Hail, the conquering hero!

Well, Mitch had his State titles for amateur boxing on the weekend, and as you can tell from the heading, he did very well. He won! So he's now considered the best in the state of Queensland for his size which is a cruiserweight. Here he is in a photo (sorry, the lighting is all wrong) with his "gold" medal. They are sending a belt to him later.



I know some of you might be thinking that boxing is a bit of a mugs sport but it (amateur boxing at least) isn't so bad. I was concerned until I saw his first fight at the beginning of the year, which reassured me. For one, they don't fight as long, usually three or four 1 1/2 to 2 minute rounds, so there is less chance for injury. And they wear protective head gear and it just doesn't seem as brutal as the professional fights that you see on TV, where they are getting the bejesus knocked out of them. Fortunately too, Mitch has dropped his weight right down from over 100 kg to 84kg, so he isn't fighting the big bruisers.

For those of you who don't know, Mitch's father was the Australian Welterweight champion in either '52 or '54 or something like that, and his father passed away last year. Sort of as a way of conecting with him, I think, Mitch started going to the boxing gym as a way to get fit, was offered a fight and it went from there.

I'm very proud of my hubby, for his dedication and perseverence, his fitness (I hate exercising) and his presence of mind in knowing what to do to look after himself so he doesn't get (too) hurt and picking his fights wisely. And I must admit, I like the manliness of knowing my husband could always protect me if he had to. I like my men strong and masculine (no, there's only one man but you get the picture.) But he can also be very gentle and sensitive and insightful when he needs to be. I love you, Mitch!