Page 3 of Undefeated

“No sir,” the young man responded.

The trainer shook his head at the perceived arrogance of the young man.

“Damn, you street fight, son?” the trainer asked as he taped the hands of the young man.

The young man nodded once.

“Tattoo mean something?” the trainer asked as he noticed the tattooed knuckles of the man’s right hand.

The young man nodded once, “Yes sir.”

“Bust these hands up too much, and your career will end quickly, son,” the trainer said softly as he inspected the young man’s hands.

“Former military?” the trainer asked as he slid the gloves over the young man’s freshly taped hands.

“No sir, they were my fathers,” the young man responded, making reference to the dog tags that dangled on a chain from his neck.

The trainer looked the young man over.

“You’re built like a brick shit house, kid. You lift weights?” he asked.

The young man nodded.

As the trainer laced the gloves, he shook his head.

“What are you going to do for warm up?” he asked.

“I ran three miles before I got here, I’m ready. Just need to get my head right, sir,” the young man responded.

The trainer raised one eyebrow as he looked at the young man.

“I just need to pray, sir. I’ll be ready in a minute,” the young man responded.

“Well, you can’t wear those in the ring,” the trainer said as he reached for the dog tags that hung from the young man’s neck.

The young man immediately jerked his body to the right and raised his gloves in a defensive posture.

“Damn, son. I’m just going to pull ‘em off and put ‘em in the locker with your stuff,” the trainer responded.

“I’ll ask you to remove them before I step into the ring,” the young man responded.

“Let’s just toss ‘em in here with your…”

“I’ll ask you to remove them before I step into the ring,” the young man repeated as he interrupted the trainer in mid-sentence.

“Alright. You do that,” the trainer responded as he slipped the protective gear over the head of the young man.

“You need to pray?” the trainer asked as he put the bag, back pack, and clothes into a locker.

“I’m ready sir,” the young man responded as he pounded his gloves together.

The trainer shook his head and started walking out of the locker room. The young man followed.

The young man stepped into the ring, and leaned toward the ropes. As he lowered his head he spoke to the trainer.

“Keep these in your hand, sir. Or put them in your pocket. Please don’t set them down or wear them,” he said.

The trainer reached into the ring and removed the dog tags from the young man’s neck.