Page 149 - Doug Werner Boxer's Start-Up

Journal

To be Ryan is a straight ahead fighter. Even more so
than John. He’s tall with a reach that forces me
honest it to time his punches to get inside and score. I
bang him on the forehead with a right that he
felt good later says made him dizzy. He’s a nice guy and
wears braces. I’m concerned about hitting him
popping in the mouth.

the guy. I fight jabbing and full on rounds with John, a
jabbing round with Jordan and a full on round
with Ryan. It’s interesting to see how we
develop with each other.It sure is fun and despite the flare-up with
John I think we all enjoy our little battles.Al is superb as a coach,
knowing when to let us go and when to reign us in. He’s got a real
feel for this stuff.

Al gives us all a review afterward. He’s glowing with my perfor-
mance but mentions that I shouldn’t get mad.Later that night I start
to feel bad about losing it (like I always do). I think I shouldn’t get
upset because I’m older and all that.Although to be honest it felt
good popping the guy.

Reviewing Sparring Session #2
We look at the video of last Thursday’s sparring. It’s a riot watching
me growl at John about his full-speed punches (and a little embar-
rassing, too). I watch myself try to bully him around, even pushing
and shoving.It’s obvious the kid didn’t know what the problem was
and I look foolish. Al thinks it’s hilarious and goes over the incidents
a few times for laughs.I guess it is pretty amusing.I say the kid must
hate me, but Al says not at all. Kids forget stuff right away. Not to
worry.

I watch myself whale on Ryan and stop him with a hard right.We
go over that shot, too. We agree that it’s the best punch I’ve ever
thrown. Set it up with a left and POW!

My best work was during the first two jab-only rounds. I was fresh
and moving around really well.I slipped a lot of punches and landed
a ton of jabs. I think I looked good. Much better than the first time.
We all looked better.

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