Miss an earlier blog post? Get caught up with every post to date by visiting the links below:
>> Dayton Fight Night training, Week 5: 'We're boxing now'
>> Dayton Fight Night training, Week 4: Slowing the game down
>> Dayton Fight Night training, Week 3: Wobbled, but still standing
>> Dayton Fight Night training, Week 2: Getting back on the horse
In exactly 17 days, Dakota Tatman and I will face each other in a boxing match.
To this point, I haven't looked at Dakota as anything other than a friendly, out-going sparring partner with a tremendous work ethic and a thirst for constant improvement. He is still all of those things.
Except, now, I have to see him as my opponent. And that's going to take some getting used to.
In case you missed it, the Fighter Meet and Greet/Matchup Reveal Party for Dayton History Fight Night was held at Carillon Brewing Company. Although I think all of the fighters had a pretty good idea of who they were facing, that event ended any further speculation.
To quote Martin Lawrence from the film Bad Boys II, "S*** just got real."
There are only 18 days left, starting today, to prepare for one fight against one man or woman. Effectively, we have now entered in the Dayton History Fight Night "playoffs."
But just because I know exactly who I am fighting against doesn't mean I'm going to completely change my demeanor. I mean, let's be honest, we're not exactly training for a multi-million-dollar prize fight against Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao.
However, I will admit that I've entered into a bit of a "warrior mindset" since Friday night. Alright, "warrior mindset" might be a bit of a hyperbole for my mental state, but as I was explaining to Joe, our boxing trainer, last night, as someone who isn't used to this type of competition, I have to overcompensate a bit to make sure my mind is in the right place once the bell rings. And that starts now.
I can't speak for all 11 of the other Dayton History Fight Night competitors, but I think it's fair to say that we're all "good people," meaning, we're all participating in this event because we enjoy challenging ourselves mentally and physically and we're all curious what being in a real boxing match is like. I don't believe any of us signed up for Fight Night because we enjoy hurting people or because we'll on some inflated ego trip. All of us enjoy each other's company and have become a unique little family over the last month and a half.
That said, in exactly 18 days, Dakota Tatman and I will face each other in a boxing match.
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