West Side Rumble

I packed my boxing gear to take to Harrison Park Thursday evening, but I knew there wouldn't be a match for me.  Alan, Kenny, Colonel, Ursula, Renee, and Uvee (a friend of Ursula and Renee) were standing in the back of the gym at that field house before the matches took place.  Alan pointed out a female fighter who was dressed and ready nearby.  "There you go," he told me.  "She looks like she's no more than fourteen years old!" I exclaimed.  "But she's your height," Alan grinned.

That boxing show was also the second one I attended where the singer who did the National Anthem mangled it.  They knew all the words.  The problem was staying on key.  I felt bad for them when I heard the widespread snickering in the crowd, especially when she tried to hit the high notes.  "That was no comparison to you, Hillari," Alan said, referring to the times I sang the song before Loyola's boxing shows.

The best bout of the night was between two young women.  Alan and Kenny pointed the taller woman out to me as she warmed up before the fight.  "Check out how she throws punches," they told me.  She was working those pads like a job.  I was impressed.  When the bell rang to open the first round, she dashed on her opponent with a fierceness.  There were body blows galore.  But in the second round, her opponent -- who was shorter and appeared to be heavier -- got revenge.  The shorter woman popped the taller woman in the face with a right.  The referee gave the taller woman an eight count.  They resumed their pummeling of each other, but the shorter woman bopped her opponent in the face with jabs six or seven times in a row.  The crowd was hyped up, cheering and clapping their approval.  The taller woman ended up receiving another eight count.  The women continued their war until the bell ended the last round, and the shorter woman won.  I believe she was fighting for Hamlin Park.

Kenny almost got a fight, but the matchmakers decided the guy was too young for Kenny to get in the ring with.  That guy ended up winning his match against an opponent who did not follow the "be first" rule and allowed the guy to get the drop on him.  Oscar did not show up in time, so he missed out on getting a fight when the weigh-in period ended.  

Kenny, Colonel, and Alan left early, but the rest of us stayed to the end.  Then we went to eat at Kopi Cafe, a place that I've passed by for years, but had never been inside.  It was a cool place, and the Mexican hot chocolate I had was delicious.