Meeting The Big Man

Mort had a second preliminary fight last night. I taped it with the use of Mike's digital camera. Mort got a TKO, so he is solidly in the semi-finals. He seemed to be very light on his feet the entire time. Mort had a lot of support from the audience, as well. Several guys sitting near me were boisterously cheering him on.

Immediately after Mort's win, I introduced myself to Ernie Terrell, who was sitting at the judges' tables. Terrell had a famous 12 round match against Muhammad Ali in 1967, and his sister, Jean, sang with The Supremes in the years immediately following Diana Ross' depature. He is a big man; his hand completely enveloped mine. I learned later that he is six foot six tall. I had seen him in attendance at many fights, but never had a chance to say hello until last night.

Unfortunately, Mike lost his fight; it was a close decision. Both Mike and his opponent were gassed out in the 2nd round, but continued battling in the 3rd round. Mike got off the cleaner and more decisive shots, but the judges did not go his way. Some members of the audience booed the judges' decision. "That was bullshit!" Mort snapped.

I overheard the guys running the glove table asking each other if they had seen Kitchens, the ring photographer. I was looking for him myself; he took a picture of me with a politician friend of my late dad's some time ago, and I wanted to buy it from him. The guys said they hadn't seen him. It was unusual because he's always at the Gloves.

I was feeling out of sorts on the way home. Two days of eating the junk food being sold at the Gloves had taken it's toll. "I'm stopping at the health food store tomorrow and buying good snacks to bring down to the tournament," I told Steve.