For most people, both topics are unknown; they only have an idea of what most fighters do post-fight. And most of the time, it’s an idea that doesn’t match reality.
Zero To Alpha wisdom #2: Post-fight celebrations.
I opened the fight card when I had my last fight. This meant I had to stay until the end to get my paycheck. So I checked out the other fights with the people that came to watch. I was keeping a close eye on my left foot since it was pretty swollen. Later, I figured I sprained my ankle somewhere in round 2.
Once it was time to get paid, we left the stadium to eat at the restaurant of my gym owner. We enjoyed food, but after that, it was time to go home for everyone. Training partners needed to train in the morning because they had fights coming up.
I had to go to sleep because I had to teach at 10 in the morning the next day. So the next day, I showed up to teach with a purple, swollen foot.
It wasn’t the first time I experienced this. After my sixth fight, my whole left leg was swollen and black. I still went to teach my Muay Thai class.
The majority of people think that fighters party hard and relax at the beach until they get back in the gym. This is certainly the case for some fighters. But the majority of fighters don’t earn enough money per fight to sustain themselves.
For the majority, responsibilities are waiting to be taken care of the next day.
In a way, it’s surreal. On the 26th, I gave the best performance of my career so far. People kept talking about it. I basically took the guy to school. The next day, I was teaching kids at a school. It’s funny how that works.
The combination of working and fighting sometimes makes it a bit harder to heal injuries, but it’s part of the game.
No fighter would want to trade this lifestyle for any other. Neither do I.
Once the foot is healed, it’s time to do it again.
My last opponent is gunning for a rematch, and meanwhile, I’m pushing for a rematch with another. I’ll be back in the ring soon. Hopefully by the end of July.
The reality of fighting life
In the post-fight celebration part, you already had a sneak peak of what the “fight life” entails. A lot of people think that the fighting life is very glamorous, but the reality is quite different. The majority of fighters are broke. Most of them also have no clue how to handle money and have no other skills besides fighting. I know tons of guys who are living from paycheck to paycheck.
Others get sponsored by their parents or by their rich girlfriend. Others have a job or work freelance to make sure they can keep up with everything. That’ll remain reality until they make it to the top. Personally, I work freelance as an English teacher and personal trainer, and I help fighters online with nutrition.
A lot of people see videos of these athletes at the top partying, having tons of money, having women, etc., and think they want it as well.
The reality is, however, that none of them are suited to fight. They all want to enjoy the view from the top of the mountain, but they don’t want to walk there.
So basically, they want the so-called benefits of fighting. They don’t want to live the actual fighting life.
The majority of them are in for a rude awakening when they make that walk for the first time.
And I’m very generous here. Because 99.9% will never make that walk.
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Until next time.
Alex
