What's It Feel Like To Punch People In The Face, From A Guy Who Loves To Do It
"Have you ever seen a wet cat get water dumped on it?"
Have you ever wondered what it felt like to get punched square in the face?
That's not a leading question or anything, but I was genuinely curious what the answer would be.
So, I decided I needed to ask an expert.
My search led me to the Bare Knuckle Boxing league, a fighting league that is exactly how it sounds: dudes pummeling the crap out of each other without any protective gear whatsoever.
These guys are the baddest of the bad, so I wanted to ask one of their best fighters what those bare knuckles felt like when they connected with a face.
Meet Jerome "The Hatchet" Hatch, a three-time Knockout of the Night and Fight of the Night winner.
I opened our conversation with a very simple, two-part question: what does it feel like to be punched in the face and to punch someone in the face?
His answers were about as you'd expect from someone with nearly 200 of these things under his belt.
After getting that burning question out of the way, I decided to dig a little deeper into what makes "The Hatchet" tick.
On what led him to be a bare-knuckle boxer.
"You know, I just enjoy fighting. I like the test."
"I kind of got in trouble as a kid and was turned that way by a judge… actually made a pretty good career out of something that was a hobby of mine."
How do you know if this is the sport for you?
"I guess the long and short of it is if you get your ass kicked more often than not, then you're not very good."
How do you tell people what you do for a living?
"I don't say nothing. It's usually the people around me… they usually start running their mouth and I'm like ‘hey, dude, you ain’t big enough to ride this ride.'"
"I'm usually saving you the worst ass-whooping of your life, especially in front of your wife."
So you're never the one to egg it on?
"No, I'm usually the calmest one in the room. My friends are like ‘you realize you’re the baddest dude in here but the calmest dude in the room?'"
"I'm just chill, I don't care."
How does that feel to walk into a bar knowing you're the baddest dude in there?
"You know, you don't even really think about it most of the time."
"The only time it ever hit me, I was downtown for Mardi Gras… I was just enjoying drinks with my girlfriend without a worry in the world (knowing no one could touch me). It taught me there's peace through strength."
What is one thing people don't know about bare knuckle boxing as a sport?
"It's a mental game."
"If you get hit and that blood starts dripping… you just deflate… People get cut and they panic because society says (to do so)… If you can stay calm it's a telltale sign, you can learn a lot about (a fighter) in those circumstances."