Peeps At The Gloves

For the first time since 2003, I had to pay to get into the Golden Gloves. But Friday night's card was worth the $15.00. I knew that Man-Man (Edward) was boxing, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that JJ had a fight also that night.

It was old home boxing week as I re-connected with a lot of the usual suspects. From officials like Gary, Alan and Shifty; Mike Q., the president of the local boxing council; Rita and Samantha, top female boxers; and coaches like George and Percy. Of course it was a pleasure to be around Mike W., JJ, Man-Man, Barry, Diego, Nate and Toby (Kevin).

I learned that there will be a coaches' clinic in Harvey, IL on April 11th. I'm going to try to make it, if only to find out what that all entails. I've been wanting a coach's license for a couple of years now.

JJ fought a nail-biter that fortunately went in his favor. He will face a guy in the finals with the last name of Zugic. JJ's fight was the last of the evening, and he and Zugic pulled their shirts off and mugged for the cameras afterwards. It was funny. Man-Man looked very confident against the guy he blew out of the water earlier in the evening.

Three fights stood out. One ended barely before it got going. One boxer knocked the other down -- twice -- before a minute has passed in the first round. In the second fight, the two guys went at it like gangbusters. Both guys had strong cheering sections, but of course, someone had to lose. When the decision came down, I thought one guy's camp was going to start throwing chairs because they were so ticked off. JJ knew the losing boxer, who told his side of the story. "The guy's hooks wasn't hurting me at all, and I was slipping most of his punches. But, fuck it. It happened," he said.

The third fight was the only female bout that took place that night. The woman who won was named Tiffany, and she was very good. She measured her punches and timed her opponent. The tournament's publicist commented that Tiffany fought like a man, and she did. I saw her walking around after the bout and complimented her on her skills.

Man-Man, JJ and Samantha are all in the finals, and I want to see their fights. I think it's Man-Man's first time at the Gloves, and so far, he's doing well. It would be extremely cool to see Samantha take a win. And if JJ wins, it'll be his third championship belt. Gio told JJ that he was going to have to work hard and train in Gio's way.

Earlier in the day, I ran into Deb, who was returning from a business trip. She's doing physical therapy because she hurt her elbow hitting the pads. I used to wonder how in the heck people could get hurt while training. Then I hurt my right hand and wrist from hitting the heavy bags a few years ago. People get sprains and even break bones during boxing training.