Out of "Shape"? A Life Lesson Taken Out of a Boxing Match.

I have not followed professional boxing for a long time, but I started to see news and memes about a fight and a story that captivated my interest in the profound message it conveyed to me.

On June 1, 2019, Andy Ruiz Jr. surprised the boxing world by beating then-champion Anthony Joshua to win the WBO, WBA, IBO and IBF heavyweight championships. And from what I've seen of the reactions, the surprise is not so much because of the short time of preparation that Ruiz had for the fight or because of the disadvantage in height and reach that he had before Joshua ...

...but because...

Many boxing analysts and experts did not see him having an opportunity because he was not "fit" and there are still some who wonder how he could have beat Joshua being in the physical state in which he was, which is far from the ideal physical constitution for a world level fighter. At least for as we believe it should be.

We all sin of prejudice at some point in our lives. We tend to belittle others for their physique or education in relation to what they do, what they want to do or what they want to be. Worse yet, we limit ourselves by believing ourselves less than what society can judge as appropriate or necessary for the role we would like to take. That if I am very fat or very thin, very high or very low, I do not understand well any subject at school.

What counts is the passion for what you do and know your strengths and weaknesses to do what you want. And do it.

Andy Ruiz Jr. did not pay attention to the jokes and criticisms that others made of him and showed that he has the ability, the condition and the courage to get where every fighter wants to be.

He still has to do the rematch against Anthony Joshua to prove, in one way or another, that his victory was not a stroke of luck.

Meanwhile, I will be contemplating the great lesson he taught me.