Born To Be Somebody

After that precious sixty seconds was over and the bell sounded signaling round three, Ty moved to the center of the ring facing and circling Bulldog, his damaged left hand held up to his chin in mock defense.  He could see clearly in Bulldog''s eyes that the daze was completely gone and he was out for blood.  Bulldog swung his right toward Ty''s face and Ty''s right hand took the full force of the blow then slammed back into his jaw.  His jaw didn''t feel much of the force, but his hand exploded with a pain Ty wouldn''t have thought possible.  He almost blacked out, but by sheer will power stayed on his feet. He grabbed Bulldog and held on till the ref had to step in and break it up.  The Gunny saw the pain in Ty''s eyes as he shoved the two men apart.

"You okay Ty?" the gunny asked.

"Yeah I''m fine," Ty said as he blinked tears away and sucked in a deep breath.  The gunny backed away and Bulldog was immediately all over Ty again. Ty managed to get away from the barrage of blows Bulldog was throwing.  Catching a second wind he started to dance around the ring, eluding Bulldog for a few seconds.  Bulldog knew by now that something was wrong with Ty''s left hand and as Ty circled and danced he waited for the opportunity to take advantage of it.

With only a minute left in the fight Bulldog rushed Ty and cornered him against the ropes. He once again hit Ty''s useless hand sending mind numbing pain up Ty''s arm.  Trying to protect his hand from further abuse, Ty left his head wide open.  Bulldog let loose a haymaker that connected completely with the side of Ty''s head.  Ty felt as if a wrecking ball had smashed into his temple. He spun as he fell and landed face first on the plastic tarp that served as a canvas.  The crowd got very quite and Ty did not move.  The gunny began the count.  Larry had to be restrained to keep him from jumping into the ring.  As the gunny said, "four" Ty pulled his right arm to his side and began to push himself up.  His left arm dangled as he rose.  His legs felt like they were made of rubber.  By the count of seven Ty was on his feet hanging on to the top rope.  The gunny stepped up to Ty. 

"Look at me son."  Ty looked in the gunny''s eyes.  "Are you okay Ty?  Do you want to continue the fight?"  Ty felt blood running from his nose.  He tasted it also.

"I want to continue," Ty said as his body shook from the pain.  The gunny thought about stopping the fight, but as he looked into Ty''s eyes they were pleading with him not to.  He waved the fighters on after wiping Ty''s gloves on his shirtfront at which point he saw Ty wince in pain.  He knew he probably should stop the fight, but he wanted to give Ty his one last shot.

Forty seconds remained on the clock.  Bulldog smelled victory as he approached Ty with caution.  He had a new found respect for this opponent that didn''t seem to know the meaning of the word quit, but he still wanted to win at all cost.  Ty was totally exhausted so when Bulldog came in fast he covered as best he could, but Dog caught him with a stiff right jab that sent Ty stumbling backwards.  He landed on the ropes with his left arm draped over the top rope and his right hanging down to the mat.  He wasn''t hurt, just out of gas.  He knew the fight was over and he was not to be the victor this night, but as looked up he saw Bulldog coming fast upon him to finish him off.  Just as Bulldog drew back to send Ty to Never-never land Ty push back on the ropes, sprung forward and unloaded, with his last ounce of effort, a right handed upper cut that lifted the dog from his feet and laid him flat in the middle of the ring.  The bell rang.  That bell had saved the dog. 

Larry jumped the top rope and grabbed Ty before he went down.  He helped him to his stool.  Flash bulbs were popping in every direction.  Ty was almost blinded by the brightness. He wanted water and Larry gave him a small swallow.  He retched just as Larry held the bucket under his face.  Larry wiped Ty’s face with a wet towel.  People were crowding the ring to touch Ty and say something to him.  He was oblivious.

The fight went to Bulldog on points, but it was really Ty who was the winner that night. It was a fight that would be remembered by all that sat in the hangerdeck of the U.S.S. Ticonderoga.