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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Dear Future Haymaker
Having my hand raised in front of my family, friends and colleagues after months of training and sacrifice is a moment I will cherish forever. Since the first day I laced up a pair of boxing gloves, I always knew I would compete, and never stopped pushing myself physically and mentally until that day came. What I didn’t know is that my night ‘under the lights’ would carry meaning that far exceeded me as an individual, and even the sport of boxing.I took on the ‘Haymakers For Hope’ challenge in honor of my girlfriend’s mother, and dear friend, Ann Zeller. Ann had been battling multiple forms of rare Cancers for over forty years, and did so with effortless grace and courage. She was and will always be one of the most special people I have ever been influenced by. So while my urge to compete and test my boxing progress was the driving force behind seeking an amateur bout, the opportunity to honor Ann and her family was what made this a once in a lifetime experience for me.Halfway through my training, Ann’s lifelong battle with Cancer came to an end and she passed away in July, with her family and closest friends by her side (myself included). Everyone grieves in their own unique way: some write, some sing, some travel, some just cry and some do a little bit of it all. For me, training became both my outlet and my grieving process. It was an escape from the pain I was witnessing my loved ones experience, and it was a validation that I was doing my part to honor Ann. During training camp, I was driven by much more than the desire to win and my competitive hardwiring. I was possessed by the opportunity to bring joy to those who had suffered heartbreak, and showed strength far beyond what we were doing inside the ring. This drive and newly found life perspective made long work days followed by intense training sessions an easy task. Bruises, blood, missed social events, and cutting weight were insignificant, relative to the strength I had witnessed that summer. The mantra #AnnStrong was patched on my robe and written on my knuckles on fight night.When we had our fighter orientation, participants from year’s passed shared their experiences. The one constant across all of their accounts was the statement “nothing will compare to the feeling you will have on fight night.” This was an understatement. Seeing your loved ones band together and honor both your hard work and a cause dear to you has no comparison. That is what the Haymakers For Hope organization creates; an unequaled atmosphere of unified support and awareness. The cause is bigger than all of its participants. Everyone inside Hammerstein Ballroom on November 16th had their own story. Each story was carried into the ring and was brought the awareness it deserved that night.Haymakers For Hope was an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Being a part of a cause bigger than yourself and working tirelessly towards something that will bring joy to those you love is what life is all about. My fundraising, training and experience on fight night brought the strongest sense of purpose I have felt in my life. Cancer and the strength of those that are touched by it quickly bring a deep sense of perspective and gratitude for what you have in front of you. I can truly say that I have a rejuvenated appreciation for life, and for that I am forever indebted to the Haymakers For Hope family.Keep those hands up. And never stop fighting.All the best,Ryan
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Boxer in Training: Matt Kilty
You’ve heard who they are and why they’re fighting. But now that we’re over the halfway mark until the big night on May 18th, things have started to pick up a bit. Training is getting more intense. They’ve been punched in the face. Most have had a bloody nose here or there, their diets have changed, and boxing is becoming an everyday part of their lives. So we figured it was about time to check back in and see how things have been going. Matt Kilty has been putting in work at Firicano Boxing and below you’ll hear about his first time sparring and more about his experience with Haymakers thus far.We’re halfway to fight night, how is your training coming along? It took some time but I now understand more clearly what my trainer means by getting in "fighting shape". The training hasn't been easy and I had no idea going into this how much mental toughness it would take. There is as much training necessary about the way to think and keep a clear head as there is to the strength and conditioning and boxing skills training. I thought I was prepared going into the sparring/media day but I wasn't. Far from it actually, it was like starting over the next day. I read about the ups and downs in another fighter's blog and I identified with that, a lot. Overall it's been a non-stop regiment of disciplined nutrition, strength and conditioning workouts and boxing/sparring training. When I add the complexity of my work schedule, I've had to self-motivate and work out alone on occasion which is not easy when there isn't anyone else there to challenge you. When I look back to the start of this and how much I've learned about this sport, it's absolutely incredible. And I'm impressed with the sportsmanship and closeness of the boxing community, a lot of people giving of themselves to others. Overall, my support system has been incredible and there are a lot of people to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude. And I'm forever thankful that my trainer and the other instructors at my gym love this sport so much that they are dedicating this much time of theirs to help me get ready, I'll never be able to pay them back.What is your weekly routine? A typical weekly routine would be a 1-hr morning strength, conditioning and boxing workout at the Firicano Boxing Bootcamp (www.firicanoboxing.net). On alternate days I change it up with a Firicano Spinbox workout which is an intense 30min spin session and then an equally intense 30min boxing workout with bag work laced with various bodyweight exercises. Working around our work schedules, we generally spar 4x during the work week at night and those are mixed in with another 1-hr bootcamp. Saturday's are 10am Firicano Boxing Bootcamp followed by a sparring session.How has your diet changed since training began? After consulting with my trainer shortly after we began training, I engaged a sports nutritionist, Dawn Thelen (www.dawnthelenfitness.com) who works with other Firicano clients. To get to fighting weight, I needed to lose 33lbs (so far I've actually lost 35lbs!!). I wasn't very knowledgeable about proper nutrition and I didn't want to be on a fad type "diet" and live a miserable existence for 4-months and then have all the weight come back after the fight. Plus I have to eat out often because of my work schedule. So I engaged an expert that crafted a nutrition plan specifically for me. I switched to a clean eating style which is virtually free of all processed foods (except for the occasional cheat) and I retrained myself on what to eat, how to eat and when to eat. I'm not counting calories and I'm not hungry and as a bonus, I learned how to order from a menu without setting me back. The piece I found most beneficial was the accountability aspect. Sharing pictures (very embarrassing/humbling), measurements, checking in weekly and being able to talk to Dawn and ask her questions at any time with nearly immediate responses was key to my success.Tell us about your first time sparring, different than expected? Not really, I mean I wasn't sure what to expect. I wasn't really afraid, I just got in the ring (I'm reminded in a joking way all the time about how cocky I was) and gave it my best. My best at that time wasn't very good. I knew I'd be winded because I wasn't in shape when I first started sparring. Now if you asked me if sparring is different now compared to when I first started I'd say yes absolutely, night and day different. My corner would constantly be telling at me to "box" not "brawl". We started working a lot on footwork and the boxing started to improve. I have a long way to go still but I have an incredibly dedicated team working with me to help me get there. I've loved boxing since I was a kid but I'll tell you that one of the best things that have come out of this is my new appreciation for the real boxers, both amateur, and pro, that do this with higher aspirations. They work so hard, for so long, in the shadows with nobody to cheer them on. They are willed by their desire to succeed and they are amazing. Now when I watch boxing, I have a totally different view of the sport and its that much more enjoyable.What has been the most challenging part of sticking to the routine and training so far? I'm not sure, nothing specific, just all of it. It’s a grind. Some days are great and some not so much. It really comes back to the mental aspect of this and making sure I stay out of my own head.What does your family think of your participation? It depends on who we're talking about but generally, they're all excited for me. The kids (I have 4 beautiful daughters) sure wish they could be there and are looking forward to seeing some video afterward. I'm fighting Paul Palandjian. If I were him I'd watch out because if he hits me too hard he's going to have to answer to my wife. She won't take too kindly to him hitting me and I'd rather fight Paul than her. So I guess I better work hard on my slips and unders! All joking aside, my wife has made this so much easier for me. She's been by my side every step of the way. She is working with the same sports nutritionist and is on the same clean eating diet as me. She also gave up alcohol, pasta, ice cream and all our other favorites (and we're big foodies). She's organizing a fundraiser for me. She's personally donating 2-weeks of revenue from her own business in the name of all her loyal clients. She listens to me complain about the aches and pains and ups and downs of training and just continues to encourage me.It’s amazing how many people’s lives have been touched by cancer in some way - has there been anyone that has surprised you by their story? I think the H4H Alumni Spotlight blog piece back in February about Chris Lewarne's story of his friend Adrian Rufo. It really got to me. I had to read that story several times just to get through it. Then I read it to my wife. Not realizing this was a story about an alumnus, she said, "I hope you're not fighting him." Just when you think your own story of lost love ones or those in the fight now is painful, you read about someone else and you thank God your situation isn't worse.Has your initial inspiration changed since the start of your training? Yes. Being in an actual bona fide boxing match with judges and all has been a bucket list item for a while. It's what drove me to do this. And thanks to Haymakers, I have this opportunity to combine my love of boxing and charitable giving. I quickly realized this was about more than boxing. And it was easy at first to draw inspiration from my families own dealings with cancer with the loss of my dad and my sister. But since I started telling people what I'm doing, I have been given the names of all sorts of people; people who've lost their battle, people who've survived and people fighting now. I'm fighting for all of them too. This is who inspires me and the list is growing every day: Bob Kilty, Virginia Connolly, Lorraine Kilty, Lena Bergin, Codi Ezekiel (in the fight), Adele Coppola, Sue Infante-Despo, Amos Gauthier, Joseph Masse, Nancy Lee, Jeanne and Paul Craigie (survivors), Linda Earle (survivor), Kathy Swanecamp (in the fight), Arlene Moreau (in the fight), Allyce Najimy (survivor), Julie Farren (survivor), the Passanisi Family, Jimmy Allen, Nana Enos, Luanne Barile (in the fight), Tricia Tor (in the fight), Jeff (in the fight), Eileen MacKay, Ann Gay, Gary Doak and Karl Young.Donate to Matt or purchase a ticket to Rock 'N Rumble VII on May 18th here!
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Boxer in Training: Joe O'Brien
You’ve heard who they are and why they’re fighting. But now that we’re over the halfway mark until the big night on May 18th, things have started to pick up a bit. Training is getting more intense. They’ve been punched in the face. Most have had a bloody nose here or there, their diets have changed, and boxing is becoming an everyday part of their lives. So we figured it was about time to check back in and see how things have been going. Joe O'Brien has been putting in work at Nonantum Boxing Club and below you’ll hear about his first time sparring and more about his experience with Haymakers thus far. We’re halfway to fight night, how is your training coming along? I can’t believe we are halfway there. Training is going great. Talking to some of the other fighters has made me realize we are all in the same boat. There are days where I am ready to take on the world and then there are days that I feel like I couldn’t fight myself out of a wet paper bag.What is your weekly routine? I have learned that there is nothing routine about this…. But it’s going to get much harder now that lacrosse season has started. My oldest son Joey plays on two lacrosse teams and I am coaching my son Danny’s team in addition to playing in a men’s lacrosse league once a week. I’m hoping to make my son Luke (5) the water boy and daughter Molly (3) the team manager.How has your diet changed since training began? This has been a huge change for me. Before Haymakers I was a human garbage disposal eating anything and everything. I’m not on a specific diet but I definitely watch what I eat and am reading more labels. I’m not craving the sugars anymore and I am avoiding my old friends Ben & Jerry at all costs.Tell us about your first time sparring, different than expected? Just like everything else in this process sparring was much different than expected. I tried to block a jab and ended up punching myself in the face.What has been the most challenging part of sticking to the routine and training so far? Trying to balance family and work with training. There have been a couple times where I get stuck at work and I feel like I’m letting my trainer down. There have been other times where I forget to tell my wife Amy about a schedule change at the gym and I’m more afraid of her than I am my trainer!!What does your family think of your participation? They love it!!!! I took my older boys to watch a class a few weeks ago and I ended up sparring a couple rounds. I got tagged pretty good that day. Between rounds, I looked over to see their reaction and they looked excited. I think they were disappointed when I didn’t get a bloody nose like the week before.It’s amazing how many people’s lives have been touched by cancer in some way - has there been anyone that has surprised you by their story? Everyone’s story is different but we all have one thing in common. Cancer has taken or has tried to take a loved one from each of us. Meeting Ryan and Jeff the guys I train with at Nonantum and finding out why they signed up created an instant bond. Then every week more fighter profiles come out. Let’s just say that I had to close my office door when I read Ben’s article so that nobody saw me reaching for tissues.Has your initial inspiration changed since the start of your training? My inspiration has and always will be fighting in honor if my father. What has changed is my perspective. At the beginning, I imagined that my training would culminate like the scene from Rocky IV where he crumples up Drago’s picture in disgust. Then I met my opponent Joamil and realized what a great guy he is. You realize that every fighter has one common opponent and that is cancer. I will still train as hard as I can and know that I am in for a battle on fight night. Instead of Joamil’s photo, I will crumple up a picture of Acute Myeloid Leukemia!!! Donate to Brian or purchase a ticket to Rock 'N Rumble VII on May 18th here!
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Last Night at Nonantum
Another one of our stops last night was in Newton at Nonantum Boxing Club. We were there to see cousins Ray McCarthy and John Sementelli, and both are progressing quite well! John showed up to take Nathan's class, but did some shadow boxing in the ring before hand. John was a little self-conscious after gaining ONE pound from Easter Sunday, but his footwork was looking better than ever! If you haven't already, check out all of John's training photos here, and help support his fight here! Ray on the other hand, was all over the gym doing his own insane workout! Ray was jumping, hopping, climbing, and (obviously) punching his way around the gym. Ray did hopping pushups down the ladder (check out the video here!), jumped around with 25 lbs of kettle bell in each hand, and showed off his own pipes climbing the rope! Check out all of Ray's training photos here, and help support his fight here! Ray and John only have a few more weeks of training left before Haymakers for Hope Rock n' Rumble on May 17th at House of Blues Boston! Hope to see you there!
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Rock ‘N Rumble VII: Tim Morin
During the coming months, we’ll be highlighting our fighters in training for the upcoming Rock ‘N Rumble VII in Boston, MA on May 18th. They’ve committed to four months of fundraising and training in preparation to get in the ring and literally fight for a cure. Whether their mom is battling, their father has passed or their friend has put up a victory against the disease – they’ve all got a story to tell and they’ve all got a reason to fight. Below you’ll hear from Tim Morin, fighting out of TKO Boxfit in Weymouth, MA.Where are you from? I’m from the Manchester, NH. And no, no one calls it Manch Vegas.Where’d you go to college? I went to a small private school in northern NH called Colby-Sawyer College.Did you play any sports growing up? I’ve always been athletic and played baseball and basketball growing up. In college, my friends talked me into playing rugby my Junior year and I fell in love with the sport. There was a raw physicality, athleticism and camaraderie that I hadn’t experienced in any other sport. You become really close with your teammates because you experience so much during matches: joy, sorrow, anger, pain and even the occasional laugh. The best part is that after the game is over, both teams get together to drink, sing songs and generally act like idiots. You don’t really get that anywhere else in the real world.What do you do for work? I am a VP at fama PR, a boutique tech PR firm in Boston. It’s a fun – if sometimes stressful – gig where I work on behalf of my clients to get their story told by the media. Oftentimes, I act as a translator between clients and reporters and have to manage both sides of that equation.Why boxing? Did you ever picture yourself fighting? I chose to box in Haymakers for Hope for two reasons: 1) I believe in the organization’s mission and 2) boxing in front of hundreds of people scares the shit out of me. I’ve never done anything remotely similar to this and am always looking to push myself in new, sometimes awful, ways and Haymakers gives me that opportunity with the added incentive of raising money for pediatric cancer research.Why on earth did you sign up to fight?? There are so many life lessons to be learned in the ring around determination, discipline, hard work, dealing with pain and coming back for more that appealed to me. The last fight I got into was in the 6th grade so I felt like this would be once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to really commit myself to a goal and put everything on the line in front of my family and friends. Like anyone, I’m worried I’m going to get pummeled in front of my wife, friends and family but that’s a small price to pay for raising money for such a worthwhile cause.You’re stepping in the ring to literally fight for a cure - where are you drawing your inspiration from? How has cancer affected you? Those are two separate questions for me. My mother, grandmother and both of my grandfathers have experienced cancer. In fact, one of my grandfathers doesn’t have much time left as he’s been diagnosed with bone, liver and lung cancer recently. He’s been fighting the disease for years and I’m sure my Grampy will continue to battle until the day he dies.In terms of where I draw my inspiration from, that’s a bit of a different story. In the past few years, I’ve worked with a few organizations like Crossroads for Kids that help disadvantaged kids and teens rise above their environments and make a better future for themselves. I grew up an underdog and try to help people that grow up with the odds stacked against them. It is with this mindset that I’m raising money for pediatric cancer research.Pediatric cancer is a thief, plain and simple. Children should be given the ability to experience life. To run around with their friends and laugh like lunatics. Break a bone or two. Seeing their child’s first tottering steps. All of these little moments that so many of us take for granted are pipe dreams for some of these kids. The mere thought both saddens and enrages me. I want to do something – anything – that can give these kids a fighting chance to experience a meaningful life. That’s why I’m fighting in Haymakers.What is going to be the most difficult thing to give up during your training? (beer, cheeseburgers, time spent watching TV?) I fucking love beer and miss it dearly. If you see beer, say hello for me.When you’re not throwing punches and training -- what other hobbies/interests do you have? I’m a kettlebell trainer. My wife runs a fitness studio down in Norwell – Alloy Fitness – and she’s one of the only StrongFirst-certified trainers in the South Shore. I teach three kettlebell classes each week and really love the mix of strength and conditioning the workouts provide. The Russian army has been using kettlebells to help train its military for years. It’s the perfect complement to my boxing training so I’ve been doing both. I’ve been working hard on my technique and conditioning with my trainers and then swinging heavy bells on my “off” days so I can hit the bag harder for longer.Who do you think is the most excited to watch you get punched in the face come fight night? My beautiful wife. She’s already said that she’s probably going to get kicked out on account of her taunting my opponent so – if you’re reading this – I’d like to apologize in advance for her actions.
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Peter Goodall's Outdoor Adventure
Last night the Haymakers team went out to Medfield where we caught up with Peter Goodall at Fitness Advantage. Because of the nice weather Fitness Advantage took the class outside, where they really worked on their conditioning. Peter was put through the ringer, we saw him doing all sorts of jumps, squats, sprints, and crawls. I can tell you that we wanted no part of participating in the class with Peter.The class wasn't all about conditioning, as Peter got some quality mitt work in as well. His techniques is really coming along, and we are extremely excited to see him hop in the ring on May 17th! Click here to purchase tickets to support Peter.
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Is constant connectivity chipping away at your humanity?
Is constant connectivity chipping away at your humanity? Boxing may be a good way to get it back"Rhythm is everything in boxing. Every move you make starts with your heart, and that's in rhythm or you're in trouble." —Sugar Ray RobinsonIn January of 2008, I was stuck.I was an analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York City. As advertised, the Wall Street culture was demanding. Although I loved the people I worked with and gleaned invaluable experience — I’d equate it to 4 years of drinking out of an information firehose — I rarely got home before 11 p.m. By then, I was too exhausted to do anything else besides sleep. I began to feel like a robot.This work-related fatigue is common in the finance sector, but isn’t unique to it: a 2017 survey conducted by Kronos and Future Workplace found that 46% of HR professionals blamed burnout for up to half their staff quitting each year. A major cause of burnout is the obliterated boundary between work and life, as 24/7 connectivity and a society used to instant gratification has led to unfair expectations. Many knowledge workers are expected to handle business matters at any time or place, whether it be at a friend’s birthday party, their kid’s baseball game, or on a date night with their significant other. Thanks to an onslaught of evening Slack alerts and weekend emails, the opportunities to disconnect are getting increasingly rare.Back to me, and my slow, sleep-deprived descent into robothood. One night during that cold, lonely January in New York, after my third day in a row operating in a fog, I noticed a flyer in the boxing gym I sometimes went to. It advertised a charity event, where white-collar workers would train for a real, live amateur boxing match. Then, they’d duke it out, under the lights and in front of an audience. Right then, I said “screw it,” and signed up. It sounded crazy at the time, but here’s why I did it: It provided me a set goal and a set amount of time to do it in, a dive into the deep end, a more structured (and less anarchic) version of the rush the main characters in Fight Club got. I’d start to feel alive, I thought. Human. The best part? It wasn’t in a basement, there wasn’t any property damage, and it all took place under the watchful eye of trained professionals.I’d hit the Goldman Sachs gym at 5 a.m., and also sneak out of work in the evening for a bit to hit the Trinity Boxing Club (which was near the office). Because I had committed to the fight — and knew I was going to get punched in the face in three months — I didn’t skip any days. It’s quite the motivation, knowing you’re going to be punched by another full-grown person. The training itself was slow goings at first. I had no footwork to speak of, and everything, from throwing hooks to slipping punches, had to be learned from scratch.The idea of training in a boxing gym was also intimidating. I was around professional fighters and decorated amateurs.Soon, however, my days began to hum, and I found a cadence in the ritual of wrapping my hands and jumping rope that began to drown out the noise from work. I was learning a new craft — boxing, the sweet science — and it started to get into my blood. The thwap thwap thwap of the heavy bags, the smell of the gym, and the sounds of conversation began to blend into my days, injecting them with life. I was making new friends, too: fighters, trainers, other white-collar workers like me training for charity events. Slowly, I was building bonds with people, the types of unique connections that can only happen when you’re training next to one another, pushing yourselves and releasing endorphins in service of a common goal.After training for three months, I got up in front of a packed house of nearly 600 people, under the lights. I never felt more naked in my life. The fight itself was a blur, a haze of gloves and headgear and crowd noise, but this much I can tell you: I won my fight. Winning, however, was almost inconsequential: I’d put myself out there. I’d signed on for a fight, trained my butt off, and showed up. I had been terrified, but I still did it. I was alive.If you’re suffering from burnout, are dealing with stressful life events, lack a sense of community — or if you just need a new challenge — there are a number of great ways to battle those feelings back. Yoga, mindfulness training, and SoulCycle are just a few that come to mind. But if mindfulness training is the warm, soothing green tea to getting you back in touch with yourself, boxing is the turbocharged, espresso-powered counterpart for Type A personalities. Here are the ways pugilism can help you do a hard reset, and glean a better perspective of who you are.You will be put back into your own body, immediately. Being in the ring feels like being naked: you are under the lights and stripped of excuses. You have no choice but to be completely present in the moment. If you’re thinking too much, there are consequences (like, say, getting caught with a left hook to the ribs). The external stimuli being thrown at you forces you to be present with yourself and to reach a flow state. It reacquaints you with what makes you human.And on a less intense level, when your trainer is holding up pads and telling you what punches to throw, it forces you into a sort of reactionary state, kickstarting the neurons that connect your brain to your body. Your trainer will teach you to jab, and then to throw a cross, and then a hook, and before you know it you’re playing a very involved game of Bop-It: your trainer will be calling out for certain punches, and your brain-body connection will go into high gear. You’re training your reaction time, your physicality, and your neuroplasticity all at once.The gains at work and in your personal life can be almost immediate. Boxing allows you to disconnect in a way that will provide fresh outlooks on your work in personal life. Sometimes, the daily stressors and shallow tasks we need to complete to keep the traffic in our lives moving — attending meetings, spending hours clearing out our inboxes, even taking too long to figure out what we want to order from GrubHub — can begin to clutter our decision-making, and distract us from larger, big picture things that will actually lead to us taking big steps forward at work and at home. Disconnecting is necessary, and boxing provides that. After a particularly hard sparring session, you may be surprised at number of times you have a breakthrough idea, simply because you’ve allowed yourself to completely untether from things.Growth is achieved through being uncomfortable. You’ve heard it time and time again: run towards what makes you uncomfortable. But oftentimes, what makes us uncomfortable can be a vague, amorphous blob. However, I can tell you from personal experience that the idea of a fight — a confrontation boiled down to its most primal essence — makes people plenty uncomfortable. But through boxing, you begin to remove some of the air of mystery around fighting and conflict, which can provide some really nice psychological benefits. You’ll feel more at-ease in yourself: more at-ease in meetings, more at-ease when you walk down the street. You will have a better idea of how to handle yourself, and operating from this place of security can improve your daily decision-making.I didn’t become a world-class brawler by going to a boxing gym for six weeks, but I got a newfound confidence, one that wasn’t based on my ego and the need to answer emails constantly or be attached to screens. The key, in the end, was that I became more confident while also becoming more humble, and this can be a devastatingly effective way to become a better creator, leader, spouse, or, eventually, a parent. I saw a see a better version of myself, and I allowed that better version to take the wheel.Andrew Myerson is the co-founder of Haymakers for Hope, an official 501(c)(3) charity organization that gives everyday men and women the chance to train — and then fight — in a real live boxing match against an opponent of a similar weight and skill level. Participants help raise money to fight cancer.
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Thank You for a Knockout Year!
Before a boxing match, you never know exactly what is going to happen. Being in the ring feels like being naked: you are under the lights and stripped of excuses. You either execute your game plan or you don’t; there is no place to hide. The only thing you can know for certain is whether you prepared to the best of your abilities and are ready for the challenge right in front of you. You must be willing to give it your all and leave everything you have in the ring.As I reflect back on 2017, I am proud to say the H4H community (fighters, supporters, volunteers, and staff) left absolutely EVERYTHING in the ring and has continued to grow. Below are just a few of the many accomplishments we have achieved together:We raised $2,000,000 for cancer research, care, awareness, and survivorship (close to $8,000,000 total)We granted critical support to over 20 cancer-related organizationsWe provided a life-changing journey to 92 fighters, resulting in their first sanctioned fight and the opportunity to have raised thousands of dollars to KO cancerWe hosted 24 cancer patients and survivors as ring-card girls at our signature boxing eventsWe established new and meaningful relationships with our generous corporate partners & boxing gyms None of these feats would be possible without YOU! Thank you to our fighters for their blood, sweat, tears, and time. Thank you to the trainers for your hard work in the gyms and commitment to our fighters. Thank you to everyone who has supported H4H over the past year and years prior. 2017 has been one for the record books, and I could not be more excited for the big things to come in 2018 and beyond. Happy Holidays to you and yours, thank you for your continued support, and above all else, always remember that NOT EVERY FIGHT ENDS AT THE BELL! Happy Holidays! -Andrew
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Liz “The Grill” Weber: Finding the Fighter Within
It’s been almost three weeks since the Belles of the Brawland Liz “The Grill” Weber is still a little bit high from the wholeexperience.“I expected it to be really good, but it was even betterthan that. I loved it!” says thesoft-spoken, petite powerhouse, who stands at just 5’1” and weighed in on fightnight at a lean 124 lbs. In what some have dubbed the “fight of the night,” Weber andher opponent, Erin Newman, both fought with power, speed and seeminglyboundless energy for three solid rounds at the sold-out House of Blues. Weber, though, came through as the unanimousvictor, having performed with the kind of confidence and intensity that is rarein a novice fighter.That was a huge shift for Weber, who had hit a rough patchin her life about two years ago that left her on shaky ground. That’s around the time she tried boxing atStriking Beauties, in her hometown of North Attleboro.“When I walked into the gym, my self-esteem was on the floorand my weight was through the roof,” she says, calling boxing a “game-changer”.After watching other girls in the gym train to fight in theHaymakers for Hope events, Weber wondered if she could do it. But her teammates in the gym had no doubtsand gave her the push to start training. Weber never looked back. “As tough as thetraining was,” she says, “I really enjoyed it.” Working with trainer Zach Reay, who has brought nine other fighters to Haymakers over the last four years, Weber spent a grueling summer“doing everything he told me to do” including road work, sparring andconditioning, and, perhaps the toughest part: eating clean.“Then, on the morning of the fight, after so much build-up,Zach made me do nothing, just rest,” she says. “It felt so weird. But I did getmy hair braided and wrote some thank you cards, so I stayed occupied.”The fight night experience is one Weber says she will neverforget. From the moment she arrived atthe House of Blues, she says her team, which included Reay and H4H alumna KimPeltier, kept her focused so she never had a chance to get nervous.“Getting my hands wrapped was much more serious than Iexpected,” she says. “Zach is veryprecise about it. It was clear to methen how much this fight meant to him. The whole time he was wrapping my hands he was coaching me. He talked me through every step of what wascoming next. Just lots of instructionand encouragement.”Waiting in the wings for her bout to start, Weber says shenever had a chance to let her opponent “get in her head” because Reay wascoaching her the entire time.“He talked about what I would do when I got in the ring,that he would put in my mouth guard (a custom guard painted like a grill) andhelp me through the ropes. Then he toldme to open my mouth so everyone could see my grill and go around the ring withmy arms up with confidence. It felt socool to do that and it really got me excited,” she says with a laugh. “Butlooking at some video of it now, it’s pretty funny. I was hesitant about it at first but itdawned on me that this is the only time in my life that I would get to dosomething like this, so I did it. Then Ifelt so focused.”Looking back, Weber says that once the fight started sherealized she couldn’t hear her trainer’s voice over the cheering crowd. “But I didn’t panic,” she says. “I felt like my training just kicked in. I realize that’s why we train so hard and somuch. It just took over, which waspretty cool. I know it wasn’t perfect,and I really couldn’t gauge how I was doing. I just thought to myself, ‘go hard the whole time’.” While she says she couldn’t feel them at the time, Weberknows she took some solid hits and still has a sizeable bruise on her arm toprove it. She also can’t remember hearing the final bell of the fight,only that she was suddenly back in her corner getting her gloves taken off, andwalking over to shake hands with Newman’s team. The next minute, she was standing in the center of the ring with theofficial holding both fighters’ hands, waiting for a result.“That was such a weird feeling, to wait,” she says. “I told myself that either way, we gave itour all. But of course, when he raisedmy hand, it was pure relief. All of thathard work paid off. “Weber spent the rest of the evening celebrating with herteam, family, friends and gym family. “Zach was so happy and I was beside myself. I was shaking, in a happy way. It took a long, long time before I could calmdown. That whole night couldn’t havegone any better.”In all, Weber raised well over $5,000 for Haymakers forHope. She wore a handkerchief under herheadgear that was filled with the names, given to her by donors, of family andfriends who have faced cancer, as a way to quietly honor them.“I have to say, it was very surprising to me how willingpeople were to give to this cause,” she says. “People I didn’t even know gave me donations. It was humbling, really. People also thanked me for doing this. It clearly meant a lot to people, which makesit even more special for me.”After a short break in the gym routine, in which Weberbriefly enjoyed an unrestricted diet and went to her high school reunion, shehas jumped back into training with an abundance of confidence. It seems fitting that when she stepped back intothe ring to spar last week, it was to initiate two first-timers who wereinspired by her fight. Weber recently summed up her feelings about her Haymakersjourney in a post to friends online. “The physical change in me is obvious,”she wrote. “And I can't even explain themental/emotional shift, except to say that two years ago I felt like a loser,and now I feel like a fighter, whether things are going my way or not. That's why I love boxing.”What happens next is anyone’s guess.“I really enjoyed this whole experience,” she says. “It was fun. Stressful, but fun. It’s hard toexplain. I don’t know if I will fightagain, but for now I’ll keep training as if I will.”***Margie Kelley is a mom, freelance writer, master gardener and sometimes boxer. She fought in the 2013 Belles of the Brawl in Boston, and managed to convince her husband, Chris Fitzpatrick, to fight in the Rock ‘n Rumble in May. Settling arguments has taken on a whole new meaning in their house!
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Thursday Jun 14, 2018
Afternoon at Peter Welch's
This afternoon, the Haymakers team made their way to South Boston to visit Peter Welch's Gym. There, we caught up with Brian Ludwig. Brian showed up to spar, but unfortunately, we had to leave before he got his turn in the ring! We did, however, get to see him warm up. We told Brian it is so hard to snap pictures of him because he's so damn quick! He said he'd take that as a compliment, and went right back at pounding the punching bag! Brian's focus is obvious, and his intensity pours out of him! To see more of Brian's training photos, click here. Don't forget to help Brian K.O. cancer, and see him fight in Haymakers for Hope's Rock n' Rumble on May 17th at House of Blues!
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