What I’m looking forward to the most this weekend is the clash of fists between 14 business professionals as they forego tight office attire and slip into something much more comfy, eager to jab and cross their way into victory at “Fight Night II”. White collar boxing returns on March 31 and Sky Bubble Rooftop, The Meydan Hotel, will be hosting the spectacle.
Ahead of the event, I met with some of the boxers and participated in their training session at the Warehouse Gym in Al Quoz. I’ve had previous experience doing kick-boxing so a boxer’s routine isn’t something totally new to me. I haven’t done it in years so suddenly everything came flooding in again, the thrill, the pain, and the highs and lows. But for some, particularly for newcomer, Anne Esteban, the feelings are unfamiliar.
“I joined white collar boxing for experience. This is my first time to fight. Training has been intense and it’s really killing me. I lost almost 6 kilograms now. But I’m looking forward to it because we’re only two women fighting that night. I’m shocked as I never thought I’ll be boxing in my life. I just used to watch it, now I’m doing it.” says Esteban.
I can just imagine the mental and emotional rollercoaster ride for these fighters to be doing this intensive training programme for 10 weeks in preparation for their big day.
Self-preservation
“More than anything, you need dedication, three times a day. You’ve probably got a brief idea how tiring it is boxing. It’s very strenuous on the body and mind. When you first get in, everything in your head tells you, you shouldn’t be in that ring because of self-preservation, you don’t want to get hit. But you’ve got to keep going, you’ve got to persevere. You get knocked down you get back up again. It sounds corny but it’s so true. And a couple of times, especially at the beginning when your first spar, it’s a mental struggle between ‘this isn’t for me’ and continuing with it. There were times when I pondered quitting, but I kept going.” says Haytham Nasr, Marketing and Operations Officer, and “Fight Night II” boxer.
As for this single session, the coaches, notably freelance boxing trainer Joe Ackery and Head Coach Roy Gumbs had us shadow boxing, skipping rope and beating heavy bags before pitting us against each other and turning me into a human piñata as sparring partner to Haytham and Esteban. Head Coach Roy Gumbs, I might add, is a former UK and Commonwealth Middleweight champion, so it’s easy to see, or in my case, feel, why my sparring partners put up such exemplary effort … unfortunately at my expense. Seriously, I have so much respect for these guys who pour their hearts out in the ring.
“It’s not something to take lightheartedly. You really have to think, for two and a half months I’ll be training at least once a day, and then a lot of the times you’re training twice a day, you spar three times a week. In the end of it you get incredibly fit. You’re feeling good and you’re looking forward to the fight now.” adds Haytham.
Having sparred briefly with them, I can’t wait to finally see these white collar boxers step on the big stage showcase what they’re made of.
The details
Fight Night II tickets are Dh590 for Standard, Dh750 for Inner Circle and Dh950 for VIP at ringside.
