And Then There Were None

I napped a little too long this afternoon, and had to practically run out of my apartment to get to the Golden Gloves Saturday evening.  I walked in just as a little girl began to sing the National Anthem.  Once the song ended, I found Oscar and Kenny.  Alan hadn't arrived yet, so Kenny got Oscar's headgear and gloves.  Just as I suspected, Oscar's fight was scheduled early in the evening; his bout was the second one.  Alan arrived a short time later.

Oscar's opponent, Charlie Richardson out of Mango gym, was taller than he was.  "You're going to help in the corner, right?" Alan asked, but I replied, "It'll probably be better to have Kenny there to translate."  Oscar's English isn't so good, and the Spanish I learned in high school didn't stick well in my brain. I was hoping that Oscar wouldn't keep going for Richardson's head and concentrate more on body shots.  Unfortunately, Oscar had the fight stopped on him in the second round.

I saw Bill, the coach at Hamlin, who asked if I was okay.  He'd heard about me getting hit by a car back in January.  That accident cost me a rematch with Andrea at that time.  But Bill told me the rematch is still available.  We've got all spring and summer to prepare for it, as it won't take place until later in the year. I told him that I planned to start sparring again later this month, and that I was willing to take the rematch.

Kenny's fight was number nine of the evening.  It appeared that the people on his opponent's side were a little nervous when they learned their guy would be fighting Kenny.  "That's a good sign," I laughed.  But, alas, the laugh would be on us.  Kenny's opponent kept holding him, and Alan pointed that out to John, the referee.  Kenny was sort of forced into fighting the way his opponent wanted him to fight.  After awhile, the referee kept repeating to both fighters, "Don't hold, don't hold."  Kenny's opponent was awarded the win.

Before Professor's bout, Alan and I got some food from the cafeteria, and he treated me.  I only had a cheeseburger and a Diet Pepsi.  "You're a cheap date," Alan told me, and I laughed.  There was a cute little boy at the next table, who was sitting with his father.  He and I played "peek-a-boo" for a few moments while Alan and I ate.  Alan and I didn't linger too long because many of the matches seemed to be ending quickly, and we wanted to have time to get Professor ready for his match.

"If I didn't see you, I wasn't going to fight," Professor told Alan when we caught up with him.  Professor's turn came against Daniel Johnson from Rockit Gym.  Johnson looked more muscular, but when both men got into the ring, Alan and I didn't think that Johnson had a huge advantage over Professor.  They looked to be about even.  But then, Johnson appeared to be the busier person once the bell rang.  The next thing Alan and I knew, the fight had been stopped -- and not in Professor's favor.

Alan offered to give me a ride to the 'L.  On the way out, we wished Reggie good luck as we wouldn't be around to see his fight, which was going to take place much later in the evening.  Reggie has been training at Loyola, but was fighting for LA Fitness.  I just checked the results of Reggie's bout, and he didn't have any more luck than Professor, Kenny, and Oscar.

I sighed as I waited for the train.  "Everybody's out," I thought.  It's not the first time that's happened.  When Steve was the coach, there were seasons when all the fighters who were competing were done before the prelims were over.  It's not a good feeling, but you always have to remember that it takes a lot of courage to step into a ring.  Not many can do that, and the ones who competed on Saturday did their best.