A Fighting Chance: Proverbs Narrative Essay

Josh Wilner

11/14/12

H-Block

A Fighting Chance

“By diligence and patience the mouse ate in two the cable”- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richards Almanac

Leon Maxwell panted deeply as his trainer yelled advice in his ear.  Half of the words that got through to Leon’s brain served as motivation, and the other half was desperate pleas.  Leon glanced across the ring haphazardly at his opponent, Joseph Aberdeen, another local man.  The Brockton community that nurtured both prizefighters was extremely close-knit, as displayed by all the neighbors packed into Iglioni’s Neighborhood Gym, the site where both of them trained.  The bout was a big factor in the future of both men’s careers, for the victor of the match would be awarded the opportunity to challenge the champion, who frequented grandstand fights in Las Vegas.  Leon shifted his glance to his left side, which was his only side not being totally overwhelmed by his feisty coach, Greg.  Leon had never heard Greg’s last name, and he had never inquired, lest he wanted a brutal workout and verbal abuse.  Leon looked out into the crowd, all of whom were friends or acquaintances.  He considered how his future would shift after this fight.  Leon only had a minute in between the rounds, but his mind slowly slipped away, and he entered a deep pensive state in that brief 27 seconds.  

Leon evoked the memory of a bar.  It was the Black Raven...No, something with a B, it was..The Barnacle, that was it.  Leon recalled his limp body slumped into the eighth bar stool in the long line of stools.  Leon drealily swirled his whiskey around in his glass.  The bartender eyed Leon suspiciously, and then shook his head with dejection.  Leon had argued with his wife for perhaps the last time earlier that evening, for she had forced him to leave his house.  When Leon was intoxicated, he had the tendency of thinking that everything was a boxing match, and harmed those around him.  He had wandered to the bar aimlessly, and this is where he intended to stay for a long while.  While he was plopped on top of the stool, he sensed a pair of eyes glued to him.  He reluctantly shot a peek across the bar counter.  There sat Joseph Aberdeen, looking just as Leon imagined that he himself appeared in that particular moment: drunk and misshapen.  Leon questioned him for the reason of his presence at the bar at such a late hour.  “Same as you”, proclaimed Joseph with angst, “the misses booted me”.  Leon nodded with empathy, and Joseph pursued the conversation.  “It’s tough”, he continued, “ya know, telling the ring from reality”.  “Yeah, sometimes,” agreed Leon.  Joseph and Leon had a long conversation on their ambitions for the future, what awaited them in the path ahead, their boxing careers, and their unsatisfactory lives.  Leon felt a steadfast connection to Joseph that evening, and he learned a lot about him.  One aspect of boxing that Leon appreciated was the fact that a boxer’s personal traits often affect how a boxer spars in the ring.  No boxer was a naturally happy man; you had to be one odious chap.  That night, Leon discovered a valuable bit of information about Joseph that he sure would affect his in-ring performance: Joseph was a quitter.  When the odds were against him, Joseph didn’t step up to the plate.  Joseph was fed up with his substandard life, but instead of facing it, he wanted to opt out, to walk away.  Joseph was weak when he had opened up to Leon, was he still?  Leon foggily faded back into reality.

Leon glimpsed over at Joseph, who was already on his feet and practicing his jabs in the air, and decided that he would defeat him.  He would not beat him because he didn’t like him.  He would not beat him to impress the spectators.  He would beat him for his own future.  He would beat him for that prize fight in Vegas.  He would not beat him because he wanted to, he would beat him because he had to.  Leon struggled to his feet with the assistance of George and the referee, and the crowd hooted wildly.  He weighed his options in his head as the bell rang.  Joseph outperformed him in the earlier rounds, but he hadn’t been able to knock Leon out just yet.  If Leon could avoid a knockout blow during the final round, the outcome of the match would be decided by a panel of judges, three regional gym owners, who would favor Joseph, for his superior performance in the beginning of the contest.  Leon suspected that the only way he could win was a definitive strike that would knock Joseph out cold.  

The competitors bounced around on the balls of their toes.  They stared into each others eyes, and contemplated what their adversary was plotting.  Leon knew that if he could lure Joseph into throwing some rogue punches, it would tire him out.  He leaned his head slightly to the left doggedly, but kept his gloves raised.  Joseph took the bait, and started bombarding Leon with little to no avail.  He stepped away at the referee’s request.  Leon stared into Joseph’s eyes.  Even though Joseph jumped around with vitality and yelled into the crowd with rage, Leon could detect the despair in his soul; not just from the fight, but from his life as a whole.  Leon realized what he must do.  He shook his head at the officiator’s advice absentmindedly, and right as the whistle was blown, he put all his force behind his right hand and slammed it into Joseph’s jaw.  He staggered back as Joseph’s frame did the same.  Leon looked down onto Joseph’s limp body. His hand was hoisted triumphantly.  He had won the match.

Leon’s first reaction was an overbearing sense of accomplishment and pride.  He pounded his chest violently and shook the top rope of the ring as he searched out into the ferocious crowd blankly.  He peered down at Joseph for a second time.  Joseph was lethargic on his revival, and once he grasped what had happened, he held his head in his hands, with his stomach facing the incandescent light bulbs above him.  Leon immediately recognized the anguish that he must be in, for he committed possibly the biggest mistake of his career, and suffered for it.  Leon kneeled down beside him and eased Joseph upright.  Leon spoke some inspiring words into Joseph’s ear, and gave him a pat on the back.  Leon surveyed the crowd as they chanted his name.  Thanks to his perseverance, he would be facing the local champion in just three weeks.  Thanks to his perseverance, Joseph would not.  Leon raised his arms up once more, and looked up to the sky.  For once in his miserable life, Leon had right reason to smile.