Recession Proof: Chapter Five

“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”   -Abraham Maslow

Round two began with Amadi coming across the ring in a very aggressive manner, hoping to catch Trace by surprise. Trace reacted calmly and moved to his right, away from Amadi’s dangerous right hand, maintaining his guard. Amadi’s first punch was a lead right that was thrown with bad intention, and it missed horribly, resulting a slight stumble and a wry Akingbade smile. Trace’s concentration was keen, rivaled only by the Steve’s, whose dark eyes narrowed, beaming like lasers while he took in the action. Even watching a fight, Steve’s intense focus was steely.

With barely a minute gone in round two, it was already becoming apparent that Amadi Akingbade did not have the boxing skills of Trace McFadden. Certainly their styles were a contrast, but Trace was more polished in his southpaw counter   punching technique than Amadi was in his orthodox one-two approach.  Each time Amadi threw a lead left jab, Trace cut it off with his own counter right jab, noticeably throwing off Akingbade’s timing and any opportunity he had to throw his big right hand behind it. When Amadi tried to close the gap between the two fighters and get inside where an uppercut might do some damage, Trace stepped back and to his right, firing stinging left hands to Amadi’s exposed ribcage, sometimes doubling up the punch.   

Trace’s eyes carefully followed Amadi’s foot movement, careful not to fall for faints, and he seemed to have the shorter fighter figured out by mid round. By the end of round two, Amadi’s jab had become ineffective and the straight right hands which predictably followed, were missing. McFadden’s straight left was finding its range and his lead right hook was beginning to do some visible damage. A slight welt appeared over Amadi’s left eye.

At the end of the round Steve leaned over, breaking his silence, and whispered “Trace is going to knock out Amadi in round three-” His prediction was followed with an explanation “Counter punching is an art. Skilled counter punchers make their opponents miss and then make ‘em pay. Ultimately, they do the hitting and don’t get hit. The idea behind it is to land effective blows that make their aggressive opponents afraid to throw a punch. When the aggressors get too tentative, they turn into punching bags and the counter punchers have their way. There is no fighter more dangerous than an effective counter puncher-”