It was 2013 and I had just called out one of the greatest boxers of all time! It was fight night and I'm in my locker room getting ready to hopefully shock the world, but right now I'm just counting down the seconds until it's walkout time. It already was pretty intense at the face-off a couple of weeks before, but surprisingly I wasn’t too nervous when I got there, maybe being undefeated helped calm me down.

“It's time for walkouts” my trainer had just said and I was ready for it, I had my robe on and I was ready. Just as my walkout song had started playing, my team and I started walking out. We were all business but I still threw some air jabs to the camera for the folks at home. As I got into the ring and did my laps around it I heard someone else's walkout begin… Mayweather’s and boy was his team big. As he got into the ring I gave him my little stare down then went and sat in my stool in my corner to have my team give me my pep talk, and he did the same. After a couple of minutes of being in the corner, the ref called us to get ready. He told us the basic rules: the classic “Let's have a clean fight,” blah blah blah the norm. I kinda zoned in and started trying to hyped up and to be honest being this close to Mayweather I realized how short he really was. The referee then said “Touch gloves” and I snapped back into reality and touched gloves with Mayweather and then, the bell sounded and the fight had started!

In the first few seconds of the round, I was playing more passively throwing in my jabs because I knew I had a longer reach than he had so I had the advantage. Towards the end of the round, he started to get more aggressive and I was put on the ropes a couple of times and had to be very defensive. And after a couple of jabs, the round ended with the bell sounding. When I got to the corner my team told me exactly what I was thinking, “You have more reach than him, use it,” then I got my water, put my mouthguard in, and was ready to go.

When the second round began I started the same way as the first and it ended up being the same result but towards the end of the round I landed a really nice uppercut, but when I saw that he wasn't fazed by it, I thought to myself “This is gonna be a long fight.” And it was, from rounds 3,4,5,6,7,8 it was generally close but I was starting to get tired, and my team realized it too. As I got into the corner they told me “Put all you got in this round get a knockout.” I went out throwing wild punches but it only made me more tired because he would counter every time I did and he was eating all of my punches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Mayweather started talking at that time and he said “Those wild punches ain’t gonna work boy,” I responded with “Just wait till I land one.” I was already used to trash talk like that though it happens every fight you just can’t let it get into your head, or make it look like it affected you because once you showed a little bit of defeat that's when your opponent will strike.

It was getting worse, I was getting very tired and Mayweather seemed fresh. It was the 11th round and I was dead. I was just hoping not to get knocked out. When that round was over I went to the corner and my team said: “Play aggressive, give everything you got.” The round began, I knew I was not gonna get a k.o. I was hoping that my other rounds would carry me, I had the same mentality as the 11th round, don’t get knocked out. The round was nearly over, I thought to myself “I just have to stay up rig-”... that's when Floyd Mayweather rocked my world, literally, I was not quite knocked out I was just wobbling down and down and down. I let Mayweather land a punch and I will have to pay the price for it, Mayweather wasn't done though, he started walking over to finish the job but I got “Saved by the bell,” “Ding, ding, ding,” it was over, I fought one of the best ever and have the potential to maybe win.

My team congratulated me and we went to the middle of the ring where the announcer said “a win by majority vote… FLOYD MAYWEATHERRR! I lost by majority vote. His team congratulated me and then Floyd came over and congratulated me saying “Keep working boy you will get there one day you have plenty of potential,” “Gracias amigo,” I responded. It was a great experience but it did not turn out the way I wanted it to, but I have to stay positive and look forward and focus on beating my next opponent whoever that may be.