DING! DING!
Round 1 just ended and I had a question for my boxing coach.
“What did I just get with???”
He didn’t answer, so I know what he was thinking: EVERYTHING!
Instead, he brought me back to the basics.
“Don’t worry. Do what we practiced. Double jab. Close the distance. Don’t wait.”
At the weigh-in earlier that day, I spoke with two teammates about this fight. Each had faced my opponent earlier in the year.
They both offered warnings of his speed and elusiveness.
DING!
Round 2 begins. I walk into center ring and I was greeted with a stiff jab.
Adrenaline took care of the pain.
But my hook whiffs, and my frustration turns into anger.
I get thrown off balance, and I get hit with a punishing straight counter.
Whether by instinct or instruction, I start to pump the jab. I’m gaining ground so I keep it going, mixing in feints and changing the rhythm to maintain the pressure.
Eventually, I’m able to pin him to the ropes and land a right hook. I know it was solid because I felt it right through my elbow.
He bent forward before reaching out to tie me up. The ref separates us just as the bell rings.
So we’re 1 to 1.
********
I experienced a lot of scenarios like this when I boxed for the University of California, Berkeley.
Turns out, getting punched in the face can teach you a thing or two about trading.
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