THEY say the key to converting a penalty kick is to have a plan in mind – one pertaining to both how you will strike the ball and in what area of the goal this kick will be aimed – and to then stick to it. To second-guess yourself or waver from this plan is not advised. Do that, they say, and you make room for indecision and therefore run the risk of being caught between ideas; unmoored in a dangerous sort of middle zone or purgatory.
In boxing, you would think a similar theory applies. After all, although nothing in a fight is quite so immediate or snap, in terms of decision-making, as a penalty kick, the success of a boxer in a fight is still very much predicated on their conviction and ability to carry out a plan. The clearer the plan, the easier it is to then follow and execute. The more belief they have that it will work, the less inclined a boxer may be to deviate from this plan or question either themselves or their coach.
And yet, the capacity to change, even during fight week, is an important one, as heavyweight Joseph Parker, 35-3 (23), can now attest. Last December, he had to do just that, you see. Scarier still, there were just five days until the fight; the most dangerous of his career.
“We were initially planning on
