The Disappearing Amateurs
I’ll start this way. I’ve fought amateur. Back in 2001 I was still in high school and ran track. Never threw a punch that hit anyone in the face, however I was certain I could beat then reigning champ Tito Ortiz, positive that given the chance, I could avenge Sakuraba and crush Wanderlie Silva. So, like any tough/wannabe tough person does, I hoped on the internet and I got myself into a fight. However, unlike most people, I actually went and fought. And I lost. Bad. So, I went and got into another fight, and I did better, however I didn’t come out of the corner for the second round.
Truth be told, I gassed and it was only a matter of time before the guy submitted me. However, at the time I said he knee’d me in the male knockout button. In my third fight, I beat a guy up, and I almost had the guy in a rear naked choke. Almost. I had my back on the ground, with his back on my stomach, both of our bellies facing the small bar ceiling that had been converted into a make shift arena for this one night of violence, and I was working my choke. With his free hand he started punching backwards.
Instinctively I tucked my face behind his shoulder, and he landed very light glancing blows that barely touched my forehead. At the 5 minute mark the bell rang, and I untucked my face and let go, waiting for him to get up. And at 5:04 seconds, whether he heard the bell or not, he threw another punch backwards and inadvertently thumbed me in the eye. Of course I grew up like most people watching Van Damn get sand and glass and what not thrown in his eyes, and he fought people off blindly. But when the time came for me to do the same. I called the fight off. The ref came over in between rounds and asked if I were ready, I said no. So, I lost a fight I was winning. That sucked.
I had planned to fight the guy again, the guy with the accidental eye strike, he told me he wasn’t going to fight in the next amateur show. Maybe next time. So, I went back to doing what every 19 year old was doing, trying to get girls to drink Zima with a jolly rancher in it and find my interesting enough to take her pants off. More often than not, I lost those fights too. Low and behold, he did fight in the next show, and he did win it. Months later, he turned pro and months after that he fought Jeff Curran. Who at the time was ranked (maybe still is, he should be, he’s a tough guy) in the top ten lightweight fighters on earth. And this guy I fought, lost a decision to him.
I didn’t see the fight, I don’t know if Jeff Curran swatted him silly for 15 straight minutes or if the fight were competitive at all. What I do know is someone that I was beating in a fight, went the distance with one of the world’s best and lived to tell about it. For a 19 year old me, that meant I never had to fight again. Even with never winning I was certified grade A tough Mother Fucker. To me at least. Before I move on, I’d also like to add, (to further my toughness) these were fights back when the rules were to not bite. And that might have been it, compare the rules to UFC 1. Yeah, I fought then. I also fought in a tournament (they were all tournaments) where a HIV and Hepatitis test were not required. And that my friends, is some scary stuff. You start eyeing up your opponent not looking for fear or weaknesses, instead looking at him and wondering how often he get’s laid and if he uses protection or not. Scary.
So, fast forward say about, 7 years. My fighting career or, experience, whatever you want to call it, long behind me. I start training again, not to be a fighter, I’ve given that up. If one must know, I actually became an actor and a writer (hence, your reading something I’ve written, neat, I know) So, I had to make the choice if I wanted to be a fighter or an entertainer. I went with entertainer and this is why. Because it’s a much easier life style. You can miss this audition, or be lazy and cut corners, you can be professional and work your tail off, but you won’t get your ass kicked in front of a bunch of strangers. Being a fighter is more than a profession, it’s an all consuming life style, and if it’s not, your going to get caught by someone more prepared than you.
However, with that choice made I still love to train, actually I never trained before, I just went and fought, but in 2008 I decided to start training. Always having the feather in my cap that I beat up a guy who fought a guy who is one of the best in the world. So, by default, I was in fact tough. Turns out, I was very wrong. I didn’t know how to punch, how to kick, I crossed my feet all the time. All things that I had to learn to do properly. And Grappling, at the time was certain I could tap black belts. I’d grappled with friends, and I was better than all of them. Turns out, no. I was getting killed by people. And I don’t mean tapped over and over. I mean, people would carry on conversations about what they did last night, while tapping. It got so bad that they would resort to attempting submissions that were impossible to do in a fight, simply so they could say, “did you see me pull that off?”
So what happened exactly? I was tough. I fought a guy that fought a guy. I could beat up Tito and Wanderlie if given the chance. And now I’m being mauled by these killers. 19 to 30 year old killers just eating my lunch left and right. There had to be a reason. To save myself some face, I came to this conclusion. The line between amateurs and professionals has grown so minuscule, that when you climb into the ring in this day an age you have a 50/50 chance going against someone that’s going to wilt once a punch gets thrown, or someone that is going to top to bottom ruin the next 1 to 15 minutes of your life. Amateurs are no longer that. They are no longer a person getting their bearings. Many of them are people who could easily turn pro, they just haven’t gained the confidence or the highlight reel footage to do so. I’ll try not to give many names, but I’ve trained with a fella named Gio and a guy named John, one in his 20’s the other in his 40’s, and these are tough… tough guys. Not the tap-out/affliction shirt guys you see everywhere that are in truth, to pussy to get a real tattoo so instead they wear a shirt with a skull rather than have it placed on their bodies. However these guys are the college student and business owner that you’d never expect. Both of them amateurs. Both of them capable of fighting Pro. In the case of John, he has trained along side Muay Thai champions, Pancrase Champions, UFC Champions etc etc. He’d just rather be a family man and business owner than a pro fighter. That of course didn’t stop him from dabbling in a couple smoker shows. And low and behold, he slaughtered those poor hapless would be tough guys. (see also, me). And Gio, he trains with some tough guys, and instead of wilting, he rises to the occasion. Often giving pro fighters fits during grappling and sparring sessions. So when he had his first fight lined up, to say that he easily won in the first round would be comparable to saying watching Dumbo fly wouldn’t be the coolest thing you’d ever seen. Because it would. An Elephant flying with stereo typing black crows. By his ears. Lordy. Awesome.
Is this blurred line good my actual question? I suppose yes, as their were people like me who lost a fight, but were so close to winning that shear conditioning foiled the victory. People like me tossed around the idea of being a fighter. Always wondering, what if? Had I gotten shut out, by any of my opponents, ever, that would have been that. I’d have moved along with my life. When I fought 10 years ago, people were not as tough. 10 years later, that line between Amateur and Professional has been blurred so much that on certain nights an Amateur fighter, fighting in a bar somewhere in some city none of us have heard of, could take out someone fighting in the big shows. Is this something that happens with all Amateurs? Of course not, they’re pro’s for a reason. However that line between that would never happen, and maybe, I mean it’s possible is a vanishing line. Before you step into your first fight, maybe that’s you already. Maybe you’re the person who is already leaps and bounds over your competition. Or maybe they are. I guess at that point you’re about to find out.
Derek Dean
