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If you could completely start your life over from scratch, what would you do differently the second time around (if anything)? Why?
See, I've thought about this one a few times, like everyone does, I imagine. Bad things get around to happening in your life, you're bound to look at a few things a bit differently. But, it's like my dad once said, "There's no fun in juggling glass bottles," and, not that everyone can juggle that well or anything, but I think you see what he meant.
Thing is, if you keep badgering something, it'll eventually break. Sure, it's brilliant to look back and think of how you could've gotten through a rough patch without a scrape. That's what boxing is sort of about: looking at your past fights, figuring out what you did wrong, and moving on from it with a lighter step and a quicker hand. But you'll never see a boxer think about taking back that one last faulty move, least not a good boxer anyway. You learn from your mistakes a lot better if you experience them firsthand.
If I hadn't have been there when Pete Wright needed to practice before his big game, sure I wouldn't have gone through all that shite. Imagine I'd still be happily training in the gym, hopping about on my milkround, keeping my mum and dad's flat clean and making sure Stan didn't get punched out every night. But I wouldn't've met Angel, and I wouldn't've been promoted to Regional Manager, and I wouldn't've figured out that my best ally is actually the bloke I see every morning when I look in the mirror after taking a shower. Sure he's a bit blurred, yeah, but that's beside the point. I figured out that it's not just my bones that are strong, but it's me. It's unbelievably valuable. I'm valuable.
As for my dad... I couldn't have his career any way I look at it, couldn't have prevented my mum from -- from trying to find other employment. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let his name be sullied because of it, and it doesn't mean I'm going to not give my mum other chances, yeah? That's something I can do for them. Something I work for every day. And that's something I would've never learned if I changed anything.
See, I've thought about this one a few times, like everyone does, I imagine. Bad things get around to happening in your life, you're bound to look at a few things a bit differently. But, it's like my dad once said, "There's no fun in juggling glass bottles," and, not that everyone can juggle that well or anything, but I think you see what he meant.
Thing is, if you keep badgering something, it'll eventually break. Sure, it's brilliant to look back and think of how you could've gotten through a rough patch without a scrape. That's what boxing is sort of about: looking at your past fights, figuring out what you did wrong, and moving on from it with a lighter step and a quicker hand. But you'll never see a boxer think about taking back that one last faulty move, least not a good boxer anyway. You learn from your mistakes a lot better if you experience them firsthand.
If I hadn't have been there when Pete Wright needed to practice before his big game, sure I wouldn't have gone through all that shite. Imagine I'd still be happily training in the gym, hopping about on my milkround, keeping my mum and dad's flat clean and making sure Stan didn't get punched out every night. But I wouldn't've met Angel, and I wouldn't've been promoted to Regional Manager, and I wouldn't've figured out that my best ally is actually the bloke I see every morning when I look in the mirror after taking a shower. Sure he's a bit blurred, yeah, but that's beside the point. I figured out that it's not just my bones that are strong, but it's me. It's unbelievably valuable. I'm valuable.
As for my dad... I couldn't have his career any way I look at it, couldn't have prevented my mum from -- from trying to find other employment. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let his name be sullied because of it, and it doesn't mean I'm going to not give my mum other chances, yeah? That's something I can do for them. Something I work for every day. And that's something I would've never learned if I changed anything.