5 weeks to go....

So with 5 weeks to go until the next fight I am feeling pretty good, I have worked harder on cardio this time and for various reasons have missed a lot of the sessions with Scott but feel like I will be way more controlled this time. To summarise the cardio I have been doing, it consists of running 3-5km on the treadmill, rowing, and cycling, I have been doing far more shadow boxing too this time and hope it will come together on the night. I have a real test on Saturday as off to the England v Argentina game at Twickers but determined to be in good shape for the gym on Sunday so will take it nice and easy! Ill let you know how I get on...

Midweeker!

Thought I would write a cheeky mid week blog entry after last nights gym session with the WCBL family. Really enjoying the camp this time, hard, sweaty and bags of commitment required but well worth what you put in for the experience you get out. We started last night pairing off, doing some combinations and movement, I still have the turning circle of an oil tanker but at least I am trying to be more on my toes this time, then for those with the head/mouth guard we went onto sparring, I just did body stuff and Leo, Bill and Mide took it pretty easy on me but body is an area I will be working a lot on as my elbows arent quite covering me and my vital organs just yet! Back to the gym tonight for cardio, and home for shadow boxing, hoping to be in the form of my life by fight night. Final word is that Jo "The Perm" Yates will be fighting on Friday night at the fight for cancer event, I cant be there but she knows she has the support of the WCBL fam, and has raised a great load of money for the charity, I keep hearing Heartless crew will be at the afterparty which sounds way too trendy for me but am sure will be a cracking night and gutted to miss out! Smash her up Jo! Big Love The Bear

Resurrection...

So after making a big statement that I was done fighting, I have had a change of heart and will be back for another bout on December 6th with the WCBL Family.

My reasons for doing it this time are very different, I'm less emotional than I was last time for one, I thought I would quit because I had put various ghosts to rest, and I have now, the things drawing me back now are  an urge to do better and frankly the love for the training, atmosphere and fight night itself.

Put simply I am still hungry for more, I think Fred and I fought bravely if not necessarily skilfully last time, and all game plans went out the window, I want to be better disciplined this time, and not just charge in all guns blazing. My fitness was shocking, I felt I was doing enough in training but just simply wasn't, so that is being addressed this time around.

I went for the first session of the 10 week camp a few weeks back and was really pleased to feel the same, if not even greater buzz for the sport, and the people are as awesome as ever, some familiar faces, and a few new ones including my mate Big John Fenlon sweating hard in Knights Painhouse!

I missed the last two sessions not through laziness or focus but because I was moving house and had commitments I couldn't escape but I have to say even moving house has been great for the training, the new area I am living in has a cracking gym on the doorstep, Bushy Park for those Ali / Rocky style runs and is easier access to get to Knights on the train so all in all not too worried about missing the sessions, I intend to make up the time lost at the Tuesday classes in any case, along with some training outside of hours with some of the WCBL contenders.

Anthony Joshua, the Olympic boxer summed it up in an interview where he mentions staying hungry for success and even though I am 32 now, I am going to do everything I can to push myself to be the best I can be and stay hungry, whether that's training, diet or attitude. I'll never be an Anthony Joshua but I'll be the best I can be and I'll be happy with that.

I have to say as well that Scott Biz Borthwick is doing a cracking job with WCBL and I can only see it growing and growing, the man is the Eddie Hearn of SE1 and WCBL will be massive in the near future so get down and get involved!

Big Love

The Bear

The End....

Its taken me a week to write this blog because I was feeling all sorts of emotions about the end of the experience and wanted to give do it justice so I will run through how I felt and what I did on the day and then chat a bit about the fight and finally the aftermath.....

Fight Day:

I barely slept the night before as Scott suggested I might, and I had taken the day off work so I could enjoy the build up. What really happened was my nerves jangled all day and I ended up getting to the venue at about 4.30! My advice to other fighters would be to go to work because I was beyond hyped up!

When I did get to the venue to be confronted with the ring in all its glory it was unreal, I've been to the coliseum in Rome and this felt like my miniature version! Our room was upstairs and everyone claimed a corner to be their own, was amazing seeing my WCBL family warming up and the atmosphere was insane, huge pressure was released by sitting with Leo and Jo and Lisa (I have never seen Lennox Lewis with his own hairdresser or hairdryer! Looking reem ladies!) we had top banter and then the serious hats went on....

Being on at 10pm had its negatives, watching everyone else come back through loving the buzz was great but impacted my nerves a bit, and I kept popping downstairs to see as many people as possible but I couldn't sit still, Fred at the other end of the room looked ready as well.

Showtime.....

We were told we were next and I was second in, I heard my name and then a massive roar, HUGE love to those representing the Bear, and as the tears pricked my eyes  I  worked out it was game time, I was struggling to hold myself together and it showed...

I've watched the footage back and Fred and I brawled, which was great for the crowd, but while technically not the best fight the hot conditions didn't necessarily suit heavyweights but it did make me wish I had tried harder at the hill sprints! I came away with the win but Fred's commitment was massive too and it honestly could have gone either way.


Aftermath....

Seeing my wife's proud face when my arm was held up was one of the finest moments of my life, Lauren has put up with my determination to fight with tolerance and has stuck to her guns throughout that while she doesn't understand the violence she is proud of my reasons both charity and personal for taking this on, and she even took on her own personal fears in the shape of a jaegerbomb!

My WCBL family, I have never been more proud of every person who stepped through those ropes, the heart needed to do it is incredible, and the support everyone gives each other is second to none, I've made some great mates and I will keep training at Knights. Your cornering on the night and Jonesy doing his great work behind the scenes too everyone was a part of a great period in my life.

My friends and family, your support has been incredible, from family to colleagues everyone has shown huge love,. through donations or being there on the night, it took hours for the chants of "Gilly" to leave my head, fantastic support, you owned the Irish Centre.

The End...

So my fighting days may well be done but I will keep training, I would recommend everyone look up Scott "Biz" Borthwick and WCBL, there are plenty of pretenders out there but Scott will look after you and see you right, the training is great, the pairings are done with care and the man gives a shit quite honestly.

My next challenge will be the Gurkha Run, a non boxing event but I will keep training because I love it now....

Biggest Love and Thanks

The Bear xxxxxxxx

The Last Week...

Saturday came round too fast, my last session  before this Fridays warfare, Fulfilling a bet I spent the whole of the training in a pair of Calvin Y-Fronts, and that was it for the lower half after I did it to raise a little more cash for the charity I am fighting for, Broadway, Scott paid up as promised and some of my WCBL family dug deep on the day too, in addition to loads of the guys donating online, cheers to everyone!
Training had even more tension than last week, people putting final touches to their technique and fitness will always remind people of how little time was left till tomorrow night, I wouldn't personally spar on Sat, I wanted to but the vision of damaging ribs and missing tomorrow was too much for me personally to risk.
We also had a load of laughs as always, my budgie being out caused Jo to remark that I might be the man to turn her, but then she mentioned I might need to borrow some socks to fill it out, so I was getting mixed messages!
Everyone looked sharp and drilled and I think it will be an awesome show tomorrow with loads of different styles on show and some technical fights and some all out brawls (Ill let you guess my style!) It will be an action packed night out and a credit to Scott and all the fighters commitment to the cause.

Tension...

I have been climbing the walls all week, and I am not going to get into smack talk but I feel ready to go, Ill stick my headphones on tomorrow close my eyes and be properly in the zone, one of the girls at work mentioned fight eyes, and they will be on tomorrow, not silly bulging eyes but focussed and ready to go to work.

I want to lay out some thanks now, to Scott Borthwick our trainer, he has worked us hard but in the best possible way, and runs a great professional set up. He has never promised anything he hasn't delivered and its been what I hoped for and more.

WCBL family, everyone at training has been amazing, I feel like I have made some great mates and the banter has been priceless. Looking forward to beers and more training in the future.

Sponsors and supporters, everyone who has donated, bought tickets, or just sent me over support via FB, text and phone, I am going to be unleashing a whole lot of Bear tomorrow for you.

Finally my wife Lauren, she has put up with months of me boring the living shit out of her, stressing her out and farting all over the house thanks to protein. Despite not being a boxing fan she has supported my reasons for doing this, and has always been proud of the effort Ive put in.

Ill post one last blog after this following tomorrows fight, good luck to everyone fighting, and thanks again for the love and support for me and the charity.

Biggest Love

The Bear

Gutted...but read on!

I got my planning wrong this morning and missed training for the first time...Ill be honest I'm gutted...

Its got to that point where I look forward to the banter, new friendships and incessant build up to fight night, even Scott's horrible shorts stolen from Mini me from Gold member
I pack my bag the night before, go through the ball ache of rolling metres of hand wraps, triple check my head guard and gum shield are present, its all a ritual, like despite not being religious I follow a certain process or I'm not happy.

People who love and play sport tend to head towards superstitions, my own are fairly simple, drinks at certain times, listen to music, but when I was playing rugby regularly it was far worse, I used to stress if I forgot particular pants, and then one day some ones boot ripped them and my arse apart, it felt like the loss of an old friend, and the loss of the pants far exceeded the pain of a 4 inch cut across my arse! (The shower after that was horrific)

I intend to write certain things on my hand wraps on the night, and some I will never explain except to my wife , some will be obvious to most  and refer to people who have passed and some I feel far deserved the shot at life that they got, I feel sometimes like I carried a burden when I was younger which made me the way I was, now I'm happy but this fight will put a few ghosts to rest for me. I'm sure I will be accused of making too much of what this fight is, a scrap between two blokes, but in order to step through some ropes it takes some nuts and I dare anyone reading this blog who thinks it is easy to step in and try it....and I'm happy to spar.

My life hasn't always been easy, but its far better than some, I believe you don't get a practice run at life, though this view will depend on your religious beliefs!

To the cause!!!!!!

I want to try and raise the profile of the thousands of unseen Londoners, the people with nothing, the people who don't sleep, don't eat, and beg for cash for drink to try and help them escape from the shitty reality of the life they are caught in, without charities like Broadway,  who I will fight for there is no way out of the cycle for these guys and girls. If you have ever felt cold or lonely then you have to feel the way I feel, its easy to write everyone off as scammers but this is in fact a massive minority.

With all the charities out there today its easy to feel like everyone wants something, but there is no one reading this blog who hasn't seen a homeless person, or wondered what they do when it rains or snows. Any donation will help! And a deep heartfelt thanks to those who have already donated.

I've promised to train in my pants, or NUDE if it raises the money for the charity, my personal dignity next to raising money for the cause is irrelevant! Don't make me though!

Enough of me bleating along! Thanks for the amazing support, through donations, tickets, and just messages telling me to keep pushing on. I promise an explosive fight on the night. You have my word.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=thebearboxes&faId=329837&isTeam=false

Thanks again everyone....

The Bear

A late one...

Sorry for the delay in the blog, had meant to write it over the weekend but a blazing hot sunday was the only reason I needed to be out all day, and then between work, training and dropping tickets off its been a busy week so far!
Saturdays training was purely boxing focussed and people were virtually straight into sparring and padwork, I got two rounds of sparring in and after being concerned about the need to move I again allowed Lee to use me as a punchbag by charging in, and being too static, I cant deny I was pissed off with myself, and sulked for a bit, but encouraged by everyone around me who bascially told me to suck it up and get back in, Jo and Leo really puched it along, I climbed back through the ropes.
This time Walter, who was down for the first time stepped up, and I got caught flush with a hell of a hook to the chin, I'm man enough to say it rocked me, but I managed to get a bit of composure and kept my shape and tactics to the end of the round, but still feel pretty unhappy with my all round game.
Its going to take more hard work and movement but with less than 3 weeks to go I am confident I can pull it off on the night.
It was actually great to see some new faces down at the gym, and everyone was made welcome as always in the WCBL way, the sweat was running down the walls and everyone is really putting the work in.
Scott asked us our 60 second questions this week about WCBL and I am pleased to have avoided biggest moaner (Cheers Lisa!) because all I do at the minute is moan about my form, tickets, being tired etc, but I love it really. Will be a hell of a night and I want to put on the best show I can, big defence needed, and sharp attack and I cannot wait.

Big Love

The Bear