Saturday June 24th, Gleason's Gym
...It's all good. Because last night I went up against one of the top girls in the country: two-time reigning NY Golden Gloves Champ, NY Metro's Champ and recent PanAm bronze medalist Ronica Jeffrey. And yeah, so they gave her the decision but it hardly matters. This is the amateurs after all and if you want a win against a champ in the amateurs, especially in a bout held at her home gym, you gotta make it seriously definitive. I'm talking knock-down (or out) definitive and last night's battle was pretty close. This is very good for me.
In fact, this is GREAT for me because preparing for this particular fight was hard as hell and I got through it, got myself into that ring and gave that girl a run for her money. Training was intense, I had to drop all that weight (which by the way I did in grand fashion), and psychologically I had to go somewhere I'd never gone before.
Over the past week, I've gotten to know myself intimately--OK jerk, mind out of the gutter please--by having some SERIOUS conversations with myself. I'm talking MAJOR INTERNAL SHIT. And while I won't go into all the gory details (part of the beauty of this process is that, when all is said and done, it's entirely mine) I thought I'd give you the low-down on how I spent yesterday before the fight. It's a little bit photo essay, a little bit hourly chronicle. And then you can check out pics from the actual fight taken by my friend and yours, Mr. Chris Railey. Enjoy.
10AM: BJH leaves for rehearsal. I'm all alone now. Just me and my thoughts. Lying motionless on the couch, attempting to rest my muscles, I watch the tail end of the last episode of Lost: Season One and then I weigh myself again: 126.5.
I shut all the windows in my apartment and put on my blue sweatshirt, hood up. I turn my place into a giant sauna. The weather helps.
11AM: I watch the Lost bonus features DVD. It bores me. I'm antsy. I say "to hell with lying flat on my back." I have to get up. I take this self-portrait series:
