Most sports these days have programs set up to help groom young athletes out of college into the professional ranks; however, boxing has no such system. As a fighter, you are left to figure things out by trial and error. Long-time boxing manager (and now CEO of Fighters First Management) Adrian Clark felt that he needed to arm fighters with a tool to make that transition from the amateurs to the pros as smooth as possible while also providing some mentorship on what to look out for when you are a pro. That tool came in the form of a book released in 2016, appropriately titled Protect Yourself at All Times: A Guide for Professional Boxers. On August 14, Clark will release the second edition of Protect Yourself at All Times: Fighters First, his sixth book, which updates the original 2016 release.
Before getting into the contents of the new book release, Clark shared what the experiences of Fighters First Management have been like in the last two years.
“Man, it feels like it’s been longer than two years, to be honest with you, because there’s been so much work behind the scenes that people don’t talk about or don’t know about,” said Clark. “So coming into it, with it just being me at first and then me understanding and knowing that I don’t want to do this by myself, I don’t want to manage fighters anymore, so the first idea was to hire someone you trust. I don’t trust many people in this business; Jolene Mizzone was probably the only person and Robert Diaz. I got into contact with Jolene, and we started moving from there but we had to do a lot internally to really get things going. It wasn’t that we started off with Brian Norman Jr. & Otto Wallin. It started with guys that didn’t make sense for the company that had already started. The future looks very bright based on what we’ve done.”
This second edition of Protect Yourself at All Times is a great read, and it’s the hip pocket manual that all fighters should have to get a good initial understanding of boxing and the business as a whole. With everything happening in today’s ever-evolving world, Clark felt that now, more than ever, was the best time to release this updated edition so the current crop of fighters can consume it without it feeling outdated. “There’s a lot going on that when I revisited Protect Yourself at All Times, the first edition, there were things going on now that the original book did not touch on. There’s an added five or six chapters that are not in the first edition, but some of the things that I did add was a chapter where I wrote a letter to the boxing dads. When I wrote Protect Yourself at All Times, I wasn’t a father.
Now I’m a dad, so I understand the father/son dynamic in boxing even better because I have Ace (his son), and if Ace becomes the number one prospect in any sport, I’ll be damned if anybody thinks that they’re gonna go over me to control things with my son. One of the reasons why this book was fitting for this time [is] because I needed to touch on new things that were going on during this time to help the fighters.”
Part of the magic that this book brings is the fact that Clark also includes quotes from fighters from the past and present, which makes this more of a “For us, by us” tool. That is important, especially with today’s fighters, who tend to lean more on those who laced up the gloves than someone who may not have.
There is a quote in the book that reads, “The dumbass is not he who asks a thousand questions for understanding. It is he who asks no questions and does not understand.” It stood out right away, as you see so many young fighters making the mistake of not asking questions and then finding themselves in a situation where they either get into a horrible contract or end up spending their money on things that do not have long-term value.
Clark chuckled when this quote was read out loud, almost as if it took him straight to the moment he put those words together. “Man, because it’s something I saw so much. I’m 38 now, and in my 20s, I was that guy that was the know-it-all, but I was so dumb about this business that I didn’t ask questions. I was like, ‘You know what? If I asked questions, they’re gonna think I’m dumb. So it’s best that I sit here and nod my head, yup, I understand’. But I didn’t know what the hell they were talking about, and it took me getting older. Looking back, I was so stupid because these people already knew I didn’t know the business. They were just sitting there watching me, not asking questions. So I speak from a matter-of-fact standpoint; I’ve been there before.”
One of the chapters in the book that will really connect with fighters is the one on social media. It’s such a big part of society, and we have seen how it can be both a positive and negative instrument for a fighter, i.e., Ryan Garcia & Shakur Stevenson. Clark says social media is a “powerful tool.” In that chapter of the book, he was just looking for fighters to understand what that power means and to control it better.
Following the release of the second edition, Clark has plans to put together more visual projects (Clark has released some video clips in years past that can be seen HERE) that will add to the evolution of the brand Protect Yourself at All Times. For now, he’s focused on the release of the book, which will also have an audio version available on August 14 (Amazon Prime will have it first, and other book retailers will have it soon afterward). For those desiring a personalized copy of the book, Clark will be selling 100 of them on August 2 via direct message on his Instagram & Facebook accounts.
Protect Yourself at All Times The Second Edition: Fighters First is not only a must-have if you are a fighter but also for those who are fans of the sweet science interested in things beyond what they see in the ring. The book is a perfect blend of industry savviness and real life jewels and is a must have for young men and women looking to make it far both in and out of the ring.
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