I travelled all the way to Norway (Fredrikstad to be exact) once just to take part in an exhibition bout! I can’t believe it myself when I look back on it because I always hated exhibition fights!

In my mind it is the worst kind, No hitting hard, no decision, nothing! Just for Show! As far away from my own character as you possible can get I reckon! I am the shy kind! Not much for showing off!

Anyway it was the now late former Olympic Bronze-medallist, Hasse Thomsen who asked me (He lived in Norway at that time) and my dad and a few other fighters in the Club if we could do it. Thomsen paid for everything and we just had to put on a good show he assured us.

It wasn’t enough that it was an exhibition bout, the thing also went down on a local Disco around midnight. I hate Disco’s! A temporary “ring” (if you could call a couple of ropes that) was set up on the dance floor. We didn’t have proper lightning, just the familiar (to everyone who goes regularly to such places) flashing lights, constantly getting in your face, blinding your vision.

To add with that, just to make the whole circumstances even Worse, loud annoying disco music was pumping out from the speakers making it impossible to hear the bell ,if it was one? I don’t know, we had pauses though that I remember.

It was humiliating to box among all those uninterested people just wanting to get drunk fast and leave the place. In addition to that a guy, probably the one in charge of the place instructed us thoroughly how to throw punches so it would sound (look) awesomely cool. “Hit hooks to the body with a slapping sound so you look like something out of a Rocky-movie” he said to me and my opponent, a guy called Espen!

We “fought”, sparred, what ever, for three rounds hitting each other in “Dolph Lundgren manner” on that pathetic dance floor. I thought it was crappy as hell. Didn’t give me anything except a large amount of disgusting cigarette smoke down my throat and I think my Norwegian Colleague felt the same way.
Afterwards me and my dad went home to Hasse Thomsen’s house to sleep.

Before we hit the sack we had an interesting chat with the old Olympic hero and even got the chance to feel the weight of his bronze medal from the 1972 Olympics in Munich. It was a magnificent medal and quite an impressive piece!