Stories that land

Daigo and the Pro Boxer at His Gym

Daigo was training once or twice a week at a small boxing gym. One day, a visiting Argentine pro wanted to get in the ring with him.

A visitor at the gym

Japanese comedian Daigo recalls his days as a beginner at a small boxing gym, where an Argentine fighter came to train a week before a fight.

He wanted to spar with me

Daigo here.

I used to box at this little gym, once or twice a week.

One day, there was a guy from overseas working the heavy bag. Someone who looked like an interpreter was there with him.

He was an Argentine boxer named Javier Alberto Mamani. He had a fight coming up in a week and was there to get ready.

And Mamani kept glancing over at me. Then the interpreter told me Mamani wanted to spar with me.

“No, no, no. I’m just a beginner. I’ve never even sparred before. I can’t do that!” But he kept insisting. He really wanted to spar with me.

So I gave in. I couldn’t spar with him, but we did something called masu boxing, where you stop your punches just short of making contact…

The guy was intense!

He was tall, too. And a world-ranked boxer.

And he was even getting a little serious.

After two rounds, Mamani was all smiles. He gave me his autograph, shook my hand, and posed for a photo with me.

He was being so nice to me that I asked the interpreter what was going on. Javier Alberto Mamani had a record of 22 wins and four losses.

Apparently, I looked like the Russian boxer who’d handed him the most painful of those four losses…

A young Asian man wearing red boxing headgear, a white tank top, and red gloves holds a boxing stance against a solid yellow background.

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