Read Online On the Ropes (Down for the Count) by Christa Cervone - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Christa Cervone
Tags: Contemporary
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interval. Some days, once I’m done with conditioning, the real challenge begins. When preparing for a fight, Frankie always has me train for extra rounds. So, if I’m fighting a five round match, then I train for seven. I need to be prepared both physically and mentally for this fight.
Frankie has it set up so that I’ll go seven rounds of sparring with seven different fighters. Not only am I tired from nearly ninety minutes of conditioning, but now I have to face seven different fighters who are here to fight me with everything they’ve got. Frankie always pulls in the toughest fighters for this type of sparring. He goes out of his way to contact fighters I’ve never sparred with because he wants this to be a challenge. But, of course, Jimmy is always here for this too.
After a quick break, we’re back at Frankie’s gym. I see Rex ‘ The Rogue ’ Dawson, Hunter ‘ The Master ’ Hughes, Ramsey ‘ Ice Cold ’ Reynolds, Seth ‘ The Savage ’ Ritter, Derek ‘ The Rocket ’ Carter, Bobby ‘ Blackout ’ West, and Steve ‘ The Violator ’ Johnson sitting around the gym waiting for us to arrive. Each and every one of these fighters has a phenomenal fight card. It’s an honor for me to be in the same room as them, let alone get the chance to spar with them. I only wish we could’ve met under different circumstances and could maybe actually go out and have a beer or two afterwards. But I know Frankie’s watching me like a hawk. I wouldn’t be surprised if he follows me home and sits outside my apartment’s window all night; making sure I stay in.
I jump up onto the ring, ducking through the ropes. “You ready for this?” Jimmy asks, as he applies Vaseline onto my cheeks, forehead, and chin.
I shrug my shoulders. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I say, huffing and still recovering from the conditioning.
“You’ve got your work cut out for you,” Jimmy looks over his shoulder at all the fighters waiting to get in the ring with me.
“Thanks for the encouragement,” I laugh.
“Stop wasting time in there!” Frankie hollers .
“Let’s do this,” I nod, hitting my gloves on Jimmy’s hands.
“You know I’m in your corner.”
I signal to him with a simple gesture, acknowledging his words, then I make my way over to my corner. Sitting down on the tiny stool Jimmy’s put there for me, I look straight across the ring to see which guy is my opponent.
The first fighter I’m sparring against is Hunter ‘ The Master ’ Hughes, who’s known for his speed and ability to land punches.
Jimmy kneels down in front of me as he slips the headgear onto my head.
“You got this, Saint,” he’s confident as he looks into my eyes. He raises the mouth guard to my mouth and pushes it in for me.
I stand up slowly and begin walking to the middle of the ring where ‘ The Master ’ is waiting for me. We touch gloves, then step back to our corners and wait for the sound of the bell. Ding!
Both ‘ The Master ’ and I come out eager to fight, though I need to hold back to conserve my energy. I’ll be doing this for another six rounds, while he’s done after this one. Frankie and Jimmy are both in my corner yelling. The first round of sparring is where I’m always critiqued on my form. “Arms up! Protect your face!” Frankie yells to me.
“Don’t let him back you into the corner!” I hear Jimmy shout.
‘ The Master ’ manages to land a few jabs. He’s fast, but I counter with a few jabs to his ribs. I know he feels them by how his face cringes.
“Keep it up, Saint! You’re doing great!” Jimmy says, loud enough for me to hear. “Keep the pressure on him. He felt those punches.”
Before I know it, the bell rings; ending this match.
“Great round,” ‘ The Master ’ says to me as he leaves the ring.
Frankie pulls out the stool for me to sit down.
“You owned that round, kid, but you let him land some jabs. You gotta keep your hands up to protect your face,” he advises gruffly,
Frankie has it set up so that I’ll go seven rounds of sparring with seven different fighters. Not only am I tired from nearly ninety minutes of conditioning, but now I have to face seven different fighters who are here to fight me with everything they’ve got. Frankie always pulls in the toughest fighters for this type of sparring. He goes out of his way to contact fighters I’ve never sparred with because he wants this to be a challenge. But, of course, Jimmy is always here for this too.
After a quick break, we’re back at Frankie’s gym. I see Rex ‘ The Rogue ’ Dawson, Hunter ‘ The Master ’ Hughes, Ramsey ‘ Ice Cold ’ Reynolds, Seth ‘ The Savage ’ Ritter, Derek ‘ The Rocket ’ Carter, Bobby ‘ Blackout ’ West, and Steve ‘ The Violator ’ Johnson sitting around the gym waiting for us to arrive. Each and every one of these fighters has a phenomenal fight card. It’s an honor for me to be in the same room as them, let alone get the chance to spar with them. I only wish we could’ve met under different circumstances and could maybe actually go out and have a beer or two afterwards. But I know Frankie’s watching me like a hawk. I wouldn’t be surprised if he follows me home and sits outside my apartment’s window all night; making sure I stay in.
I jump up onto the ring, ducking through the ropes. “You ready for this?” Jimmy asks, as he applies Vaseline onto my cheeks, forehead, and chin.
I shrug my shoulders. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I say, huffing and still recovering from the conditioning.
“You’ve got your work cut out for you,” Jimmy looks over his shoulder at all the fighters waiting to get in the ring with me.
“Thanks for the encouragement,” I laugh.
“Stop wasting time in there!” Frankie hollers .
“Let’s do this,” I nod, hitting my gloves on Jimmy’s hands.
“You know I’m in your corner.”
I signal to him with a simple gesture, acknowledging his words, then I make my way over to my corner. Sitting down on the tiny stool Jimmy’s put there for me, I look straight across the ring to see which guy is my opponent.
The first fighter I’m sparring against is Hunter ‘ The Master ’ Hughes, who’s known for his speed and ability to land punches.
Jimmy kneels down in front of me as he slips the headgear onto my head.
“You got this, Saint,” he’s confident as he looks into my eyes. He raises the mouth guard to my mouth and pushes it in for me.
I stand up slowly and begin walking to the middle of the ring where ‘ The Master ’ is waiting for me. We touch gloves, then step back to our corners and wait for the sound of the bell. Ding!
Both ‘ The Master ’ and I come out eager to fight, though I need to hold back to conserve my energy. I’ll be doing this for another six rounds, while he’s done after this one. Frankie and Jimmy are both in my corner yelling. The first round of sparring is where I’m always critiqued on my form. “Arms up! Protect your face!” Frankie yells to me.
“Don’t let him back you into the corner!” I hear Jimmy shout.
‘ The Master ’ manages to land a few jabs. He’s fast, but I counter with a few jabs to his ribs. I know he feels them by how his face cringes.
“Keep it up, Saint! You’re doing great!” Jimmy says, loud enough for me to hear. “Keep the pressure on him. He felt those punches.”
Before I know it, the bell rings; ending this match.
“Great round,” ‘ The Master ’ says to me as he leaves the ring.
Frankie pulls out the stool for me to sit down.
“You owned that round, kid, but you let him land some jabs. You gotta keep your hands up to protect your face,” he advises gruffly,
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