Punching Above My Weight

How boxing taught me more about ambition, ego, and growth than any business book ever could.

They say sport imitates life. I think it reveals it , it strips away the distractions and shows you who you really are. Of all the sports I’ve flirted with, boxing stayed.

Not for its violence (Although there is something about that too that attracts me, just being honest) , but for its honesty. Boxing doesn’t lie to you. It doesn’t let you hide.

My First Round

The first time I laced up gloves, I was in college, still soft, still wide-eyed. I joined a local college boxing club where the coach made you earn your place.

You didn’t touch a punching bag until you were fit enough to stop panting like a dog and your feet blistered. I didn’t last long.

College was louder, friends, distractions, late nights, easy highs. Sport wasn’t on the agenda , too uncomfortable I thought.

My Second Stint: Lessons in Humility

Years passed. I grew older, heavier, successful on paper but sluggish inside. I joined another gym, this time under a coach younger than me — sharp, measured, and focused not on six-packs but stamina.

We trained for months. And then came the opportunity, a local amateur tournament. No other contenders in the Super Heavyweight category. My coach asked me to put on my corners, Im not sure I said yes, but I just shrugged.

I stepped in overconfident. My opponent weighed 97kg, I was 120. I assumed physics would win the day.He broke my nose in the first round. The ref stopped the fight.

I wasn’t just beaten. I was exposed.

I had made the same mistake in sport that I had made so many times in life, banking on a big win, chasing the knockout moment, forgetting that strategy always beats brute force.

I wanted the quick glory. But, boxing like life rewards patience, preparation, and the willingness to get hit and keep learning.

The Bull and the Hook

A few months later, my boxing club invited another club for a sparring tournament.

That’s when I met the guy who would be responsible for my epiphany. 150 kilos of pure muscle. Eight inches taller. Muscular. Ten years younger. A man from Kolhapur, A maratha, built for war, dreaming of the Olympics.

I was a marketing guy who smoked too much and trained for 12 hours a week maybe if I wasn’t too lazy.

I didn’t want to fight. But my coach made sure.

He came charging, like this guy was angry. Not wild like an animal, but calculated, a big guy who moved like a middleweight.

The first round was pure survival. I defended, jabbed, took hits hoping to stay on my feet. In the corner, the rival coach looked at me and said, “Arre sab maar khaate hai, maar na!” ( We all anyway get hit, hit back!)

The second round, I tried to spot his weakness. He was a southpaw (leftie), his lead jab left him open on the right.

I couldn’t land it.

My face was swelling. The gloves were weighing on my hands. I have this stupid habit of constantly setting up my jab by constantly swinging it forward (IYKYK)

Back in the corner, my coach said, “He cant see it coming from the left!”

Third round started.

I pivot right. Then out of nowhere, I threw a left hook , with my weak hand.It landed clean on his jaw. And he stayed down.

He got up, but not in time.

What Boxing Taught Me About Work

That win changed something fundamental in me, not just in the gym, but in my approach to work, leadership, and ambition.

I started showing up , bruised, unsure, and honest. I stopped chasing shortcuts. I stopped waiting to feel “ready.

With my companies , first Pegasus Events, then Ting Tong Marketing we stopped playing it safe.

We started pitching for work we technically had no business going after.

Bigger brands. Bigger stages.

We didn’t win immediately.

But with every rejection, we created a dent.

We kept showing up. And eventually, we started winning.

Here’s What Boxing Taught Me:

• Overconfidence is a trap. If you haven’t thought it through, you’ll lose ( I experienced this workwise too, when I launched our own IP in Dubai)
• Weakness can become strength if you learn to use it differently.
• Fear isn’t failure. If you’re not scared, you’re not growing.
• Exposure is part of the deal. The higher you aim, the more vulnerable you become.
• When you punch above your weight and win, you don’t just grow your confidence, you grow your capacity.

Just like in boxing, in business and in life, you can’t move up unless you train, evolve, and take hits.

You can stay in your comfort zone forever but no muscle grows there.

And the more you dare to fight out of your league, the more you discover the strength that’s always been quietly waiting inside you.