BOXING NERVES

dont focus on family and friends. Just focus on your boxing and a game plan of how to beat him with your supposed superior boxing skills. You know what to expect this time because you have fought once before.
You said he just runs forward throwing wild swings? Well you know he's most likely going to do that again! Be calm, box off the back foot and throw sharp jabs and quick one two straight combos and pivot off. Once he has eaten a few solid straights I'm sure he will lose his appetite to feast off some more.
Nothing to be nervous about. just focus on BOXING him

 

Just remember he will be nervous as well. Try and enjoy it!
Post how your fight goes in a few weeks.

 

I wouldn't really think about the other guy too much, or the crowd, family, etc. The more you think about those things the more you worry.

Be confident in your ability. He has two hands just like you. Anyone made of flesh and bone can be beaten on any given day. I like Evander Holyfield's attitude towards these things. Have faith in God and work your ass off in there.

Refuse to lose.

 

Have you anyone in the gym who could maybe mimmick his style in sparring you?
Even if it looks messy, it will let you prepare in a big way.
This would be my starting point.
Best of luck & keep us posted.

 

Spar, spar and spar even more. The more you get in that ring the better.

 

If you can forget about the pressure, that is of course good advice. My experience is that it's not that easy to forget about who may be watching. If that's the case for you, you're better off not fooling yourself by pretending that the opinions of people you care about don't matter. Use your fear of humiliation as motivation to work harder and to punch with bad intentions. Use it as motivation to punish your opponent for trying to humiliate you. As I think I heard someone say once, fear is like fire . . .

Of course it would be wrong to say that sparring is "overrated," but I do think it can be overemphasized. That is, where sparring is given as the answer for everything at the expense of sufficient attention paid to drills. Everyone hates drills because, by their nature, they're repetitive and boring. Whatever sparring is, it is not boring.

But drills are a big part of how you train your mind-body to react to real situations, and without drills you may be prone to committing the same mistakes over and over again in sparring and in fighting.

Since you've fought the guy once already and clearly have video, I'd humbly recommend that you look for patterns and weaknesses in his game and then develop drills for how to react when he displays one of his weaknesses. For example, does he always follow a jab with a hook? If so, drill slipping to the inside and nailing his liver and following with a hook to the head every time you see him jab. Or, does he always follow the jab with the cross? If so, drill slipping to the outside and following with a right to the body and right hook to the head. That kind of stuff.

Identifying and practicing drills may also be particularly helpful in your situation since finding the right sparring partners sounds like it's a bit difficult. Drills you can practice with almost anyone as well as on the heavybag.

And always, always, always visualize facing your opponent. I mean not only his face, but his hair, his ears, his mouthpiece, the sweat on his body, his stench, his breathing, his grunting. Everything. Your mind has a hard time telling the difference between what you imagine and what you experience, particularly when the visualization is as detailed as possible. You have the extra advantages of having already fought the guy and having video. Both of those things give you a lot of material to work with while visualizing.

And, most of all, visualize hitting him F&*%ING HARD! You're there to punish him for beating you the last time in front of your family and friends. Punish him cruelly. Shake his hands before and give him a hug after, but between the bells, make him pray for death.

 

What happened with your fight?