Life In The Corner

Coach taught me how to work the corner. Still need more practice, however, but I'm getting the hang of it. It is exciting to me, being on the edge of the apron, close to the action going on in the ring.

During the last Golden Gloves tournament here, I worked the corner for one of the guys in my gym. He was robbed in his match. I don't know what his opponent was trying to do, but boxing wasn't it. I wanted to yell at the referee too, but one of the rules of the corner is to let the coach do all of the talking. Afterwards, our guy wanted his gloves taken off in a hurry. I could feel the heat of his anger, hotter than the lights that hung over the ring. It was so disappointing when his hand was not lifted by the referee in victory. Nothing left to to do but take the towels and the bucket and follow him away from the ring.

I have been in the corner when one of our guys has won, and that is a great feeling. What gets me is that after the fights, when the opposing boxer and their cornerperson come over to shake hands, they always looked shocked to see a woman in the corner. They shake the hands of the coach and the guy who boxed, but avoid me like a bad virus. I feel vindicated if our boxer wins, but it still smacks of disrespect.