SCENE 1
I didn’t see it coming. I kept my left high, stayed on his outside, and threw roundhouses at his right arm to weaken his power. But, I still got caught by that fucking straight right… My left arm gripped the bottom rope and my right hand pressed into the mat to keep me from falling over. I was on my knees and all I could see was the floor of the ring. It was white with speckles of red. The taste of iron filling my mouth brought me some focus. I can’t lose this fight... I tried to focus my eyes but the image wouldn’t single out, everything. My ears were also ringing. I could faintly hear It was more a vibration than a sound. The pitch of the last knew it wasn’t a six, a seven, or a ten. It was most likely
there was triple of the referee counting. sound was low. So, I a four, I had time...
I took a deep breath, then leaned hard on the bottom rope with my left hand and brung my right knee to my chest - Low pitch, a five - I looked like a runner who was settling into his blocks before a race. I pressed against the mat with my right glove and brought my hand to my knee in a kneeling position - high pitch, a six - I pushed against my right knee, stood up, and leaned over the ropes, my legs were rocking beneath me - high pitch, a seven - I lifted my head and took another deep breathe - medium pitch, an eight? - In one motion I bounced off the ropes and stood straight up - low pitch, a nine - I turned to the center of the ring, wobbled a bit, but regained my balance. The ref ran over to me as I attempted to stand straight up. He grabbed my gloves and tried to check my eyes. I turned from him to look in my corner. I could see the blurry silhouettes of Nine and Tre. Nine looked worried and Tre had his back turned pointing in someone’s face, then gesturing towards me. The ref pulled my head back towards him. His mouth was moving but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. The tone of these sounds were not as simple to make out as the numbers. He asked something again. I turned my ear to him. He repeated. Before I could respond he turned away from me and waved his hands above his head in an X motion. He was ending the match. I stepped forward in an attempt to protest but my knees buckled and I fell back to the canvass. My eyes started to go dark. Everything was slowing down. I could see Nine running over. I decided to let whatever was in the darkness take me. I dropped my head and my mind went blank. SCENE 2 The headaches were getting less painful. It had been a week since the fight and I still couldn’t hear sufficiently out of my left ear. Bernice, our team doctor said I had a mild concussion and a busted ear drum. The treatment plan was simple enough. Lots of sleep and pain killers. She also suggested I go real light in my workouts until I get my equilibrium back. The biggest change was no sparring for a couple months, and even after that I would need to wear head gear until she cleared me. Tre grabbed my shoulder and shook me, “knuckle up Tree! You been spacing out since the fight. You act like you ain’t never been knocked down before.” Tre smirked, as he grabbed the remote and sat down on the opposite coach.
BLACK MEN BUILD
2020 41
