questioning the ruling, he conceded and gave Mayweather his just due. Although he lost the match, Ortiz was graceful at the end. His humility at that point gave me more respect for him even though he fought dirty early on. In life, even when people make us so angry that we really want to fight them, curse them out, or simply yell at the top of our lungs – the best thing to do is be graceful about the situation. Regardless of the circumstances, grace always exudes class.
You can email comments to Shannon Williams at shannonw@indyrecorder.com.
