Stay Hungry, Stay Humble

THE FIGHT, AND ITS AFTERMATH

Returning to AJ, every time I hear the song Ye from the Nigerian Afro-fusion Singer-Songwriter Burna Boy I am drawn back to the night of the fight between AJ and Andy Ruiz, Jr. Naturally, much debate was spewed in the aftermath of the fight, with many intriguing topics of discussion:

Body Image

We live in a hypervisual world where body image sets extreme, fixed and dangerous standards of what is ‘healthy’ and ‘attractive’. Andy Ruiz, Jr. has long been criticised for being overweight and carrying a lot of body fat, which are factors that influences people’s perceptions of how the fight turned out. Yet I hate to say, he pummelled AJ, knocking him down 4 times in the fight. In the end he was the better fighter.

Technical Factors

I don’t have a lot of Boxing acumen, yet there was a lot discussed in the immediate aftermath about a lack of technical progress AJ has made a boxer in recent years, not using his jab effectively and exposing his chin too much, and the impact getting a strong blow to his head had (which he acknowledged immediately after the fight and much later). The question now is does he have the skill to win the rematch.

Aftermath

In his post-fight interview AJ said what happened had settled with him but I believe that was naive as it would have been a shock and one needs to time to acknowledge, accept and adapt to what has happened. I’m fascinated to see what happens, and just prior to publishing this article he released a video in which he says ‘don’t let failures get to your heart and success to your head’ as he prepares for his rematch with Andy Ruiz, Jr.

Rematch

AJ speaks about the need to always prove yourself, with Boxing being his medium, and how the fight wasn’t ‘just about Boxing, it’s deeper, it’s about who I am’. I know what I’ve just written about technical factors, but Muhammad Ali’s quote on champions has fuelled me throughout my life, so let’s see what happens towards the end of 2019. Will AJ have the necessary ‘skill and the will’ to succeed?

Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.

Muhammad Ali