Have you ever watched a boxing match on TV and thought to yourself – “Hey, I could do that” or “I could get in there with either of those guys and hold my own.”If so, I highly recommend that you check out J.P. Flaim’s recent boxing book, “Chasing Rocky.” Published in December by AuthorHouse, this 300-page book is the story of Flaim’s quest to compete in a professional boxing match.
Flaim, a graduate of the University of Maryland and Temple Law School, is best known for being one of the co-hosts of The Sports Junkies, a sports talk show on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C. Flaim’s personal challenge to become a boxer turned into an elaborate and highly successful radio publicity stunt that ended when he entered the ring on Dec. 9, 2006.
The book was interesting because it goes into great detail about what becoming a pro boxer entails. Flaim’s first challenge was to find a trainer who would agree to prepare him for a bout that was a relatively short time away. Flaim landed at the Arlington Boxing Club, where he was taught the basics of boxing by former Marine and pro boxer, Willie “The Heat” Taylor.
For seven weeks Taylor prepares Flaim, aka, “The Latin Donkey,” to take on Jay “The American Dream” Watts. Watts was 1-8 as a pro and had just gotten out of prison, where he was serving time for “maiming” someone.
Flaim kept a diary during his training, and he talks a lot about the boxing workouts that Taylor put him and the other boxers at the gym through. In addition to jumping rope and sparring, they worked speed bags, heavy bags and did untold, tortuous exercises with 15-pound medicine balls. I honestly didn’t know you could do so much with a medicine ball. On one occasion, they went to a gym and ran suicides endlessly while carrying medicine balls. Another time, Taylor would drop the balls on their stomachs while they did sit-ups. Under this regimen, Flaim dropped a lot of weight, added muscle and got in the best shape of his life.
Flaim met Watts in the ring on Dec. 9, 2006 as part of a boxing card that featured a number of fights at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. The Flaim-Watts fight was scheduled for four rounds, but the referee called it with one second to go in the first round. Who won? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
In the end, I got a big kick out of this book. I enjoyed the blow-by-blow account of Flaim’s efforts to become a boxer, and the book was also very funny in parts. I actually laughed out loud a couple of times. I also put the book down with a whole new respect for what boxers have to go through to be competitive.
If you think you might like “Chasing Rocky,” you can buy copies of it online through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble for $17.95. It’s also available as an e-book for the Nook and Kindle.
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