Perhaps without us knowing it, we are actually receiving punches everyday. Punches that attack not only the physical but also the mental and spiritual... Fellow Toastmasters, Toastmaster of the evening and to our guests... Life is a boxing.

Boxing is a combat-sport also known as "fist-fighting" which traces its roots as early as 700 BC. Fighters from the past were called "gladitators". They fought bare-handed. Fights then don't have rounds and were fought non-stop. A fight usually ends when one of the fighters surrenders or when one of them dies. Yes, it was fought that way before!

Boxing today is more humane and fought with gloves on to cushion the impact of punches. Gloves were used to protect both the hands of the puncher and its target. It is played in three-minute rounds and now has a maximum of 12 rounds per boxing match. It ends in either a knockout or a decision at the end of the final round.

Fist fighting is still an extremely dangerous sport. According to the Journal of Combative Sport, from the time the "gloves" was introduced in 1890 up until the end of 2007, there were 1457 recorded deaths in boxing. Quite few heh? But hey, this is a sport and no one is supposed to die.

Though dangerous, the lure of big money and probable fame attracts a lot of men into the sport, mostly from poor families. In fact, thousand of boxers have emerged from the poorest provinces of Mexico and the Philippines. They see boxing as their way out from poverty. And why not? Prize fighters today earn thousands up to millions of dollars per fight depending on their level of skills and popularity.

To become a champion in this sport is quite tough. A boxer has to hurdle a lot of challenges within and outside the ring. He or she has to undergo a rigid training to hone his or her skills and develop strategies in order to win a fight.

Boxing's history would tell that most if not all of the world champions have started very early in life. Oscar dela Hoya, the so called "Golden Boy" of boxing started to box at age 5. He was a 10 time world champion in 6 weight divisions. Manny Pacquiao, the current number one pound for pound fighter in the world has laced on a glove before becoming a teenager.

I remember when I was 5 years old, I had a chance to play the sport. Me and my friend, a 7-year old kid, were pitted against each other by our brothers just for fun. We were quite serious though. Perhaps, at the back of our heads, we were thinking that the “pride” of our families were at stake. In the middle of the fight, my opponent caught me with a right straight to the head, which made me off balanced and so I was knocked down. While the referee was counting, I was hearing a lot of boos all over. “Boo! Boo!” “Your brother is nothing” I overheard someone teasing my brother. I didn't like the idea. I didn't like the feeling. It made me so angry. I finally stood up and was able to beat the count as the bell rang. The ensuing round was totally different. Carrying that anger within me, I punished my foe to the extent that they needed to stop the fight. I won.

Friends, we can actually parallel life to boxing. Whether we like it or not, each one of us has a fight to win. If boxing is dangerous, life is even more dangerous as we do not have the luxury of gloves, a referee and 3-minute rounds. It's a continuous fight up to the end. Punches come from all angles, from enemies, strangers, even from family and friends.

In life, just like in boxing… it doesn't matter how many times we were knocked down. It's how many times we got up and fought our way back. We can use any setback that we've had to propel us to victory.