It was a Hollywood moment and one Cummings is still grateful for. Father and son had their battles over the years, and that conflict drove the future fighter in a lot of ways. But as the relationship matured, so did father and son.
“He was super hard on me as a kid growing up,” said Cummings. “As I got older, we mended some of the issues that we had and we were a lot closer toward the end and he was way more positive about things. He was super proud.”
Michael Cummings was able to see the biggest win of his son’s life and spend quality time with him before he passed at the age of 62, and given all that happened around the Alloway fight, it’s no surprise that it’s still the defining moment of Zak’s life.
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“He got to watch the fight, he got to go home and he lived on hospice for about six weeks,” said Cummings. “I was able to go back and stay with him for the six weeks until it was his time to move on and it was a really special time in my life. It was terrible what happened but it was cool how it worked out. I got to say my goodbyes, he got to see that his only child, his only son, had his dream come true. It was the biggest high and one of the lowest lows knowing that I was getting ready to lose my father. But it was definitely the thing that stood out, by far, the most in my life.”
In October 2017, Cummings became a father himself, as his daughter Kyleigh entered the world, giving him even more to fight for. In December of last year, his return to middleweight resulted in a win over Trevor Smith, and a victory over the unbeaten Giles would be the perfect start to 2019. And beyond.
“I’m mentally in a better place there (at middleweight) and I still think I have a little bit more to give and go,” he said. “I’d like to get back in there with some of these ranked opponents and prove myself and give myself one last little good run before I decide to walk away from the sport. I don’t know how much longer I’ve got, but I want to make sure I make that decision. I still have a little bit more to prove to myself. I’m still chasing something.”
