The nerves started once I arrived in Lafayette, Louisiana. I checked in on a Saturday for the tournament.
When checking in, only your coach goes in, but you get a free bag and water bottle, and a lanyard with a card on it which lets you get into the event for free.
I did a quick workout Sunday, but that night I started feeling sick and couldn’t sleep. I didn’t get out of bed all day on Monday, hoping I would feel better by the time my fight came.
I had a fever, chills, a sore throat, and a headache. My dad was loading me up on medicine to make me get better and feel better for the time being.
The night before my fight I had gotten only 2 hours of sleep. I had to wake up for weigh-ins at 6 a.m.
Weigh-ins are intimidating. You see all the fighters that will be competing with you. There are fighters of all ages and all weights.
First you check your weight on the trial scales, then you head to the arena where they make the fighters line up on the bleachers to wait their turn to weigh-in and see the doctor.
Once it’s your turn, you dress down to your underwear and see the doctor who makes sure you are healthy by checking your blood pressure and heart rate.
There are many doctors to do this, so it goes by pretty fast.
After weigh-ins, I went home and got some rest because I was a part of the evening session at 6 p.m. I had all day to rest.
My dad and I arrived at the Cajundome to start warming up after I had slept all day.
While warming up I did not feel good. I had chills and it was hard to move. My dad had given me Motrin, Dayquil and a sports energy drink to wake me up.
It worked a little. I felt better, but I wasn’t in the shape I’ve been training to be in. The nerves were getting to me and I wasn’t in the right mindset.
I had negative thoughts, thinking about the possibility of me being hurt and losing, but I kept warming up and was trying to be as optimistic as possible.
Before I was up to fight, there were officials who checked my hand wraps, cup and mouthpiece. They then provided me with gloves and headgear.
My dad had me hitting the mitts to keep me warm for my fight.
When I was finally up to fight, I went to the side of the ring to wait for the referee to call me up. When he did, I made my way up into the ring and waited for the announcer to call my name.
They called me to the center and the referee reminded me and my opponent of the rules. We touched gloves and headed back to our corners.
The first round started and my nerves disappear once the bell rings. This round goes by fast and I feel like I dominated. Four judges had me winning and only one judge had my opponent winning the round.
The second round is where the fight went downhill. The ill feeling started to kick in and I started to get tired. I lost this time after three judges had him winning and two had me winning.
The third round was the worst. I was tired and my body was aching, but I had to muscle through. I got beat up, but I kept pressing forward, doing my best to fight at my range.
My opponent had all the judges’ decisions. I had lost the round.
At the time, I wasn’t sure who had won the fight because you don’t get to know the score until the end, but they announced the winner of the bout.
“Out of the… blue corner!” they announced.
I was very disappointed in myself. The money, time, and effort felt like it was all wasted on me.
My opponent was very kind and respectful after the fight, and I still ended up proud of my performance, even under the ill conditions I was in.
