Story Board

I opened up with a flashy four punch combination, landing two punches, the initial left jab and the last punch, a straight right, with which I moved, going to my left. Circling to ring center, popping the jab, so everyone would know I meant business. Jackson, not being particularly fast of hands, held a tight, high guard.

Moving behind the jab, the nervous energy in my legs started to fade. That was the reason I went straight at him with the combination, so that I could 'see' it wasn't going to be as bad as all that, that I could reach him with my punches. Even though he was only a half inch taller, he seemed 'bigger', as if he was a light heavy who starved down to '59.

What I wanted him to know was that I was going to fight him, and that I was not just faster, but WAY faster than he was. He let his shots go, a left uppercut got home and he smacked me with his hook. But I carried the round with faster jabs and smart movement, making him miss several punches.

The second round opened with Jackson concentrating on finding a home for his hook, working it as a lead to the body, then trying to split my guard by bringing his left as an uppercut. I pushed him off with a flurry, punctuating it with a ringing right-left-right. My movement kept him from getting 'set' and I would pop him as he moved, keeping him off balance.

He was clearly frustrated, as I wasn't running from him, but I wasn't exactly standing in front of him, either. This is what Ken had me work on with Dalton, stepping around and keeping punches in his face, so that he had to think before he could get his offense going.

The round ended and Beth bounced thru the ropes and reached to get my mouthpiece out. "That's two down and two in the bank. You are looking smooth."

"Tell him about the right hand." Ken slid the stool for me to sit down.

"Right. You got to bring it back straight and tight. " She pantomimed what she was asking me. "Your dragging it back ... what for?"

I widened my eyes. "If we can see it, so can he! And he is gonna remind you the hard way that you are dragging back your punches!" She wiped me off, put some vaseline on my face and wet me down. "So far, so good ... let's just do what we worked on, nothing fancy yet. Touch him to the body." She slapped my ribs with her left hand.

The bell for the third round sounded, and Felix came out expressly let me know who I was in the ring with. Even catching his punches on my arms, he would 'move' me a full step out of place. As to not having 'fast' hands, he was quick when he wanted to be, and stung me with a left-right-left and followed that with a sweeping hook that moved me to the other side of the ring. The last minute of the round he cute the distance, and for the first time in the fight, my back touched the ropes.

Jackson stepped straight into my chest, banging me with a double hook. I responded with a three punch combo and spun off the ropes. He managed to catch me with a wide right hand, not set, he still jostled me. Strong ... I would have rather let Dalton take a run from his free safety position than to keep getting hit like that!

I had won the first two rounds; the third round was his, and perhaps more importantly, he had re-established 'the line of control'. Beth was hot when I got back to the corner.

"What are you doing?? I thought you came here to win!! What are you doing??"

"Get him to double up on the jab ..."

"DOUBLE THE JAB!! Move to your freakin' left when you do it, don't be in front of him waiting for him to nail you ... MOVE!" Beth squirted my water to me. "If you stop in front of him, he is going to KNOCK YOU OUT ... so MOVE!" She reapplied the grease to my face.

"If you are in front of him, give him an angle, not a free shot where all he has to do is reach and you are there." She gave me another drink. "Don't make this hard on yourself, tap him harder when you go down stairs."

The ten second light came on. "He is trying to load up. Catch HIM coming straight in." She was gone, and the bell for the fourth round rang.