The Glowing Edge

Tag: break

  • Christy Martin Breaks Hand, Wins Title

    Christy Martin Breaks Hand, Wins Title

    Last Saturday at Battle at the Expo 2 the announcer brought my trainer into the ring between fights to tell the world that Bonnie “Queen B” Mann planned to come out of retirement, and might be able to get a fight with three-time world title holder Christy Martin, whose record was 48-5-3 until this week. Martin is 41 years old, and has been on a mission to bring her record to 50 wins before retiring.

    That mission, and the hopes of a fight between my trainer and Martin, may now be in serious doubt.

    This week in Syracuse, NY, Martin fought Dakota Stone (9-7-5) in a 10 round co-main event for the WBC Female Junior Middleweight Championship. At the beginning of the 10th round, Christy Martin threw an overhand right in an effort to finish the show with a knockout. “I knew the second I did it that it was broken,” she said later. She spent the rest of the round keeping her right in and working her jab, and won the majority decision, bringing her record one notch closer to her goal.

    Stone, who is 40, was irate with Martin’s success. “I’ve broken my hand in fights and nobody knew it,” Stone said. “I didn’t let it show and I didn’t play that card like she did in there, making sure everybody knew she broke her hand.”

    Although it sounds a bit like sour grapes on Stone’s part, it does make me wonder whether Martin might be able to heal up enough to get to 50 wins. Getting older sucks when it comes to quick and thorough recoveries, and a boxer’s hands are critical. It can be done, but it will definitely be a battleground if Martin decides to keep going.

    She was quoted after the fight as saying that she was ready to hang up the gloves. I’m hoping she’ll change her mind as she begins to heal. I’m ready to see Martin v. Mann, what ever it takes.

    Image Credit: Gloria Wright, in the Boxing Debuts at the State Fair Grandstand set
    *I don’t know how the permissions on this photo work; it wasn’t clear on the site. I’ll be glad to take it down if necessary, but I hope that everyone will go over and see the incredible shots the photographer got of the fight. LCB

  • Running out of bad words

    Running out of bad words

    2240243119_585494bd57_oWarning: Boxing is a contact sport. Any contact sport can be dangerous and result in serious injury. Anyone using this equipment must assume the risk of any serious injury.

    Every piece of boxing gear I own says this, and you can trust the author: it’s perfectly true. I have had a sprained wrist (training for boxing), injured shoulder (training for boxing), and now a busted rib (boxing). The first two I whined about, but with this one I have run slap out of bad words and need to borrow some, if you have any extras lying about.

    The biggest fattest ass-pain about this is trying to get in bed at night, attempting sleep movements (just don’t), and trying to get out of bed in the morning. If we could dispense with the whole “people should rest at night” thing I’d probably be just fine. Although that may be taking it a bit far.

    The doctor was all nonchalant: “Yeah, I see this ALL the time, football players with rib injuries,” then, belatedly, “How did you get this injury again?”

    He flattered me out of the meds I wanted, though. He said, “Most of the guys who come in here are moaning and can’t breathe, all hunched over.…” He eyed me standing there calmly, and considered his hunchbacks of Notre Dame football boys. “You seem to be doing pretty well,” he concluded, “You’re in pretty good shape.”

    Things I wish I’d said at that point:

    “Boxer chicks are tuff.”
    “I had natural childbirth three times.”
    “You should see me skip rope.”
    “I have a tattoo.”

    What I actually did was stand there and nod my head stupidly when he said he thought I could probably get by on ibuprofen. He did tell me he would write a prescription “if you really think you need it,” but I was enamored with the idea of being tuff and lost my chance. Crap. (See what I mean about the bad words?)

    He also told me that the football players wear a piece of gear that protects their ribs, and he dashed out of the examining room, then came back to tell me the name of the supplier. I started to remind him that I wasn’t a football player, but opted out in the end. I’ll bet the football gear says the same crap the boxing gear says anyway.

    So. I’m out of the game for a couple of months, and the main reason I’m grouchy is that it is just so hard to get in condition. Getting in condition is harder than getting in the ring and you spend more time and energy doing it. Given how horrifying the thought of getting hit in the ribs is right now, I feel a fair amount of trepidation about getting in the ring, but I’m guessing that will fade as I heal. And I have to start with conditioning anyway, so my main focus will be on figuring out how to do that. Again. Damnit.

    Image by melissajonas on Flickr