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David Vs Goliath

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When I sat down last night after I finally got home, I could quite easily have posted here about what a f$*king awful day it was. The crown on top of the steaming turd-pile of a day was the rubbish return to BJJ in the evening, but that’s more stuff for me to reflect on. However this isn’t Livejournal, and I’m not a fifteen year old self-obsessed emo kid, so I’ll leave it there.

This weekend I’m watching the boxing match I’ve been looking forward to more than any other for a long time; Haye v Valuev. I’ve followed and been a fan of David Haye for a long time now, I remember watching his early fights at lower weights and being impressed not only at the power in his punches, but also his intelligence. I don’t mean intelligence in a ringcraft manner either, I’m talking about listening to him in interviews. If you ever listen to a boxer, especially in a post-fight interview, it’s very easy to get an idea of which are their thoughts, and which are the things they’ve been coached to regurgitate. A lot of people have given Haye some stick for the way he’s carried on before this fight (and the cancelled Klitschko one before it), where he’s been talking a lot of trash about his opponents and been doing his level best to get under their skin, but I like him for it.

I’m a big fan of the guy, and I know he’s got the skills and ability to back it all up. It’s been a long time since the Heavyweight division has had any kind of character or excitement in it, and for me it’s breathing some much-needed life back into it. For years now it’s just been boxers from the ex-Soviet states holding all four of the belts (Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, Chagaev, Valuev, Ibragimov), and the big money and big showcase fights typically come when the Americans are involved. They’ve only had champions at Heavyweight three times since 2005, and even then it was ‘smaller’ names (hands up if you remember Lamon Brewster). America needs some big name heavywieghts again, if not for the main fans of boxing, then for the general public to drive up the excitement again. We need more Evander Holyfields, Riddick Bowes and Mike Tysons.

Until that happens though, David Haye is our best bet for some entertainment and spectacle, the way Heavyweight boxing should be. Britain needs it too. Bonus points for anyone who can name the last British heavyweight champion before Lennox Lewis without looking it up? It was in 1999 if that helps, that’s a long time. So bring it on Valuev, proper David v Goliath action, a few beers with friends and a return to showtime boxing. Prove me right David.

Last Time, On MacGyver….

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Regular readers will be surprised to learn that I’m not in fact MacGyver at all, it’s just a post title that came to me. I’ve not posted for a little while so that’s why.

Work has been crazy busy this last few weeks as the new financial year starts, and yours truly has been permanently staring at a screen or buried under pages and pages of (very boring) code. I’ve broken the back of it now though, and the near-permanent headache and stress vein can be put back on the shelf for a while. Training’s going pretty well now, and I’m supplementing it with the very handy gym at work a few lunchtimes a week. It’s sparsely equipped, but I can row, run, pedal and, umm, cross-train(?). There are a couple of resistance machines which offer a few different exercises, and I’m finally taking note of what weights I’m working with. Hopefully they’ll go up in the not-too distant future, but for now I’m working at 70KG for lat pulldowns and seated rows, and 65KG shoulder pressing. It’s not massive, but then my arms and shoulders have always been my weakest area. I’ve also started swimming again, hooray! Just fifty lengths to get going again, but my aim is to get up to around eighty in an hour. I’m a way off that yet, but managed those fifty in about 45 minutes, and after a year off regular swimming I’m happy.

On top of that I get a little extra exercise on Monday nights still, courtesy of dog agility training! Me and Murphy still go and he’s coming on brilliantly. We’re up to 16-17 obstacle courses and he’s started to really get the hang of his weakest area, the weaves. I think competing is still a little way off, but I’m hoping to get him entered into something later in the year. It absolutely lashed down with rain for a while during last night’s lesson, which soaked me and the dog (and consequently my car…), but in return we got this beauty…

Lovely double rainbow, carn brea monument in the distance

Lovely double rainbow, carn brea monument in the distance

There are some weeks when it can get very frustrating, especially if Murph’s not really ‘with it’, but more often than not it’s my fault if he gets something wrong. He really enjoys it though and has lots of friends there now, so even when Monday has taken its toll on me and the very last thing I feel like doing is running around a field in my wellies after a soggy spaniel, one look at this little face and I really can’t help but take him.

What a sad looking pup...

What a sad looking pup...

Work on the house has picked up again, and I’m elated to say that we have walls! Ok, they’re about five feet high, but they’re walls damnit! We’re told that we should be well up into the first floor by the end of the week, and from then on it’s almost going to be like having a home again. There are plenty of pictures I need to take off the camera at home to update progress, it’s just a case of finding the time and getting my backside in gear.

And to finish, well done Carl Froch. What an awesome fight on the weekend, talk about leaving it to the last minute! There’s more great boxing coming up too; Hatton Vs Pacquaio and Haye Vs Klitschko. The David Haye fight is going to be spectacular, I cannot wait!