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……Your Mimecast fighter shortlist is announced, but who will be our Rocky Balboa?

First, came the Mimecast assessment day. Then, came Judgement Day. Nine brave Mimecasters sweated blood and tears in training, and then sweated some more waiting for the results of the vote.

But then the waiting was over, and nine became three as you sorted the wheat from the chaff with your votes.

The Mimecast fighter shortlist, in no particular order, was announced as:

These are the names that could strike fear into the hearts of other fighters daring to enter the fight night looking to come out unscathed. But who will be ‘the one’ to represent Mimecast on the night?

Following the results of the vote, your Mimecast Musketeers travelled to the other side of the capital to attend the CRN Assessment evening to determine who would be the chosen one. With that embedded in their minds, the Mimecast warriors donned their vests and boxing gloves one more time. The only difference this time was that they were sussing out the competition from other vendors, resellers and distributors, while trying to impress the Fight Night representatives who could eventually choose them and their….gulp….opponent.

With the dilemma of whether to play down their ability or not, the fearless trio set about a punch bag deciding to give it everything they had. Hundreds of press ups and sit ups later, the Mimecast hopefuls were wondering if they’d made the right decision to compete after all!

So, what about the competition?

“A mixed bag” was the answer from the CRN Fight Night Representative. “The Mimecast lads were definitely on the better side of things”. Even Trevor

I came to the same conclusion; whoever the ’chosen one’ is matched up against, it will inevitably be a brilliant fight. Both males and females looked very tough with one girl even representing Britain, which made certain legs quiver: “She could definitely knock me out” whimpered Rich “Scrappy Doo” Dean.

So there you have it; stage 2 of a lactic filled journey is complete. All we can do now is wait for CRN to announce the Mimecast fighter……. and that is when the hard work really begins!

Valiant Mimecasters get brutal insight into training regime for CRN Fight Night – but the fighter is yet to be decided!

Drum roll……“The challenge has been set.  Nine brave Mimecasters volunteered, but only one gets the call. Two hours of relentless training and possible humiliation stand in their way. The prize? The chance to represent Mimecast at the Channel ‘Event of the Year.’”

From this dramatic intro, you could be forgiven for assuming that you were watching a trailer for the latest Jason Statham movie, but no. Jack ‘won’t be beaten’ Blackmore ruined that image by donning a ‘Next for Men’ t-shirt, complimented perfectly by a pair of Steve McKenzie’s surfer shorts.

Unfortunately only five of the original nine warriors showed up to the first hurdle: the training session. Greg “The Wizard” Collins was suffering from a 25 day sickness bug, while Jason “People’s Champ” Kennett, Nick “The Southern Dandy” Moss and Trev “The Hitman” Highley were unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances.  But fear not, they are looking to come back strong at the next session.

One by one, the brave warriors strolled into a tension-filled gym.  Expectation was low but morale was sky high. Will ‘’I AM’’ Lowden confirms his brawn-over-brain reputation by struggling to remove his mouth guard from the hot water. Not a great start!

Technical ability training was the first order of the day. Gary, a personal trainer at Urban Kings, was the man entrusted to put these Mimecasters through their paces. With hand wraps securely fastened and dignity still in place, they began unleashing their finest jabs, mixed with a few ducks and bounces.  Jason ’Reggie’’ Miller looked unsure of his lefts and rights but Richard ‘’Scrappy Doo’’ Dean brought a chill to the air with his earth shattering jabs.  At the end of the technical session, Gary’s conclusion was that: “David (The Doctor) has a great left hook, and his concentration is second to none.”

With the gym starting to empty due to the post-apocalyptic odour, the Chris Eubank wannabees moved onto their final challenge:  fitness. John, a fitness coach at Urban Kings, unleashed a relentless routine of squats and lifts with a 15kg weight. This was all that stood between the fighters and the first interlude of this epic journey.  After 10 minutes, Jason ‘‘Reggie’’ Miller bowed out while the others fought on, determined not to let anyone have the psychological edge.

By now, thoroughly exhausted, the boys ended with some one-on-one practice with Will ‘’I AM’’ Lowden and Jack ‘’won’t be beaten’’ Blackmore doing more burping than punching. Amidst the screams of “Harder! Harder!” they were trying to slog the hell out of each other while at the same time noticing they had made a smiley face on the canvas with their sweat. Nice.

Urban Kings experts, Gary and John, were pleased with the overall performances and had this to say for the Mimecast heroes: “All of them have a good level of fitness but in terms of having the mental attitude and discipline to train and fight; Dave [The Doctor] has the edge.”

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, there you have it. Experts and Bookmakers say Dave “The Doctor” Rodger…

…but on a warm evening in May, who do the people want to see dance under those bright lights? It is not too late to vote – visit: http://info.mimecast.com/FightNight_vote before 5th February 2012.