"I'm going to Mexico" I told myself today. The reality of it though didn't hit me till I was on the plane. The stewardess had told me to put my seat belt on because the plane was going to take off and as I did I looked down and saw my T-shirt. It read my ring name on it and "Team Perez" right under it. Coach Perez had surprised me with it today. It was a totally unexpected gift but it's probably the sweetest thing anyone has given me in a long time. You see, I'm not signed with Lee Baxter Management like my coach and the other male pro boxers I train with are. I haven't signed with anyone actually. Having said that, I have no commitment with anyone beyond my coach which gives me freedom but it means I also don't have the security and perks that come with being signed to a manager. So to get a shirt that read "Team Perez" on it, wow, that meant a lot to me. It's not just a shirt and those aren't just words. Those words have great meaning to me; they represent something so much bigger that most probably don't and can't understand. It's been somewhat of a struggle to establish myself as a pro fighter here in Canada because my first club here held me back, I know see this, but taking on the Mexican as my coach, he's been my ticket to so much here -- to me getting an overdose of solid training and look now he is sending me off to Mexico for a fight. I train with Coach Perez five days a week but we're always in contact. Whether it's him texting me about fight plans or following up after my sparring to see how I'm feeling, he is what I envisioned a solid coach to be.
"I'm going to Mexico", I repeated to myself. This is really happening...this is actually happening.
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