Opportunistic Shot, Not a Lucky Punch…. Opportunistic Shot
In August, a historic boxing match will take place. A young upstart boxer will face a proven defending champion. It’s a story as old as the sport of boxing.
What makes this fight unique is that it will be either the highest grossing fight in history, or it will be a close second. If you don’t know which fight I’m talking about, you’re not my demographic. Also, I think you may have clicked on the wrong website. Just hit the back button.
I’m not here to talk about Mayweather vs. McGregor. That’s been done to death. Everybody is eating off that plate. No the reason I’m here is as a result of the tidal wave this fight caused to the uneducated masses. For every Jack Slack, there are a 100 Skip and Shannons (God help us). They know nothing about fighting. They have never trained MMA or boxing a day in their lives. But for ratings, views, or clicks, they weigh in with their “expert” analysis.
It’s mind boggling to me the level of access these guys get to fighters and promoters. But I digress. The real reason I’m writing right now is because this fight has caused a resurgence in the myth of the “lucky” punch.
It’s a term that I have heard used 1000’s of times in my life as a fight fan. From boxing to MMA, it’s used constantly because the people using it have no idea how to explain what they just witnessed.
Whether it be Lewis vs Rahman or Bisping vs Rockhold, uneducated “experts” have used this term to describe the finishing shot because what they fail to realize due to their lack of actual knowledge or training, is how many times these shots have been rehearsed, practiced, and perfected in the gym.
So my campaign idea is simple. Next time you hear someone say “lucky” punch let them know that it’s not a lucky punch. It’s an opportunistic shot.
That right hook that cracked a heavy favorite was rehearsed in front of mirror for hours on end. It’s been trained and thrown since that fighter was a little kid dreaming of one day fighting for a title. Usually when an opportunistic shot lands, it’s in the heat of an exchange. More often than not, the winning fighter was losing and had to rally by landing the perfectly placed shot.
The fighter deserves much more credit than calling it a “lucky” punch. The truth is the fighter had to have something special in them to endure taking a beating from a top level fighter. There’s nothing lucky about that. Then they see their opportunity. Whether it be a fighter leaving his guard down after throwing a combo or simply ducking at the wrong time, the winning fighter endures the fire, sees the opening, and ends his opponent’s night. So if the plucky young Irishman pulls off the upset over the longstanding American champion, at least you and I will know the truth. The truth being that the punch that ended his night wasn’t the first time he threw it. It was more likely the 10,000th time that thing has been thrown.
