Like a lot of guys, I've been a sports fan most of my natural life, but there's just something different about the sport of boxing that drew me in from the get go.
I think more than anything, it's the story and courage of the boxers themselves. It's quite unique when you think about it and really break it down, on a human level.
When you consider the mentality it takes to become a boxer, to put on a pair of gloves, discipline yourself to train over a prolonged period and step into a ring with another trained man who's coming in to beat you physically, it's no wonder boxing continues to be such a draw for sports fans in modern day society.
Their a special breed, are boxers.
Their mindset has to be some of the strongest out of any athletes on Earth, or of people full stop.
Through some of my work over the past number of years I've been fortunate enough to meet and spend time with some of these special human beings and to this day, I've never met a bad guy who was a fighter.
There's just a level of humility that comes to a person from getting their asses kicked day in day out in a gym, that very few of us mere mortals could ever have.
This humility portrays itself in all walks of their lives. Boxers almost walk with a certain confidence that normal civilians do not, knowing that they can protect themselves from certain situations where others cannot.
I remember a few years before I got into boxing journalism a guy once said to me, "boxers are some of the coolest people you'll ever meet in life."
Three plus years on, and I can confirm that he was absolutely correct.
The mentality it takes for these guys to put it all in the line in a bid to have a chance of achieving a dream, is something so rare, that very few can ever identify with over the course of their lifetimes.
Society tells us that we should live our lives in a certain way, in terms of getting the stereotypical Monday to Friday 9-5 job, raising a family, getting a mortgage, go on a summer holiday every year, have two cars outside the door, retire and die.
But boxers like some people in life don't buy into the bullshit, some people are motivated by more than just 'the norm', and boxers fall into this category more often than not.
A mindset where the pursuit of achieving one's dream takes precedence over other things for a period of one's life, where you take a risk and go after something you actually love.
The word 'risk' been pivotal to the aforementioned statement.
It's in this word that boxers live, in both their careers and pursuit of excellence. After all, the fight business is probably the riskiest of them all, where broken dreams make up the majority of most fighters' stories and nothing is guaranteed.
Most fighters never make it to the top and become a professional world champion, and secure enough money to retire on in reality.
That's just the lucky few the general public hear of, maybe 2% of professional boxers.
It's this bitter sweet struggle that I think endears boxers to the sporting public more than most athletes.
Even if you're not a boxing fan, most people respect what a boxer goes through, before they ever step foot into a ring.
Human beings with genuine desire to succeed and prosper.
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