Mickey Reyes was fighting Tommy Monroe for the middleweight championship on Saturday in Detroit, Tommy Monroe\u2019s hometown. He took the fight on three weeks\u2019 notice.<\/p>\n
Tommy was supposed to be fighting Charles Davis. He was supposed to have fought him three months ago, but he broke his hand in training and had to postpone the bout. Then he had to postpone it again because the doctors wouldn\u2019t clear him, and Charles Davis got tired of waiting. He said Tommy Monroe was ducking him. He took a fight instead with the number two contender and won by split decision. They were talking about having a rematch.<\/p>\n
Now Tommy\u2019s hand was all healed and he needed a fight. He\u2019d gone up to light heavy last year to try to take Derek Colton\u2019s belt, and Derek Colton had handed him his first loss, and if he didn\u2019t fight someone soon at middleweight, they were going to strip him of his titles.<\/p>\n
Mickey last fought four months ago. He beat a pretty good boxer down in Bogota, a young kid, not too much experience, but strong and with fast hands. Mickey wasn\u2019t supposed to beat him. It was a hell of a fight. A lot of action, a lot of blood. It was only live in Colombia, but they showed the highlights in the States, and Tommy\u2019s people must have seen them and thought Mickey\u2019d be a good opponent. When they called him in Mexico City, where he was sparring with Junior Losato for Junior\u2019s lightweight bout, and offered him the title shot, Mickey jumped at the chance. He flew back to Oakland that same night and went straight to see Pete Gomez. Pete said he\u2019d train him, and for the past two and a half weeks, Mickey\u2019d practically been living at Gloves Gym. All of Oakland was behind him.<\/p>\n
I felt just sick about it.<\/p>\n
The first week Mickey was back from Mexico, Pete opened up Gloves to the public and about twenty reporters and boxing writers went down to see him train. When I got there, he\u2019d already started.<\/p>\n
Mickey was smiling and going through his workout, skipping rope fast, showing off on the speed bag. And there were photographers and cameramen taking his picture and shooting film for the sports shows, all telling him what to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook this way, Miguel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWork the heavy bag a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShow us something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mickey\u2019s smiling the whole time and trying to make everyone happy. And they\u2019re all smiling watching him. It\u2019s impossible not to like Mickey Reyes. He\u2019s just a nice, sweet kid, shy and polite, and good-looking, too. That never hurts. You wouldn\u2019t think he was a boxer to see him on the street. He seems too gentle to be a boxer. You could picture him as waiter maybe, or working in a department store, but you\u2019d never peg him for a fighter. They loved interviewing him. You could tell they wanted him to win. How could you not? Father died when he was ten, mother\u2019s in a wheelchair. He supports her and his younger brother by getting hit in the face for a living. How could you not root for a kid like that?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s your strategy?\u201d they ask him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you feel?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think you can win?\u201d<\/p>\n
They know he\u2019s just an opponent for Tommy, and they feel bad for him. They know who Tommy Monroe is.<\/p>\n
Mickey tells them he thinks he has a shot. Derek Colton hurt Tommy in his last fight, and the first loss is always the hardest to come back from. He thinks he saw something in that fight. What it is he\u2019s not saying, but he and Pete have a plan. He might surprise a few people in Detroit.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m watching him from the back. I\u2019m the only one not smiling.<\/p>\n
He sees me and comes over. \u201cHow you doin\u2019, Max?\u201d he says. \u201cI was looking for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m right here,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n
Then he punches me light in the stomach a couple of times.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou gonna hit the bag later?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, champ. I\u2019m just here to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you believe it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure, I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, everybody,\u201d Pete says. \u201cThat\u2019s it. Show\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then when they all leave, he tells Mickey to skip rope for twenty and goes into his office. I stick around and watch. I can stay as long as I want because I\u2019m a member of Gloves myself. I\u2019ve been a member for fifteen years.<\/p>\n
He looks good. Mickey looks good skipping rope. He\u2019s in shape. He\u2019s healed well from the fight with Carlitos Lopez. Looks that way, anyway.<\/p>\n
That was the fight down in Colombia.<\/p>\n
Carlitos was supposed to take care of Mickey pretty easily. He was an up-and-coming fighter, and they were starting to make noise about him. He\u2019d only had fifteen fights, but he\u2019d won them all, and twelve of those by knockout. The fight with Mickey wasn\u2019t supposed to go the distance.<\/p>\n
The way it started, it didn\u2019t seem like it was going to.<\/p>\n
Carlitos knocks Mickey down with an uppercut in the first thirty seconds, and it looks like it\u2019s going to be a short night. But Mickey makes it through the round, and he starts to come back in the second. The way Mickey fights is, he\u2019ll take two punches just to give you one. He figures if he can get inside, he can wear you down. He\u2019s got pretty good power, and he doesn\u2019t mind getting hit. It\u2019s exciting to watch a fighter like that. It wins him a lot of fans. But it means he takes a lot of punishment. He and Carlitos both took a lot of punishment that night. Mickey\u2019s three inches shorter, and he\u2019s got to eat a lot of jabs to come in, and Carlitos is really working those jabs. They\u2019re snapping Mickey\u2019s head back. It\u2019s tough to watch. But Mickey just keeps coming forward, and he\u2019s working his way inside. At the end of the second, he gets in a good left hook to Carlitos\u2019 body, and he hurts him, and from then on, the fight\u2019s pretty even. Carlitos is going upstairs and Mickey\u2019s working the body. And in the fifth, he knocks Carlitos down. God, I wish he had faster hands. If he had faster hands, he could have put him away, but Carlitos hangs on and clinches his way to the bell. He\u2019s hurt him, though. Mickey\u2019s hurt him bad. But his own face is swollen from all those jabs, and he\u2019s got a cut over his right eye. During the break, both fighters are breathing heavy. Stay on him, Pete tells Mickey. You\u2019re doing real good. I\u2019m sitting right next to Pete; I\u2019m practically in the corner with him, and I can hear everything he says.<\/p>\n
For the next few rounds, Mickey\u2019s trying, but he can\u2019t knock Carlitos out. Carlitos is jabbing and dancing away and Mickey just keeps coming forward. He\u2019s like a bull. He\u2019s eating those jabs, but he\u2019s finding a way in and he\u2019s working Carlitos\u2019 ribs like they\u2019re a heavy bag. Finally Carlitos gives. He can\u2019t come out in the ninth. He\u2019s got two broken ribs. Probably fought like that for the last round. That kid has some heart. But Jesus, what a win for Mickey! He beat a tough kid in his own backyard, and he stepped up a level to do it. It cost him, though. His face looks awful. His eyes are all red and puffy, and he\u2019s got that cut on his right eyebrow. His nose is probably broken, too. I follow him and Pete and Alfonso, his cutman, into the dressing room. Alfonso steps out for a fresh bucket of ice, and then it\u2019s just me, Mickey and Pete. And Mickey won\u2019t sit down. It\u2019s like he\u2019s crazy with adrenaline. He starts asking who won and we tell him he did, and then he starts acting like he\u2019s getting ready to go fight, like he hasn\u2019t even fought Carlitos Lopez yet. He\u2019s talking about what he\u2019s going to do to him. The ribs, he says, he\u2019s gonna go after his ribs. That\u2019s the plan, isn\u2019t it, Pete? Pete looks like he\u2019s going to be sick. Yeah, he says, that\u2019s the plan. Then all of a sudden, Mickey just runs out of energy. He falls down hard against the wall and rolls over onto his side and stops moving. Me and Pete rush over to see if he\u2019s still breathing. Scariest thing I ever saw. Outside, we can hear reporters knocking on the door, and Alfonso\u2019s trying to get back in with the ice. And Pete\u2019s standing over Mickey, slapping him in the face, and we\u2019re both yelling at him. Then he just comes to. And he\u2019s fine. I mean, he still looks like hell, but his mind\u2019s clear. It\u2019s like nothing happened. He starts joking with me, and he hears the knocks and wants to talk to the reporters. No way, Pete says. You\u2019re not talking to anyone. You\u2019re going to the hospital. He takes him there himself. But they can\u2019t find anything wrong with him. They keep him overnight and run tests and take scans, but they tell him he\u2019s fine and he can fight again as soon as he heals. I don\u2019t know how they couldn\u2019t have found anything. I wanted Pete to take him to a specialist when they got back to the States, but he was afraid if he said something, Mickey\u2019d lose his license. Plus, he figured whatever it was must have fixed itself. Maybe that\u2019s what happened, I don\u2019t know. I still think he should have told someone. I don\u2019t even think he told Mickey, not all of it. Probably didn\u2019t want to scare him.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t tell anyone either.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what you\u2019re gonna say to me,\u201d Pete says, when I follow him into his office after the other reporters leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get him checked out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCommission doctor checked him out. He had his full medical two months ago. They didn\u2019t find anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do a brain scan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey did lots of tests. They didn\u2019t find anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJesus, Pete.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want me to do, Max?\u201d Pete says to me. \u201cRefuse to train him? Fight\u2019s in three weeks. Who else is he gonna get?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTommy\u2019ll kill him,\u201d I say. \u201cHe\u2019s got iron in his right hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cColton handled him pretty well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cColton tied him up,\u201d I say, \u201cused his footwork, fought defensively. And what is he, six-two? Six-three? Mickey can\u2019t do what Colton did. Tommy\u2019ll pick him apart. Jesus, Pete, you take him to a neurologist?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeurologist saw him in Bogota,\u201d Pete says. \u201cCommission neurologist looked at him for the physical. They didn\u2019t find anything. What do you want me to say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou tell them about the dressing room?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat am I going to tell them? I\u2019m not a doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou tell Mickey about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looks through the glass and watches Mickey skipping rope.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I told him. I told him enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a matter of time,\u201d I say. \u201cHe keeps getting hit in the head like that\u2014Jesus, he\u2019s just a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think I don\u2019t know that?\u201d Pete says. Then he gets angry. \u201cI told him to take it easy for a while. He was just gonna spar. That\u2019s all he was doing down in Mexico. But what am I supposed to do? They called him up. They offered him the fight. It\u2019s a shot at the title. You want me to tell him not to take it? You know what they\u2019re paying him? A hundred thousand. You want me to tell him to give that up?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much are you getting?\u201d I say. As soon as I say it, I regret it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go to hell,\u201d Pete says. \u201cI\u2019m not taking advantage of him. You want to know what Alfonso\u2019s getting, too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I say. \u201cI don\u2019t want to know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think I should work for free?\u201d Pete says. \u201cThe sparring partners, they should work for free? You work for free, Max?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I say. \u201cI don\u2019t work for free.\u201d<\/p>\n
I look through the glass at Mickey.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could write about it,\u201d I say. \u201cI could write about the dressing room. That\u2019d get them to stop the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Pete stands up and comes toward me. He\u2019s a big man. He was a heavyweight.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not gonna write one word about that,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to ruin this for him. He needs that money. He\u2019s gonna send his brother to college, you know that? And his mother, you think her medicine\u2019s cheap? Besides, it\u2019s a shot at the goddamn title.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he doesn\u2019t need to say any of that. It was an empty threat. I\u2019m not going to write anything. If I were, I would have done it already. I\u2019m too close to the story. That\u2019s the problem. I don\u2019t even know why I said it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a hell of a risk,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think he doesn\u2019t know what the risks are?\u201d Pete says. \u201cEvery fighter knows. That\u2019s part of it. That\u2019s what they pay them for. That\u2019s why you write about them. You want them to take risks. Better copy.\u201d He turns away from me and sits down on his desk. We both look out and watch Mickey and the other fighters train.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just worried about his head,\u201d I say. \u201cWhat if he gets hurt again?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a middleweight title fight,\u201d Pete says. \u201cGuys wait their whole careers for a chance like this. You want him to turn it down?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what are you saying, Max? What do you want me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019m feeling terrible the whole conversation. I don\u2019t know what the hell I want him to do. I don\u2019t even know why I came in here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d I say. \u201cI\u2019m just worried about him. He\u2019s only twenty-four.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah? Well I\u2019m worried about him, too,\u201d Pete says. \u201cYou think I want him to get hurt? But this is boxing. This is what he does. No one\u2019s forcing him to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s his decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd don\u2019t you go worrying him, either. He\u2019s got enough to worry about. He can\u2019t go in there afraid of getting hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needs the money, Max. He\u2019s got a family to take care of.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
I start to leave. I don\u2019t know what the hell I was trying to do here. I don\u2019t know what I thought I was going to accomplish. Suppose Mickey stops fighting. Suppose he gives it up right now. It may already be too late; he\u2019s taken some hard shots. But even if he\u2019s fine, what\u2019s he going to do for money? How\u2019s he going take care of his family? What\u2019s he going to do, answer phones? Wash dishes?<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re gonna tell him to stay on the outside, right? You\u2019re gonna work on his defense?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how to train my fighters,\u201d Pete says.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I head out to the floor. Mickey\u2019s still skipping, and he\u2019s got a good sweat on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWork the heavy bag,\u201d Pete tells him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mickey turns to me. \u201cYou going to Eli\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I\u2019ll be at Eli\u2019s,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going there in a couple of hours. I\u2019m meeting some guys. Maybe I\u2019ll see you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure,\u201d I say. I head out of Gloves and get in my car.<\/p>\n
I could contact the commission, I guess. Tell them exactly what happened. They\u2019d probably listen to me; they take head injuries seriously. Make him get checked out again. Submit to a whole new round of tests.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m not going to do that to him. Even if they clear him, it\u2019d be a huge distraction. He\u2019d lose training time, lose focus. And he\u2019d have the rumor of a head injury hanging over him. No fighter wants that. Plus, Pete\u2019d probably get sanctioned for not saying anything. He\u2019d never let me back in Gloves again.<\/p>\n
It\u2019d be tough for me to cover any fight after that. What boxer would want to talk to me after I did something like that to Mickey?<\/p>\n
Of course, there could really be something wrong with him.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m not his father.<\/p>\n
So I go to Eli\u2019s and order a beer from Trevor and sit down at a table by myself. The place is empty. I\u2019m the only one there. Trevor\u2019s reading the newspaper, and he gives me half. I take it to the table with the beer. He\u2019s got some old blues on the sound system. Bessie Smith. There\u2019s a piano and a bass in the background. I can\u2019t make out what she\u2019s singing.<\/p>\n
I start to read the paper, but I\u2019m not interested in it, so I pull out my notes. I\u2019ve got to write an article about Mickey\u2019s fight. There\u2019s a lot I could say in that article, but I\u2019m not going to say it. I\u2019m just going to write the same thing everyone else writes. Maybe I\u2019ll put in something about Pete and Gloves. I put the notes away. I\u2019ll write the article later. I don\u2019t feel like writing anything now. I bring my beer over to the pool table in the back and shoot a few games, keeping track of how many shots it takes to sink all the balls.<\/p>\n
I could have had a couple of pro fights. I might have done alright. I wouldn\u2019t have minded taking that risk, or taking some other kind of risk, getting my hands dirty, being part of the action, instead of just watching other people do it and writing about it when I\u2019m safe at home, or alone in some empty bar.<\/p>\n
I look down at the pool table and try to concentrate on my shots.<\/p>\n
Mickey comes in after a while. His hair\u2019s still wet from the shower. He orders a cranberry juice from Trevor then comes over to me and we shoot some pool. I ask him about his mother, and we talk about Gloves, and he tells me about sparring with Junior Losato.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know why they\u2019re bringing me in,\u201d he says to me. \u201cI know what\u2019s going on. It\u2019s a tune-up, just so he can hold onto his belts. I\u2019m not stupid. But that doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t have a shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing is,\u201d he leans forward, like he\u2019s about to tell me a big secret. \u201cI don\u2019t even have to beat him. Nobody expects me to win, I know. But the thing is, I don\u2019t even have to. I just have to look good. Put on a good show. This could be the start of something for me.\u201d He leans back and nods to himself, like he\u2019s thinking it over.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t talk like that,\u201d I say. \u201cYou gotta go in there to win. You got to use strategy. Keep away from his right. Keep moving. You don\u2019t have to put on any kind of show.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I do,\u201d Mickey says. \u201cI do have to put on a show. I got to bang with him. I got to get in there and really make it a fight, even if I lose. I can\u2019t run away from him the whole time. I got to make people want to see me again. That\u2019s the key. I have to make them want to see me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMickey,\u201d I say. \u201cYou can\u2019t trade with this guy. You can\u2019t just stand in front of him. He\u2019ll pick you apart. You won\u2019t be able to get in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI got in pretty well against Carlitos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yeah, I think. You got in. You got in a lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know nobody\u2019s picking me to win,\u201d Mickey says. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t pick me either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t think like that,\u201d I say. \u201cThat\u2019s no way to go into a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, listen,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m telling you I don\u2019t need to win. I don\u2019t even need to make it the whole twelve rounds. If I can just hang with him for eight\u2014eight good rounds where I\u2019m really fighting him, not just staying on the outside trying not to get hurt, but really fighting him\u2014that ought to be enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, Mickey.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to make people want to see me again, Max. I gotta think about my future.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m saying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you don\u2019t get it. If I can go eight rounds with Tommy Monroe, then maybe I can get another big fight. Maybe against someone who\u2019s not such a heavy hitter. It doesn\u2019t have to be a champion, just someone in the top five, top ten even. I just got to make them want to watch me fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
I let him talk. I have a sick feeling in my stomach.<\/p>\n
\u201cA hundred thousand,\u201d he says. \u201cCan you believe it? I know Tommy\u2019s making a lot more. I don\u2019t care about that. If I do well enough, maybe I can get more fights like this. More fights for a hundred thousand. Or two hundred thousand, even. Maybe even half a million. Can you imagine that? If I really push him, he might even give me a rematch. Imagine what I could make then.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s dreaming now. His mother\u2019s got a new wheelchair and his brother\u2019s in medical school. He\u2019s got a big house and a couple of cars.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought I\u2019d get a shot like this,\u201d he says. \u201cI mean, I trained for it and all, but I never thought it would really happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
I look down at my beer.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the Lopez fight,\u201d I start to say. Then I hesitate. I don\u2019t know how far to take it. \u201cYou were in pretty bad shape, Mickey.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I was,\u201d he says. \u201cBut they checked me out, and I\u2019m okay now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
What am I gonna say?<\/p>\n
\u201cI just got to show them I belong in there, that I belong in the ring with him. If I can stick it out for twelve rounds, I got it made, easy. But eight\u2019s all I need. Lots of guys get good fights after they\u2019ve gone hard with a champion for eight or nine rounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019m picturing Tommy Monroe pounding Mickey in the head with his right hand for eight rounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe I can open a gym someday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure,\u201d I say. \u201cYou could train your own fighters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, that\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watch him thinking about it. There\u2019s no use me saying anything more. It\u2019s going to happen whether I like it or not. I\u2019ve just got to wait it out and hope he doesn\u2019t get too hurt. Jesus, I\u2019ve known him since he was ten years old.<\/p>\n
We shoot pool for a while. Then a couple of his friends come in. He invites me to stick around, but I tell him I have to go, that I have a deadline to meet. And I head on home.<\/p>\n
I go back to Gloves a few times after that and skip rope and work the heavy bag and the mitts. Pete comes over and gives me drills to work on and pointers. He doesn\u2019t usually do that. I see him training Mickey, and I say hi to Mickey and tell him he\u2019s looking good. But I don\u2019t tell him I\u2019m worried, and I don\u2019t say anything to Pete about that, either. Mickey\u2019s brother comes in a couple of times when I\u2019m there. He brings along other kids. Some of them ask Mickey for his autograph. They\u2019re all about sixteen. His mother comes in once. There\u2019s a photographer that day, and he tries to take her picture. But she doesn\u2019t like that and goes into Pete\u2019s office and waits there until he\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n
The day of the fight, I fly up to Detroit and check into a hotel near the stadium. I try to eat something at the bar, but I can\u2019t. It\u2019s like I\u2019m fighting myself, I\u2019m so nervous. I have a few drinks to try to calm down and read the newspapers. I read anything I can get my hands on. Then, a couple of hours before the first fight, I go down to the stadium. I take a seat in the press section by the corner Mickey\u2019s going to be fighting out of, and I watch them finish setting everything up.<\/p>\n
All during the undercard, I\u2019m half out of it. Nothing to see anyway, at least not at first. Young, hungry kids with just a couple of fights under their belts versus nobodies their promoters bring in to lose. None of them last more than three rounds. Then the quality improves and it\u2019s prospects versus journeymen, and the prospects are tested. A lot of them fail. Tough life, being a journeyman. Traveling all the time, always fighting guys who are younger, fresher, trying to prove themselves. Hometown judges, hostile crowds. You get robbed a lot, lose fights you really won. Make a few thousand, five, ten if you\u2019re lucky. Then do it again somewhere else as soon as you heal.<\/p>\n
The fight just before the main event is a good one. Two featherweights, a Thai and a Filipino, both of them game. The Filipino comes out hunting and scores a knockdown in the first. He\u2019s fast. He wins the first few rounds. But then the Thai starts figuring him out. He starts timing him better and scoring with his counters. In the sixth, he catches the Filipino with a hook and pounds him on the ropes until finally the ref steps in to stop it. He should have stopped it sooner, as far as I\u2019m concerned. The Filipino wasn\u2019t defending himself. I make some notes about the Thai fighter. I know I\u2019ll hear more about him in the future.<\/p>\n
Then it\u2019s time for Mickey\u2019s fight. By now, the stadium\u2019s almost full. You can feel the energy in the crowd. They want to see their boy. Mickey comes out first, and there are a lot of boos, but also cheers from the Mexican fans. A lot of Mexican?Americans have shown up for the fight. I\u2019ll make sure to put that in the article. Mickey\u2019s bouncing on his toes, and he\u2019s looks loose and ready. Pete\u2019s stoic as always. Alfonso, who\u2019s probably old enough to be Mickey\u2019s grandfather, is standing next to Pete, clapping the whole time. And there\u2019s another guy about Alfonso\u2019s age, who I\u2019ve seen around Gloves, standing behind him, acting as second assist. He\u2019s clapping too, but he looks self-conscious, like he doesn\u2019t want to be up there. Then Tommy Monroe comes in. The whole crowd stands up, it seems like, and they all start to yell. Someone\u2019s carrying his middleweight belts, and he\u2019s got guys behind him in sunglasses.<\/p>\n
He and Mickey meet in the center of the ring, and he doesn\u2019t look any fitter than Mickey, and he doesn\u2019t really look any bigger. He\u2019s got maybe an inch or two longer reach, and he\u2019s four years older, but I don\u2019t expect age\u2019ll make much difference. He\u2019s got more power, though, and he\u2019s faster, and he\u2019s got a whole lot more experience. The only thing Mickey has on him is maybe Tommy\u2019s a little rusty. And Mickey\u2019s got a strong chin. But then, that\u2019s what I\u2019m worried about. They stare at each other in the center, and the ref gives them instructions. Bobby Lund from the Cincinnati Times, who\u2019s sitting right next to me, leans over and says, Poor Reyes. Monroe\u2019s come to make a statement.<\/p>\n
Then the fight starts, and Bobby Lund is right. Tommy Monroe comes out hard and fast, and he goes straight for Mickey\u2019s head. Within the first fifteen seconds, Mickey\u2019s clinching. The ref separates them and the crowd starts to boo, and it\u2019s as if Mickey hears them because he settles down and begins to box. I hope he doesn\u2019t hear them. I hope he\u2019s not listening to the crowd in there; he\u2019s got to stay focused. But anyway, he\u2019s boxing now, and the booing\u2019s stopped. He\u2019s trying to stay in close and mix it up with Tommy. I\u2019m willing him to move, but he\u2019s flat?footed and making himself a target. That\u2019s just the way he fights. Still, he\u2019s doing alright. He\u2019s losing the round, but he\u2019s staying in there. He\u2019s slipping some punches and throwing hooks to Tommy\u2019s body with his left. Tommy doesn\u2019t look hurt, though. You could probably hit him with a brick and he wouldn\u2019t feel it. At the end of the round, the crowd applauds, and this time, I know Mickey can hear it because he smiles. He sits down and sees me and nods and looks like he\u2019s going to say something, but Pete slaps him in the face, and tells him to listen. He starts telling him in Spanish to move more and to watch his head and not to trade punches. Mickey nods and drinks water, and when the bell rings, Alfonso puts in his mouthpiece and Mickey heads out to the center. I wonder what he\u2019s thinking in there. I wonder what I\u2019d be thinking. One eighth done? One down, seven to go? Or maybe he\u2019s thinking about the time. Twenty?one more minutes, that\u2019s not so bad. I can do that. That\u2019s nothing.<\/p>\n
He starts off the second circling and looking for angles, which is good. That\u2019s what Pete told him to do. Stay on the outside, come in quick, then back off. But Tommy\u2019s just too fast. He\u2019s got his jab working now, and it\u2019s like lightning. Mickey comes at him from the side and goes for the ribs or the gut, and Tommy hits him with a double jab. Then Mickey backs away. He can\u2019t get away from that jab. Every time he comes into range, he gets hit with it. And he\u2019s getting more and more frustrated. And I\u2019m getting frustrated for him. I know he just wants to eat a few jabs and come in. I guess he thinks that\u2019s the only way he can fight Tommy. That\u2019s the only chance he has. Staying on the outside, he\u2019ll just keep getting picked off. That\u2019s not going to show anybody anything. That\u2019s not going to get him any more fights. Even if he lasts the eight rounds, he\u2019ll just be a punching bag. He\u2019s got to try to do some damage. He\u2019s got to show them he can fight. He sticks with Pete\u2019s plan as long as he can, trying to slip the jabs and weave under them. Then, about halfway through the round, I guess he just can\u2019t hold out any longer. He tries to bully his way in, just ducks his chin down and comes straight at Tommy, which is exactly what Pete told him not to do. But Mickey\u2019s not thinking about this fight; he\u2019s thinking about making a good impression, and he\u2019s not making any impression on the outside. So he charges on in, and Tommy Monroe\u2019s waiting for him. He throws out a quick jab. Then when Mickey rolls it, he hits him with a beautiful straight right. It\u2019s a minute and a half into the second round, and Mickey\u2019s down on the canvas. The crowd\u2019s yelling as loud as they can, and they\u2019re all on their feet, and the ref starts counting. But Mickey, to his credit, had his chin down when he came in. He had it buried in his chest. So Tommy hit him hard, sure, but it\u2019s not as bad as it could have been. He gets up at eight, and his legs look alright. But his eyes are different. It\u2019s like he didn\u2019t know what he was in for, but now he knows. Bobby Lund turns to me. Here we go, he says. And for the rest of the round, Tommy\u2019s going for the early knockout. But he\u2019s too eager. He\u2019s too wild. Mickey\u2019s covering up and taking the punches on his arms and blocking his ribs with his elbows. He\u2019s trying to fire back, but nothing connects. Tommy\u2019s too fast. He\u2019s wild, and Mickey can see the punches coming and can block them okay, but Tommy\u2019s too fast for him to mount his own offence. And he\u2019s not taking any initiative, either. That punch must have really shaken his confidence. He comes to his stool at the end of the round and spits out the mouthpiece and the first thing he says is I\u2019m okay. You went right at him, Pete says. You should be lookin\u2019 for angles. Cut him off. He\u2019s too fast, Mickey says. Then it\u2019s like he remembers. I gotta put on a good show. Forget the show, Pete says. To hell with the show. Protect your head. Listen to me. In and out, work the angles. But he might as well be telling him to fight southpaw. He\u2019s giving Mickey advice he knows he can\u2019t take. Mickey\u2019s nodding anyway, pretending to listen. Then the bell rings and he goes back in. And I know he\u2019s thinking about his eight. Two in the bag; six more to go. Yeah, he knocked me down, but I\u2019m not that hurt. I can do six more rounds. I\u2019m in shape. And I know he\u2019s thinking about the money and about getting more big fights, and it\u2019s terrible because he should be focused on Tommy, and on coming out of this one okay. Bobby Lund turns to me. Another round, he says. Two at the most. Pete looks over because he hears it, too. Then we all start watching Mickey go forward. Tommy\u2019s corner must\u2019ve told him to go for it because he\u2019s wild and looking for the knockout. His power\u2019s still there, but he\u2019s rusty from all the time off. A better fighter than Mickey might have been able to slip him and work the angles like Pete says, but Mickey just comes straight at him. Maybe he\u2019s hurt more than I thought. Or he can\u2019t find an opening. Of course, he should be trying to make his own opening, but he\u2019s covering up at least, and taking the shots on his gloves and protecting his ribs pretty well with his elbows. A couple of times, a jab or cross gets through, but he\u2019s hanging in there. He\u2019s staying close to Tommy. And since Tommy\u2019s not bothering with defense, Mickey manages to sneak in a few shots. He\u2019s losing the round, but he\u2019s banging with him; he\u2019s not running away. He\u2019s got to be proud of that. Then, just when I think maybe Mickey has a chance to go his eight, Tommy breaks through his guard and jerks his head back with a couple of jabs, then comes in hard with a right and a left hook, a four-punch combination, and that ends the round. Mickey comes back to his corner, and he looks bad. His right eye\u2019s starting to swell and he\u2019s heaving. I\u2019m alright, he says to Pete. I\u2019m alright. Like he\u2019s trying to convince himself. How many rounds is that? Pete tells him three. How many? Pete holds up three fingers. Bobby Lund elbows me in the ribs. One more round, he says. Go to hell, I tell him. Alfonso puts the enswell on the mouse that\u2019s starting to come up below Mickey\u2019s right eye and holds it there, and he puts his other hand on the back of Mickey\u2019s head. Then he puts Vaseline on Mickey\u2019s eyebrows and cheekbones. All the time, Pete\u2019s giving him instructions. You can tell he\u2019s worried about him. I\u2019m alright, Mickey says. He takes some water and spits in the bucket. Then it\u2019s the fourth round. Mickey heads out to the center of the ring with his shoulders hunched forward and his chin down, and he\u2019s trying to do what Pete said, slip and use his footwork to find the angles. But Tommy\u2019s calmed down. His trainer must have said something to him because now he\u2019s staying outside, coming in to jab and throw a quick combination to Mickey\u2019s head then popping back out again, and Mickey\u2019s too slow to do anything. Or else Tommy\u2019s too fast. He\u2019s going after Mickey\u2019s right eye like it\u2019s got a bullseye on it. It\u2019s a workout session for him. That\u2019s all it is. About halfway into the round, he forces Mickey onto the ropes and starts to really work his body and his head. The crowd\u2019s shouting and they\u2019re on their feet, and Mickey\u2019s covering up and trying to get out of there. He throws some defensive jabs, and ducks down and goes for Tommy\u2019s ribs, but he can\u2019t connect with anything solid, and he\u2019s taking a hell of a lot of punishment. His right eye\u2019s almost closed. The ref looks like he\u2019s going to stop it. He starts to move in. Then the bell rings and that\u2019s the end of the round.<\/p>\n
Mickey comes back to his stool and he looks awful. He\u2019s lost. He knows it. Pete knows it. The whole crowd knows it, and they\u2019re all going wild for Tommy. And Mickey\u2019s just sitting there looking blank. Alfonso\u2019s got the enswell on his eye, but he\u2019s not bothering with the Vaseline. What do you think, Mickey, Pete asks him. You want to go on? Mickey just leans forward on his stool and lets Alfonso work on him. He drinks some water and spits in the bucket. The ref comes over and asks Mickey if he\u2019s going to continue. I\u2019m not gonna let you take any more punishment, he says. How about it, Pete says. There\u2019s no way you\u2019re gonna win. Tommy just keeps getting stronger. You did good, Pete says. You\u2019ve got nothing to be ashamed of. There\u2019s no sense taking a beating if you know you can\u2019t win. No sense in that, Alfonso says. The other second doesn\u2019t say anything. He stands back, like he\u2019s trying not to listen. How about it, the ref says. They\u2019re all watching him. I\u2019m gonna stop it, Pete says. Alright? And Mickey just looks awful. It\u2019s like somebody died. He nods and looks up at the ref. Yeah, stop it, he says, quiet. Then he looks down at the canvas.<\/p>\n
The timekeeper\u2019s whistle\u2019s gone off now, and Tommy\u2019s corner\u2019s left the ring. He\u2019s out there alone. But Mickey\u2019s still on his stool, so Tommy knows what\u2019s going on. He\u2019s just got to wait for it all to play out. Then, just as the bell rings, the ref turns around and waves his arms, and that\u2019s it. Fight\u2019s over.<\/p>\n
About fifteen people rush into the ring all at once. They lift Tommy up onto their shoulders, and the crowd\u2019s cheering for him. Then Tommy gets down and comes over to Mickey\u2019s corner, and Mickey stands up and Tommy hugs him. And Mickey starts to look a little better, like he knows he\u2019s got to put on a different face. But you can tell he just wants to get out of there.<\/p>\n
They announce that Tommy\u2019s won by technical knockout at three minutes of the fourth round, and someone lifts him up again. He\u2019s got his arms raised. A television reporter starts to interview him in the center of the ring, and he gives a classy, gracious interview. I\u2019d like to thank Miguel Reyes for fighting me, he says, and for taking the fight on such short notice. He says Mickey\u2019s a tough kid, that he took a lot of punishment, that he hung in there. Then a bunch of reporters start asking him about his next fight and about his hand. He says he feels good, and the hand feels good, and it was good to shake the rust off in this fight. He\u2019s ready for some top level competition now. He wants to make a fight with Charles Davis as soon as he can. He wasn\u2019t ducking him, and he wants to prove it. He\u2019s ready any time. They\u2019re interviewing Mickey, too, but there isn\u2019t really much he can say. There isn\u2019t much they need to ask him, either. Everyone knows why he lost. He wasn\u2019t ready for a title shot. That kid had no business being in the ring with Tommy Monroe, Bobby Lund says to me. It\u2019s fights like these that give boxing a bad name. Tommy could\u2019ve killed that kid. He shakes his head like it\u2019s a disgrace.<\/p>\n
I stand up and make my way into Mickey\u2019s corner. A lot of people are hanging around the ring now, and I have to push to get through. Mickey\u2019s sitting on his stool. He\u2019s got a towel around his shoulders. Alfonso and Pete are both standing over him. The other second\u2019s outside the ring, watching. I\u2019m gonna take you to the hospital, Pete says. No, I\u2019m alright, Mickey says. I\u2019m taking you, Pete says. Don\u2019t argue with me. Mickey looks at the canvas and nods and says alright. He doesn\u2019t look so good. I mean, he\u2019s beat up and he\u2019s disappointed, but more than that, his eyes look kind of empty. I can\u2019t tell if it\u2019s because he\u2019s tired and dejected or if it\u2019s something more serious, and I\u2019m worried. And I can see Pete and Alfonso are worried, too. Let\u2019s go, Pete says, and he starts to help Mickey up. But Mickey doesn\u2019t need that. He pushes Pete away. My legs are fine, he says. Then he turns to me. You think I did enough? I mean, it wasn\u2019t eight, but I hung with him for four. I got in some good shots. I hit him in the ribs a couple of times pretty good. I know I hurt him. I was doing alright in there for a while, wasn\u2019t I? He was just too fast. He was just too fast for me. But I did enough, right? You think I did enough? He\u2019s looking at me like a little kid or a puppy or something. He knows the answer, but he still wants there to be a chance. His mother\u2019s sick, and he wants his brother to go to college. He\u2019s looking at me, and Pete and Alfonso are looking at me too, like I have some kind of power.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d I say. \u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I got to bang with him. I got to get in there and really make it a fight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[974],"class_list":["post-12877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction","tag-boxing","writer-mark-blaine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12877"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13048,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12877\/revisions\/13048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}