Sarah Liegmann – From the ring corner: The Dominican Republic

Before I get started, I’m really glad you’re here to read my column. It’s going to be chaotic, funny, but mainly 100 percent real. I’ll be sharing lots of anecdotes and experiences from the world of boxing, but also giving you some exciting insights into my everyday madness. And now it’s time to clear the ring!

You can find part one of the column here!

… So my mother and I quickly realized that we wouldn’t be going to the hotel suggested by the organizer in the middle of Main Street, because there was one bar after another. Because one thing is always sacred to me, my sleep. They booked us an AirBnB that was a 10-minute walk from the venue and promised peace and quiet. The men didn’t want to hear anything.

Chaotic journey

The journey was pure horror. It started with the fact that boarding, which was initially on time, had to be interrupted because the plane was suddenly not given permission to land in Puerto Plata. The passengers who had already boarded were sent back to the gate. When the plane was finally due to take off an hour late, it suddenly stopped on the tarmac. An announcement from the pilot then informed us that the radar in Turks and Caicos had failed and that we would not be able to take off until the problem was fixed. After a delay of two hours and thirty minutes, we were finally able to take off.

When we arrived in Puerto Plata, we were met by the promoter. There were other fighters on the plane who were supposed to fight on the card, so we all ended up in a minibus in which the center console was quickly converted into the ninth seat. At the organizer’s restaurant, the men were all let out to get something to eat. My mother and I drove to our hotel. When we checked in, we noticed that one suitcase was missing – the most important one. Our hand luggage suitcase had disappeared from the face of the earth. We panicked because it contained money, visas, combat clothing and a pair of gloves.

Take a deep breath

On the side, the man at reception tried to explain to us that the apartment we had booked had not been cleaned and that we would be given two single rooms. While I panicked and tried to reach Michael, my mother almost dragged the receptionist behind the counter. Paid is paid. When he realized that she was serious, he started talking on the phone and clarified the situation. In the meantime, I had reached Michael, who had found the suitcase at the entrance to the restaurant – it had been unloaded by mistake. One less shock. The room situation also seemed to have been resolved, as the receptionist led us to the apartment.

The situation had resolved itself in such a way that the hotel’s security man was quickly converted into a cleaning lady, because when we got to the apartment he was in the process of cleaning up the mess that had been left behind. It seemed that the previous guests hadn’t really kept to the check-out time. I had an appointment with Michael for training at 7pm. In the promoter’s restaurant, where we finally had dinner straight afterwards.

After a restful night for us, we met back at the restaurant at around 12 noon, as the official weigh-in was taking place there. The other fighter had already changed hotels in the morning and Michael hadn’t slept a wink because of the noise – if you don’t want to hear….

Part three of Sarah Liegmann’s column will follow next week!