Sparring For Andres

It was like spring today, with temperatures in the 50s, and somewhat clear sidewalks.  The melting snow and ice left a lot of puddles everywhere.  But dodging water was way better than slipping and sliding all the way to the gym.

This photo is from last week at the Chicago Golden Gloves.  From left to right is Arnold, me, Alan, and Andres.  This was taken by Arnold's friend Jasmine right before Andres' fight.

This is a shot of the action between Andres and his opponent, Juan.

Here's another shot of the bout. . . Professor said that he noticed from the pictures that Cicero Stadium didn't look very crowded that night.  "It wasn't, and that was the second night of the tournament.  Usually, the event is packed," I told him.  "That's probably because they moved it from the north side," Sam commented.  "The crowd was small because it's too far for a lot of people to go," Professor said.  I hadn't thought of it like that, but he was right.  Despite the fact that a lot of people drove there, Cicero is a long way out for most, depending on how far away people are from there.

Andres sparred with Professor first.  Alan told them to work. They were going at it.  Professor slammed Andres with a good right, and Andres smiled and nodded.

Andres sparred with Ben second.  Ben was bent over by one of Andres' body shots.  "Was that a liver shot?" Ben inquired.  "Yeah, man. . . .and that sh%t hurts," Professor answered.

Sam stepped into the ring with Andres next.  Sam seemed a little worried about Andres' punches.  Alan reminded Andres to go easy.  Professor told Sam that if Andres had put full power on the punches, Sam would have been on the canvas.

Alicia and I were on the bags most of the time.  She's still trying to get the hang of throwing hooks.  I was doing a lot of uppercuts and hooks.

Colonel and Kenny came in, but they didn't stay long.  Colonel just got out of the hospital recently, but health issues keep rolling on.  Alan joked about both Colonel and I have problems with our legs.  But the TENS unit that Alicia gave me last week is helping me somewhat.  I noticed I was walking faster to the gym than I have been in a long time.  As the weather eases into spring, I expect my leg will become better.