The Boxing world was shocked when Heavyweight contender Andy Ruiz Jnr (30W -1D) defeated Anthony Joshua delivering Joshua’s first defeat with a TKO stoppage in the seventh round.
It was one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. I myself did not think that Ruiz was going to perform well.
The more I looked into the circumstances leading up to Ruiz being crowned the heavyweight champ, it was evident that Ruiz just needed the opportunity to compete for the belt, even though Ruiz was a replacement fighter and only had four weeks’ notice.
Ruiz had visualised being a world champion since the age of 6. He was bullied at a young age, primarily due to his physical appearance and weight issues.
Andy’s grandfather owned a boxing gym and learned the sport from a very young age. From the age of 7, Andy started fighting in the ring, and with his physical stature at such a young age, he was paired up with older and taller kids. This became an advantage for Andy as he faced adversity and overcame tough competition at an early age.
Here are a few lessons we can learn from the new champion
1. Always be ready.
You never know when your chance to shine will show up.
2. Always be hungry.
No, this is not a jab on Andy’s weight, body fat percentage or his passion for Snickers chocolate bars. Being hungry towards achieving what you want, for example. To be world class in something requires you to be obsessed towards achieving greatness. Hunger provides the motivation to take specific action and the discipline to press on when things seem impossible.
3. Use the power of your subconscious mind.
There is a clip online in which Anthony Joshua permitted Andy Ruiz to hold his championship belts and allow Andy to take pictures with the media at one of the press conferences.
You can see in Andy’s eyes that he was soaking it all in, he was feeling, touching, smelling, hearing his dream of owning his own championship belt. Andy had the look of certainty and confidence while the photographers were taking promotional pictures.
The kind gesture of letting the challenger pose with the belt was a humble gesture on Anthony Joshua’s part. It became a punctuation mark that anchored courage and possibility that imprinted the vision of victory in Andy’s mind.
Do not let others tell you what you can or cannot do.
You are in charge and responsible for your own life. It is up to you how high up the ladder you want to climb, make sure that you are ready, focused and willing to put in the work.
Do not be fooled by appearance. In life, the victory goes to the person who has a clear vision and creates a path to reach it. In addition, the person who is willing to go the distance, believes in her/himself, driven and does not quit has qualities of a champion.
All you need now is the opportunity, but the world is an abundant place and opportunities are everywhere. So what are you going to do?
Until next time, STAY FOCUSED!
