Webster came out fast. He started with a high round kick which I barely got out of the way of in time. I could tell already that he was light on his feet—much faster than anyone I’d ever fought in the past.
We traded jabs and circled each other. The first few minutes of a fight were usually for sizing each other up. When you weren’t familiar with how the other guy moved, it was tough to mount an attack.
Webster moved in and caught me with a clean jab. It stung. I snapped his head back with one of my own. We were even, so far. The first round ended without much more action from either side. We each respected the other’s ability.
“Okay, okay, decent first round but there’s gotta be more in your gas tank, right?” Ray was being diplomatic. There was nothing decent about that first round. Webster was good, but I was so much better. When I was on my game, I could take a guy like him out in the first three minutes. Why couldn’t I find my rhythm?
“I should have knocked him out in the first,” I said through my mouth piece. “He isn’t good enough to make it through a round.”
“Right now, you’re not good enough to talk that much shit,” said Blake. He was right, too. I knew I was better, but I hadn’t done anything to prove it.
“Don’t get over-aggressive out there,” Ray said. “I know you think you can knock this guy out, but don’t be reckless. Stick to the game plane and take the opportunities as they come. He’s dangerous.”
“I’m dangerous.”
“I know you are, Champ.”
The bell sounded and round number two started much the way the first one end. We kept our distance and used long, probing punches to try to set up the right situation against the other.
My mind drifted to Riley. She was probably thirty-thousand feet above the Atlantic Ocean right now on her way to forgetting about me. She may have said she’d be willing to talk when she got back, but who knew what almost a month in Europe would do to her? If she had any luck, she might come to her senses and realize that I don’t exactly fit in with the picture-perfect version of her life.
I didn’t think I’d be able to survive her absence myself. I would do anything to get another shot, but I’d already been apart from her for a couple weeks, and to add a few more on top of that… it was just torture.
I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to try to call her while she was over there. If she needed to clear her head, then that’s what I intended to let her do, no matter how hard-”
CRACK!
My head whipped back and my vision went blurry. I saw the lights burning bright above the cage and I realized I’d been knocked down. I didn’t even know what hit me, though I imagined it was a kick. I’d been so wrapped up in Riley that I put myself on auto-pilot and it had cost me.
“Get up!”
I could hear Ray and Blake screaming at me from just a few feet away. I must have been down right in front of my corner. “Get on your feet, Troy!”
I struggled to get my bearings. Webster swarmed on me and tried to finish the fight. He rained punches down on me. I did my best to block what was coming, but my head was still fuzzy from the blow.
It was what fighters called being “rocked.” That meant you were in big trouble and if you didn’t get your shit together in a hurry, you were in danger of getting knocked out.
I rolled to my side. The referee was watching closely. “Don’t stop the fight,” I yelled at him. “I’m alright.”
Webster launched himself at me to try to land the knockout blow. I turned my head at the last second and his fist crashed into the canvass. He gave up dominant position when he made the attempt and I was able to wrap him up.
“Just hang on to him,” Ray yelled. “The round is almost over. Just ride it out and survive to fight in the third.”
That’s exactly what I did. My ground game was superior to Webster’s. He couldn’t do a thing against me, so I just held him in place while I recovered. By the time the bell sounded, I had all my senses about me again.
I climbed to my knees and lifted myself off the canvas. I was still dizzy so I picked a point in the crowd to focus on. It was a trick to help you get your bearings after you’d been hurt.
My eyes landed right on her.
Riley looked back at me with frightened eyes. It was like the rest of the world was muted in that moment and it was only the two of us in the building. She’d come back to see me fight. She’d come back to be with me.
My chest swelled with pride. My muscles relaxed and I felt strong. There was no pain anywhere in my body. She was back, and so was I. Whatever had been alluding me the past couple of weeks was found.
I walked to my stool feeling like a million bucks.
Brandon Webster was in deep trouble.
Riley
He was okay. I didn’t think so at first, but when we locked eyes—when he saw me—I was sure of it. I strained to hear what they were saying to him in his corner between rounds, but it was too loud in the arena.
I just wanted to be close to him. Even though he was within shouting distance, all the pressure and the fans and the mayhem made it feel like he may as well have been a million miles away. But soon, we would be together again.
The bell sounded for the beginning of the third round and I went back to having trouble breathing. Troy looked more… angry than he had the previous two rounds. He took control of the center of the cage and started firing punches.
His opponent retreated toward the wall. Troy followed like a bloodhound on the scent. They traded punches. Troy bobbed and weaved. He seemed to be getting out of the way with ease. He was moving so much better than he had been the first couple of rounds.
“Get him, Troy!”
They came together in the middle of the cage again. Troy ducked a punch and swung a counter left hand that brought a grimace to Webster’s face. He landed another punch. And then another, and another.
They moved left and exchanged twice more. Troy was faster and got the better end of it both times. It was quickly becoming apparent who the superior fighter was. I still had butterflies in my stomach, but they weren’t as bad now. I knew he was going to win.
Webster shot in and tried to tackle Troy to the ground. He seemed to be having enough of losing the back and forth they were having on their feet. Troy blocked the takedown attempt and made Webster pay for his audacity with a thudding right to the temple.
The crowd was going nuts. I heard someone behind me say that it was a hell of a fight. I just wanted it to be over. I checked the countdown time on the giant screen hanging over the cage. There was less than a minute to go.
“Knock him out, Troy,” his trainer screamed above the crowd. “You lost the first two rounds, so you have to knock him out.”
Troy knew exactly what he was doing. He didn’t need anyone to tell him. As the clock ticked closer to the end, he tagged Webster with another hard punch that wobbled his knees. The crowd sensed an exciting finish. Everyone in the building got to their feet and cheered.
Troy danced in and out with supreme confidence. When Webster lunged with a desperate punch, he stepped to the side and threw a high kick that landed with a resounding crack.
Webster toppled over in a heap. He landed with his arms straight out to his sides. Troy didn’t even follow him to the ground. Instead, he calmly turned and walked back to his corner. He knew the fight was finished.
The referee waved his arms signaling the end of the fight. Screaming fans jumped up and down. I swear, I could feel the ground moving beneath my feet. There was electricity in the air.
Troy had won by knockout. It was all over. I could breathe again.
Troy
“And your winner… byyyyyy knockout… Troy Eason!”
The referee raised my hand to the crowd. It was my first professional win and I would remember it for a long time. But it wouldn’t stay with me as long as the memory of how her eyes looked when we saw each other, or how her hair cascaded over her shoulders, or the clothes she was wearing.
I climbed over the cage wall, stopping briefly on top to pump my fist. When I got to the crowd, Riley had tears in her eyes.
“You did it,” she said.
“You’re here,” I answered.”
“Yeah, I am. I couldn’t stay away.”
“This was because of you. I won because of you.”
People pushed and pulled me in all directions. I was worried she would get swallowed up whole by the crowd. “Can we get out of here?” I yelled.
“I don’t know, can we? Don’t you have stuff to do here?”
“Collect my paycheck, but, screw it. They can mail it to me.”
“Okay, I’m parked on the side of the building.”