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I spent most of the early part of the morning with my family and then said I’d see them this evening. After my breakfast settled, I did some light workouts and stretches with my trainers. Each time I sat down to drink water and eat granola bars and fruit, my trainers talked to me, reminding me of Carlos Agustin’s weaknesses: his knees.
“Remember, he can’t pop back up quickly. His knees give him trouble. Both have been rehabbed, but you just don’t get that all back,” Leo explained.
“Get him on the ground, then give him hell,” Herb advised.
Marty looked at me and pointed to his head.
“Your greatest weapon is between your ears, Hollis. Use your head,” Marty reminded me.
I heard that phrase over and over on repeat in my mind as I walked around backstage in the Team Dragon room before the fight. There were several monitors in our room that were showing the opening fight. Three fights were happening tonight: the opening fight, my fight, and then the big-ticket fight. I stayed loose and quiet, and as the opening fight wrapped up, I moved to the curtain area with my team.
Marty was to my left and Herb to my right. Patrick was on my left side behind Marty. My team all started talking, saying encouraging things, and throwing out reminders. I heard all of it but reacted to none of it. The only thing I reacted to was when I felt Patrick’s hand on my shoulder, and I turned to look at him.
“You’ve got this, Hollis,” he said when our eyes connected. I nodded at him. I had this.
While I waited for the curtain to pull back for me to enter the arena, I thought about my opponent, Carlos Agustin. I could hear the crowd react as he was introduced and entered the arena. He was twenty-eight years old, 190 pounds, six feet tall, and from Chicago. Carlos Agustin had bounced around the light heavyweight class for years. He’d won many fights, but never a title match. Agustin had many more years of experience over me… but he wasn’t me.
“Let’s meet his six-foot-two opponent from California.” The announcer’s voice filled the arena. The gap between the bottom of the curtain and the floor lit up brightly. “At just eighteen years of age and weighing in at one-ninety-five… Hollis ‘The Dragon’ Waaarrrd!” The curtain pulled back as the announcer dragged out my last name, and I led Team Dragon to the cage.
Though there were tons of flashes from cameras, fans yelling and cheering, I let none of it distract me. I knew it was all there and going on, but I was here for one thing: Carlos Agustin. This had been my dream since I was nine, and cameras, fans, noise, nor an intimidating looking opponent with over ten years of experience was going to distract me.
Team Dragon surrounded me at the base of the stairs as the cut man applied the Vaseline to my face. A referee stepped in front of me right after the cut man moved away. The ref checked me over to make sure I didn’t have any excess petroleum jelly on my body that would make me slick during grappling. He checked my fingernails to make sure they were trimmed back and wouldn’t be a hazard to Agustin. The ref did the cup check and then I showed him my mouth guard.
“Good luck to you,” the ref said.
I was cleared to enter the cage. I climbed the stairs and rolled my shoulders again.
“Hollis!” Marty yelled my name before I stepped into the cage. I turned to look at him and saw him point to his head. Though he didn’t say anything else, I could hear his words in my mind. Your greatest weapon is between your ears. Use your head. I nodded and stepped into the cage. The energy from the crowd was incredible! I was so pumped!
We exchanged a few jabs and some kicks. I threw a jab with my right hand to the right side of his forehead and immediately jabbed with my left to the left side of his forehead. I could hear the crowd go crazy as Agustin stumbled back. Yeah! I faked a left jab but delivered another jab with my right to his forehead. As he leaned away and lowered his head to duck, I slipped in a left uppercut. The arena erupted when Agustin reeled back and fell on his ass. I got you, fucker! He slowly tried to scramble to his feet and threw a desperate, dismal jab that I knocked away. I stepped toward him as he tried to recover and slyly got my left foot behind one of his feet. I shoved at his chest and then tripped him up, sending him to the ground. I quickly straddled his midsection, pinned his right arm to the ground with my left hand in the bend of his elbow, and started to pound his face repeatedly. The ref slid in, quickly shielded Agustin with his body, and motioned me away.
I won! I fucking won!
I punched the air with excitement as an unbelievable amount of energy rushed through my veins. I held my arms up in victory as I took long, quick strides around the cage. I found Team Dragon and pointed to them with my left hand while I punched the air with my right fist. They were the reason I was here and still standing. They rushed up the steps and into the cage, and Marty wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the ground in a bear hug.
“Damn, Hollis! Fifty-five damn seconds! You’re going to move so fast from mid-list fights to be a true contender in this class!” Marty yelled over the roaring crowd.
“Fifty-five fucking seconds, Hollis!” Patrick yelled when I found him and hugged him.
“Go collect your first win, Hollis!” Herb slapped me on the back as he and Fletch guided me toward the referee.
I nodded in respect to Carlos Agustin as he stood to the left of the referee. He smiled and nodded at me and stretched his arm toward me to bump it.
“Good fight,” I said to him as I bumped his fist.
“The winner of tonight’s light heavyweight match,” the announcer said and paused dramatically. The referee pulled my arm up in the air, and the announcer’s voice boomed, “Hollis ‘The Dragon’ Ward!”
“Good match, gentlemen,” the referee said to both of us.
Carlos Agustin wrapped his arm around my back and patted it with his glove.
“Good fight, Ward! You’ve got a hell of a career ahead of you!” he yelled loud enough so I could hear. I nodded again in appreciation and respect.
As I walked in a small circle around the cage while the cameras flashed, I saw a vision of an older version of me also walking victoriously around the cage. As long as I was smart and used my head, that would be me in twenty years.
Damn right!
