I debuted at the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast, in November of 2022. When I think about what my first fight felt like, it was a bit magical. The pressure leading up to the moment was excrutiating. But when the first bell rang, it was such a sense of relief to be able to just do the thing I had been working towards for months. I had heard it described as feeling like floating-and for me, this was definitely my experience. What did my first fight feel like? Unforgettable.
I had gone into the ring carrying the most indescribable nerves, but when I left it I remember thinking, “Wow, I just did that!” It’s one of those things that no one can ever take away from you.
So what can you expect your first fight to feel like?
1. Why the hell am I doing this?
The worst part can actually be the 3 to 6 weeks leading into the fight. I’m quite sure that anyone who has some sparring experience could jump into the ring and have a crack at a moments notice. It’s knowing you are going to do it that gets you. The doubts and second guessing will play havoc with your mind in that lead up, especially if it’s your first fight.
I remember talking to a trusted friend and experienced fighter about 6 weeks out from the fight. I was feeling pretty embarrassed, saying “hey I am struggling with this, maybe I’m not mentally cut out for it.” And she just laughed and told me this is absolutely normal-I am not alone in feeling like this. We think that seasoned and experienced athletes couldn’t possibly have these thoughts. But they do.
For others, the blissful ignorance of not knowing what to expect allows them to leap in feeling intense confidence. Such was the case for 2 time state champion Shomeek Saha on the occasion of his first fight. “I was completely and supremely confident”, he said. “In my head, I was the biggest animal the world had ever seen at 54kg, and nothing could stop me!”
Image L & R: Shomeek demonstrating his signature power shots and accurate punch placement
2. Fight Day=Nerves, nerves and more nerves
It’s important to manage your nerves in the weeks leading up to your first fight. This is even more true on the day. When learning to fight, nerve management is an essential new skill you have to master. For me, I need to manage the rising and falling of adrenaline as I think about the fact I am about to fight. My first fight day was quite frankly agonizing due to my inexperience in managing my nerves.
Your behaviours might change, especially right before you get in. You may not recognise yourself. I get a bit loony these days. I used to become really nervy, shaky, and super serious. Now when I fight, my nerves manifest as hyperactive energy. This helps me to feel stimulated and ready to fight, rather than panicked.
I still like to ask my corner if I actually know how to box before I get in. As though I might have lost the ability to do so since putting the gloves on 5 minutes prior. Your mind and the nerves will play tricks on you right up until that first bell.
3. Does it hurt?
Adrenaline management plays a big role in how I feel both physically and mentally while fighting. For two of my fights, my adrenaline was non-existent, and that’s tough. You need to have your nervous system feeling stimulated, a bit “jacked up”, or you feel flat and unresponsive. And when I’m a bit flat even during training, I feel every single punch.
When you experience the first big hit in a fight, you can go one of two ways. Get on the defense and pray for it to be over, or bite down and get stuck into it. I asked Jaki Toth how it felt to go straight into a pro fight with only a Perth Corporate Rumble (PCR) as a reference-noting that a PCR fight uses headgear and 16 oz gloves.
Her first official pro matchup was against a ten year veteran, when Jaki herself had only been boxing for 8 months. A gutsy and admirable move, made even more impressive by the fact that she came close to grabbing the win, only missing by a narrow split decision.
“I remember the moment she made my nose bleed; pretty sure she broke my nose.” Jaki said. (Jaki and I stopped to compare deviated septums at this point.)
We spoke about glove size, and what a difference it makes to how much physical pain you feel in the fight. She said “….the first time I got hit in the face with 8 ounce gloves….it was in the fight. I was like ok, this is different… and I said to myself, alright! This is it!”
Suffice to say, you can expect to experience pain in the moment. You need to be willing, as Jaki was, to keep fighting like you don’t feel it.
Image L: Jaki wrapped and ready just before her most recent victory in Bangkok, Thailand
Image R: Jaki landing a solid right-wouldnt want to be her opponent for that one
4. It’s all over in a heartbeat. Enjoy it!
One of my former coaches always says to me “remember to enjoy the fight, you only get so many of these moments in your life.” I asked Jaki and Shomeek how they felt during the fight-could they remember enjoying it?
“I’ll never forget my first fight, ” Jaki said. “It was an absolutely awesome experience, the rush, and having everybody there, the walk out….I was like Oh my fucking god!”The way that Jaki’s face lit up when she said it, you could actually feel her excitement in reliving the memory.
Shomeek told me that the intensity of the adrenaline he felt when the bell rang was like being hit with a thousand volts of electricty. What followed was an absolute swarm where, in his words, “technique went out the window, and I threw every shape of a punch at this poor kid.” This is not uncommon in first fights. You can be overwhelmed with that first adrenaline hit and start firing off without thinking and focusing on the moment.
5. Post fight reflection is part of it-what did you learn?
Shomeek’s response when I asked him to reflect on how he felt immediately after his first fight was interesting. The 54kg animal jumping into the ring felt completely different to the man that left the ring.
“I underestimated the amount of adrenaline that would go through my body…I burnt through 3 months of cardio in the first 45 seconds of round 1, and I gassed!” He said, “In that moment, I felt my own mortality. The amount of fear that took me over in that corner after the first round, still to this day I have not forgotten; and it has completely affected the way I see every single fight I approach now.”
Shomeek realised after this first fight that he needs to learn to work with his strengths. Being patient, looking for openings and relying on his raw power and punch placement. All skills that have served him well in his subsequent five amateur fights, and will no doubt give him an edge in his upcoming pro debut.
Jaki analysed her first fight through the lens of someone who gave up a significant amount of ring experience, at a weight 2 classes higher than she fights now. She (rightfully so) feels a lot of pride and a sense of accomplishment for accepting this challenge.
Jaki reflected on her naivety and inexperience in a pivotal moment she has never lived down. She had just landed a big shot that had her opponent dazed and vulnerable. Instead of finishing the fight with a sure knockout, Jaki stopped to check the opposition was alright.
“Thats how inexperienced I was! I didnt know I could hit her once she looked wobbled….I was like, oh hey, are you ok?!” she said, laughing. The learning has been well and truly internalised now, with Jaki since going on to enjoy a 2L-3W fight record, 2 of those wins by knockout.
6. Keep fighting-Make it the first of many!
Jaki describes her fitness, skills and technique as all having improved, but her self belief is what is most fundamentally different to her first fight. As she rightly says “your mental game is so much more important than your physical game.” I can attest to this in my personal experience too. It’s not just a trite throwaway line. While every fight presents it’s technical challenges, it’s your mental growth as a fighter that gives you the confidence to manage these as they arise.
She talked about how much she has changed and what she has achieved under the close eye of coach Dan Carter. “I’ve been tested, and I’ve been pushed to my limits….I can’t believe I’ve done that. Surprising yourself is so good.” Jaki takes this justifiable confidence and determination into her upcoming battle on the first Pathway Boxing Promotion show in April.
For Shomeek, he talked to me about there being layers upon layers to learn. That each time he fights or progresses the challenges become greater. He said, “the more fights I go in, the more I’m getting humbled….the better I get, the harder boxing gets.” All of this said with a smile of course.
Fighting can be intense and exhilirating. The moment when the bell rings and you move toward your opponent. And the feeling directly afterwards, when you know you’ve just done something that many people will never experience. It’s an amazing feeling taking on such a supremely uncomfortable challenge, and it’s completely addictive.
Remember to enjoy it. You only get so many of these moments in your life.
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