A Sparring Debate

It was so hot in the gym.  It was 90 degrees outside. As soon as Carolyn opened the door, I turned on the fan, but it didn't help much. 

In the clip below, Derek and Oscar spar.  Alan and I can be heard having a conversation as the action rolls on.  I sparred with Oscar after Derek's time was up, and I can tell you that Oscar has improved greatly.  One of his punches caught me in the mouth and nearly had me stretched out on the canvas.  Alan kept saying, "You can get him!  He's the same height as you!"  But Oscar is faster and hits harder.  I made one good combination: a left to his face and a right hook that sent him back into the ropes.  After that, it was all Oscar's show.

An ex-boss of Alan's named Kevin, and his son Tom came in the gym.  Father and son, shown in the picture below, tried some sparring with Alan in the ring acting as referee.  Kevin popped his son with a right.  The whole gym went, "Ooh!"  Alan joked to Tom, "That's for when you do something wrong the next time."  "That's right!" Ray agreed as he was grinning.

 Leon came in later in the evening.  He couldn't convince Oscar to spar with him, and Leon jokingly told me, "You're next!"  Ray agreed to put on the gear and step inside the ring with him.  Leon got in a couple of good shots, and Ray, who knows how to slip punches very well, caught Leon with a couple of good ones.  Leon backed Ray up into a corner, and Ray slipped and fell.  Leon swore that it was a punch that knocked Ray down.  Ray, in the red shirt in the photo below, said it wasn't, and the debate started.

The two men got loud with each other, and Alan looked at Leon and asked, "What does it matter?"  "It matters to me!" Leon exclaimed.  Leon commented about how Ray's punches didn't hurt him, then accused Ray of trying to bang with him.  "Bang?  Brother, I wasn't trying to do that!  You've got an 80 inch reach and many pounds over me!" Ray protested.  Alan suggested that they settle things in the ring on Wednesday.  Leon didn't want to wait, and he kept bugging Ray to put his gear back on, but Ray wouldn't.

For another several minutes, Ray and Leon went on about their difference of opinion as to how the sparring went down.  Alan and I watched in amusement.  Leon started bragging about his skills, and Ray refuted  Leon's statements.  "I can't wait until Wednesday, man, then I'll show you!" Leon said.  "Yeah, right man.  Show up early next time," Ray said.