(Cris Esqueda / Matchroom Boxing) Remember when you had to be patient? There were queues, and tuts, and it often felt like a test. “Wait your turn,” you were taught from an early age, and there was a discipline to it, all that waiting. In the wait, you learned about yourself. You learned how to sigh and smile at the same time. You convinced yourself that good things come to those who wait. You believed that by waiting you were being polite – a good person. Nowadays you see evidence of the opposite – impatience – wherever you go. You see the sense of entitlement, the first-world anxiety, and the lack of both manners and appreciation. You also see how nothing means anything anymore, for nobody has to wait, wish or work for it. That goes for just about everything: food, toys, films, news, love. It’s perhaps only now that we have started to realise that the value of something is determined by the difficulty we had obtaining it and that convenience and quickness will sometimes lead to a feeling of emptiness rather than satisfaction. In boxing, it’s no different. Winning your first pro fight, for instance, will not mean the same as winning a world title fight due to the latter’s level of difficulty and the feeling of it having been earned. By then, you will have really waited for it. There will have been a process of yearning and learning. You will, during this process, have conquered other contenders who shared the same dream and each January you will have asked yourself, “Will this be the year it finally happens?” The world title therefore is no more than a reward for your patience and self-belief. By exhibiting both en route to securing it, you reveal a maturity you will likely need when the time comes. You also give yourself ample opportunity, in terms of time, to improve and iron out any creases. This, again, will be invaluable when that title shot eventually arrives. For most, this journey to a world title shot takes on a familiar shape and length; it cannot be rushed or shortened. Yet there are of course some boxers, particularly those who were patient, long-serving amateurs, who believe there is no time like the present and see no reason to wait. These boxers, often mature for their age, just go for it, suck it and see. They figure that even if they arrive prematurely and it all goes wrong, they will still have enough time to recover, try again, and get it right next time. To some…
2026-01-30 13:00:00
The Beltline: Andy Cruz and the benefit of being made to wait
