Python
01-14-2008, 04:26 PM
Hominick 100% Dedicated to The Fight Game
01/10/2008
By Frank Curreri
Mark Hominick’s father passed away in August. And after every one of his fights, he exits the cage with his mother on his mind.
It’s time to assuage her fears. Marie Hominick still can’t bear to watch her son fight live. Not from ringside, not on television. Never mind that Mark’s been a pro fighter for five years, that he’s scrapped 22 times and has never been seriously injured.
She sits at home in Canada, worrying and waiting for the phone to ring.
“Mom, yep, I’m good. I’m healthy. I won by decision. Talk to you when I get home.” That’s what Mark told her last month soon after beating Danny Martinez.
“Mom, Yep I ‘m good. I’m healthy. I won by first-round knockout.” That’s what he told her during a September call right after destroying Ben Greer.
To Marie Hominick, it spells relief.
Of course, there is the flip side of that conversation, the one that can raise a mom’s blood pressure, the one that goes “I lost.” Hominick made two of those phone calls to mom in the first half of 2007 after succumbing to Hatsu Hioki and Rani Yahya.
But whether he wins or loses, almost every one of those phone conversations between mother and son ends the same. Marie Hominick asks her son, “Are you done fighting?”
Not yet. No one knows exactly what Hominick (15-7) will tell his mother on Feb. 13 after he tussles with Josh Grispi, a dangerous fighter who has annihilated his competition both standing and on the ground. Though he has feasted on relative unknowns, the 145-pound Grispi (6-1) has raised eyebrows with this statistic: Not one of his fights has gone past the first round. Grispi’s win last month ended with a knockout kick. 11 seconds flat. He finished another foe in 40 seconds and another in 49 seconds. His longest known fight lasted 2 minutes and 29 seconds; he won by triangle choke.
“He’s very aggressive and willing to fight wherever the fight goes,” Hominick said.
While Grispi is a fast starter, Hominick has had his troubles in the first round. His record in fights that end in the first round is just 3 and 4. In fights that go two rounds or more he is 12 and 3. Even more stunning is that Hominick has been stopped at 16 seconds, 18 seconds, 1:19 and 1:46 of the first round.
He promises, however, that he’s been working with Shawn Tompkins at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas to fix flaws in his game. Hominick has always been a hard worker in the gym, a cardio freak who gives you everything he has, earning him the nickname “The Machine.” His sparring partners marvel at his hand speed and precision punching, raving about how he often toys with them. And yet, somewhere along the line, Hominick believes he became too passive once inside the cage. He’s hungry to shed any hesitation.
“I’ve went back to my roots,” the 25-year-old said. “I’m getting that aggression back in my style. Hunting down my opponents. I’m back to my aggression and finishing guys.”
Trying to trade punches with the explosive Hominick might prove a mistake for Grispi. Hominick’s vulnerability has been on the ground, as evidenced when Yahya quickly finished him with a rear-naked choke. The loss seemed to devastate Hominick, who vows not to make the same mistake again.
“I’ve moved past it,” Hominick said. “I wanted to make a splash in the WEC but I worried too much about what he was going to do to me instead of what I was going to do to him. I was thinking too much.”
Hominick graduated from one of the top business schools in Canada. But he won’t be utilizing his degree any time soon. The cage will remain his office in 2008.
“This year is going to be my year,” he said. “I’m just going to prove it against the best. I just want to prove it.”
Source ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
01/10/2008
By Frank Curreri
Mark Hominick’s father passed away in August. And after every one of his fights, he exits the cage with his mother on his mind.
It’s time to assuage her fears. Marie Hominick still can’t bear to watch her son fight live. Not from ringside, not on television. Never mind that Mark’s been a pro fighter for five years, that he’s scrapped 22 times and has never been seriously injured.
She sits at home in Canada, worrying and waiting for the phone to ring.
“Mom, yep, I’m good. I’m healthy. I won by decision. Talk to you when I get home.” That’s what Mark told her last month soon after beating Danny Martinez.
“Mom, Yep I ‘m good. I’m healthy. I won by first-round knockout.” That’s what he told her during a September call right after destroying Ben Greer.
To Marie Hominick, it spells relief.
Of course, there is the flip side of that conversation, the one that can raise a mom’s blood pressure, the one that goes “I lost.” Hominick made two of those phone calls to mom in the first half of 2007 after succumbing to Hatsu Hioki and Rani Yahya.
But whether he wins or loses, almost every one of those phone conversations between mother and son ends the same. Marie Hominick asks her son, “Are you done fighting?”
Not yet. No one knows exactly what Hominick (15-7) will tell his mother on Feb. 13 after he tussles with Josh Grispi, a dangerous fighter who has annihilated his competition both standing and on the ground. Though he has feasted on relative unknowns, the 145-pound Grispi (6-1) has raised eyebrows with this statistic: Not one of his fights has gone past the first round. Grispi’s win last month ended with a knockout kick. 11 seconds flat. He finished another foe in 40 seconds and another in 49 seconds. His longest known fight lasted 2 minutes and 29 seconds; he won by triangle choke.
“He’s very aggressive and willing to fight wherever the fight goes,” Hominick said.
While Grispi is a fast starter, Hominick has had his troubles in the first round. His record in fights that end in the first round is just 3 and 4. In fights that go two rounds or more he is 12 and 3. Even more stunning is that Hominick has been stopped at 16 seconds, 18 seconds, 1:19 and 1:46 of the first round.
He promises, however, that he’s been working with Shawn Tompkins at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas to fix flaws in his game. Hominick has always been a hard worker in the gym, a cardio freak who gives you everything he has, earning him the nickname “The Machine.” His sparring partners marvel at his hand speed and precision punching, raving about how he often toys with them. And yet, somewhere along the line, Hominick believes he became too passive once inside the cage. He’s hungry to shed any hesitation.
“I’ve went back to my roots,” the 25-year-old said. “I’m getting that aggression back in my style. Hunting down my opponents. I’m back to my aggression and finishing guys.”
Trying to trade punches with the explosive Hominick might prove a mistake for Grispi. Hominick’s vulnerability has been on the ground, as evidenced when Yahya quickly finished him with a rear-naked choke. The loss seemed to devastate Hominick, who vows not to make the same mistake again.
“I’ve moved past it,” Hominick said. “I wanted to make a splash in the WEC but I worried too much about what he was going to do to me instead of what I was going to do to him. I was thinking too much.”
Hominick graduated from one of the top business schools in Canada. But he won’t be utilizing his degree any time soon. The cage will remain his office in 2008.
“This year is going to be my year,” he said. “I’m just going to prove it against the best. I just want to prove it.”
Source ([Only registered and activated users can see links])