Last night was the culmination of 5 months of planning.
18 untrained amateurs signed up in October for a little evening of boxing to raise a little cash.

The reality? Christ, it grew and grew, almost unstoppable at the end.

18 lean and mean athletes turned up last night, unrecognisable from the crew that rocked up to meet Ali and Lee one wet night in Acton.

Seasoned boxers, TV people, and a host of the famous said it was one of the most professionally organised ‘shows’they’d ever seen.

Every one of the pugilists was there to win, make no mistake, and every fight was close. It kicked off with the twin brothers, Guy and Nick, beating the shit out of eachother, to be frank.
Forty years of sibling rivalry? Well at the end, after 6 minutes of trying to knock eachother over, I reckon they’ve never felt so much love for eachother as they did at the end, arms round one another.
Fittingly, the referee called it a draw.
I think everyone was secretly pleased about that.

Emma and Sharon next up.
Both convinced they’d win, no bookie’s favourite.
I know Emma well, and admire Sharon’s attitude greatly. I’m not allowed to be biased, but they both had a hundred very partisan supported in the hall.
Three rounds of 100% later, Sharon shaved it, though lots disagreed.
The rest were in stunned silence by what we’d witnessed out there, between 2 ladies maybe old enough to know better…?

Third bout: Dan and Paul.
Club owner vs paying member.
Surely he’s not allowed to smack the crap out of a member?
Thankfully perhaps that didn’t happen. Definitely the 2 most skilled fighters in the event, it was always going to be hard to call. Dan has the power to inflict a lot of damage, and Paul the skill set to avoid it, and accumulate hits.
When Dan did corner Paul he got some great shots in, but too few for the referee.
Great contest, verdict : Paul, by one round.
Johnny Nelson’s ( ex World Champ ) comment, hurled at the ref…?
‘You shoulda gone to Specsavers!’

When I pointed out that I am a specsavers director, he changed it to ‘ Oi! You shoulda gone to see Russ! ‘
All highly amusing.

Next Khallium vs Quincy:
Talk about the lead changing hands.. K was like a man possessed, battering Q into next week, only for Q to totally turn it around through guile and some bloody hard shots.
The last round was brutal, and it took a brave man to pick a winner.
Johnny called K, Adam Smith called Q…
Ref’s verdict: Quincy by a round.

Next: April ( lovely, sweet girl next door ) vs Alex ( last minute sub, and the bigger fighter by a lot.
Pre start, you’d have feared for April. 30 seconds in, and Alex realised she was there for the fight of her life!
Anybody who thought the girls fights were there as a side show was put right.
I for one, wouldn’t be a hapless bulgar breaking into April’s flat, while she was at home..
Verdict: April, but massive credit to Alex for having the bottle to be there.

Next: Leslie and Ben
No quarter given for 3 rounds at all. Conceding height and reach, Ben was always going to have a tough job on his gloves, but his heart was certainly big enough to win.
Verdict: Leslie ‘ the Artist’

Next Paul vs Alex

This one was always gonna be interesting, Alex 12 years younger and a personal trainer, Paul a successful businessman with little history of physical pursuits, and the main event sponsor ( Orchards of London – sales and Lettings )
Both lovely guys, and again both dead set on the prize.
I have to say, they went hammer and tongs at eachother for 3 rounds, neither backing off, and both exhausted by the end.
2 minutes per round doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you throw a punch a second , it really is.
Verdict: Alex, but for attitude and commitment, they drew.

The finale was Ian vs Pat.
Both employees at the Park Club, and pre this , neither the sort to throw a punch at anyone.
Ian must have lost 3 stones in training and Pat learnt a lot about not getting hit by the bigger man.
Come the night, Pat forgot all about his pre fight tactics and went head to head.
To say it was brutal was an understatement. Blood was spilled, and nothing was left of either of them at the final bell.
Fascinating to watch, but not for the feint hearted.
Verdict: Draw.

So who do I thank?
Well all 1300 people there, including the fighters, the staff, the caterers, the ref ( Steve ), the people behind the scenes, Sky TV, the presenters, the compere ( the one and only Adrian Chiles), Tim Slater ( who did so much to make it happen ).. The absolutely gorgeous Ring Girls, the boys and girls dance troupes, the people who had to clean up afterwards and those who served drinks long into the night.
Most of all though to Dan White, the living legend, and to Lee and Ali, the boxing brains behind the event in the first place and who have taken 18 rank amateurs and turned them into proficient killing machines in just 11 weeks.
Those 2 guys will be my friends for life, if they’ll have me.

Hi Russ,

Caught up with your blog, the pic of you eight months ago shows how far you have already come, very good job.

Just back from my trip to Portugal, one of the paddlers there was a German para woman who wants to go to Rio in 2016 so i was helping her with some coaching.
Her trials are at the end of April so five weeks to get up to speed for this year.
She’s LTA so not a huge leap to get her balancing in a para K1, needs to mostly work on power.
I don’t think she is really prepared to put in the needed effort as she makes the excuse she has 40 hours a week work to do.
She was shocked when i said to give up socialising and focus 100% on your goal, there are 128 other hours a week…

So here’s a joke i got from her:

Too Drunk to Walk

An Irishman’s been drinking at a pub all night. When he stands up to leave, he falls flat on his face. He tries to stand one more time, but to no avail. Again, he falls flat on his face. He figures he’ll crawl outside and get some fresh air and maybe that will sober him up. Once outside, he stands up and, sure enough, he falls flat on his face. The Irishman decides to crawl the four blocks to his home.

When he arrives at the door, he stands up and falls flat on his face. He crawls through the door into his bedroom. When he reaches his bed, he tries one more time to stand up. This time, he manages to pull himself upright but he quickly falls right into bed. He is sound asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.

He awakens the next morning to his wife standing over him, shouting, “So, you’ve been out drinking again!”

“Why do you say that?” he asks innocently.

“The pub called. You left your wheelchair there again.”

best regards & have a great fight night
Tony Waszkiewicz

Love,

Dan.

Tomorrow night is Fight Night.

18 total ameteurs have dedicated 3 months of their spare time to my cause. 5 sessions per week in the ring with Lee and Ali, as well as running and fitness.

They’re going to have to put into practice what they’ve learnt , in the ring in front of not only over a thousand people, including their friends and families, but in front of professional boxers, AND Sky TV cameras, knowing that it’ll be broadcast soon.

We know that there’ll be Johnny Nelson there, but suspect that Richy Woodhall may be, and possibly even the man of the moment in British boxing, George Groves.

Commentary will be provided by Adam Smith and also by Adrian Chiles, a real coup for the event.

All I have to do is sit there and witness the efforts and contributions of so many incredible people who’ve rallied around me since I braked too hard on a lonely french hillside and shot over the handlebars.

It would seem that my fight back firstly to life and hopefully to more than that in the future, has moved a lot of people to reassess their lives, and what’s important , and perhaps not to waste the time they have here on this planet.

Make no mistake , every one of those boxers is there to win on the night, but they’re all there for a lot more than that – to help other people ( including me ) who’ve had the most basic of human capabilities cruelly snatched away.

Thank you so much.

…to Vee, for her lovely letter.