Chapter 67

• He went down in a heap and the referee pushed me away. I was so in the zone I didn’t even hear the crowd until the ref raised my hand declaring me the winner. It wasn’t until then I looked out to my parents and could see they were beaming with pride over my first round victory. The girls were hugging each other and looked excited as I stepped out of the ring and headed to the dressing room.
• Smitty was patting me on the back and giving the replay as he saw had seen it. He seemed very happy and I was pleased the outcome had lifted his spirits to a new level. We hustled into the empty dressing room and he began unlacing my gloves.
• “I got to get back out and help Alex,” he said, “His Pop asked me to be in the corner since he trains at the gym.” He pulled the first glove off and I told him I could handle the rest. I saw the girls standing outside the door when Smitty walked out so I pushed it open again and beckoned them in.