#Muaythai.chronicles
October 5th, Ajarn Khan’s Fight Series 4.
The first bell was at 5 p.m., and Vince’s fight was #13, so Vince had some time to really let the fight-day jitters work their way into his head. Kru Arash’s fight however started at 10 am when he had to get Vince’s outdated bloodwork accepted so Vince could actually have a fight and then stop Vince’s fight-day jitters from working their way in, all day.
I joined Vince for a walk outside as he didn’t want to be near the fights. I asked how he was feeling and why he preferred to be away from the action. He said “ I’ve been training hard for a few weeks, but the challenge really starts and ends in 11 minutes. I’ve been preparing physically, but today is all mental, trying to stay present during the fight. It’s hard to think when you’re in the ring and nearly impossible to think fast”. I asked what he was worried about. He said “ I got a concussion once during training. It was at a different gym. My sparring partner and I had one leg inside a tire, locked in to spar in close range. I took a hook to my chin. I can take hits to my body, but my face, it’s different. And my opponent, Alex Ayala, he is 10 years younger, you know. I’m 44”. I started feeling very worried. Kru Arash had mentioned Vince is overthinking the fight. I reminded him that Alex had no prior fights. “ I have had one fight, and I lost. I was dealing with a crisis… My house was on fire a week before the fight. My mind wasn’t in the ring, so I lost. And that was over a year ago! I don’t think I have anything over Alex. When you’re in the ring, you forget your technique too”. In an attempt to cheer him up, I asked him if he had picked a song, and he said “ There is no point! My ears stop hearing when I’m up and when I get in the ring”. I started to think this doesn’t sound good, and I should go get Kru Arash, but then Vince continued “ I want my next fight to be soon. In a few months. And the fights after that, too! I don’t want the fights to be a year apart”. When Vince started planning his next fights, I realized he was okay and fighting was still in his system. He was ready. As Kru Arash said, Vince was just overthinking it.
We came back inside. Ako had arrived, too. He wasn’t very happy that he didn’t have a fight. He kept wanting to jump in the ring and knock people out, and kept yelling and asking for bloodshed. I thought the next fight event, we should get Babak to come to keep Ako in line. This is the greatest idea! Ako was anxious to watch Firas Darwish’s fight. Firas was whom Ako allegedly lost to a while back because the fight was called off by the referee prematurely. To this day, Ako thinks the fight was unjust, and the referee took his chance to fight away. Ako is in a different weight class now, so he can never get his rematch. We watched Firas’s fight with Jeffery Cooke, a few fights before Vince’s. Firas was strong. I would say it was a fight of elbows. Firas didn’t skip a beat all the way to the end of the third round with the same level of energy he had started with, and he won the fight. I felt Ako got some closure watching Firas’s fight.
Finally, it was Vince’s time. He started strong but took a few hard knees. It was the first round, and Vince seemed as if he was already gassing out. The referee had to stop the fight a few times. Vince was losing the first round. His body language and posture were of someone who had given up. I looked over at Kru Arash. He had a smile on and was calm. Kru Arash was still fighting for Vince. I don’t know what he said to Vince or what he promised him after the first round, but it brought Vince back. If anyone can tell me, there is a $100 reward! The second round was close to a tie in my opinion, and I couldn’t tell who won, but Vince was definitely back in the fight. And came the third round… Vince was strong and in control. He swept Alex with a kick while Alex was balanced on both feet!! It was as if Vince had risen from the dead. Alex might have had some physical fitness over Vince for being much younger, but Vince was definitely fitter mentally, and that won him the fight!
✒️ Tahmineh
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