Page 79 of Undefeated

Mc Claskey’s feet shuffled, and Shane pushed against him. At the same time, Shane swiveled his body and moved around Mc Claskey. As he did, he went to the center of the ring and began to bounce up and down on his feet.

Thank God.

My heart started racing as soon as Shane got out of the corner. Mc Claskey was now in the center of the ring, pushing against Shane, his fists held up against his face. As he pushed against Shane, Shane unleashed into his mid-section and threw a few wild uppercuts that missed.

“Get him baby!” I screamed.

I slapped Ripp’s shoulder and squealed, “He’s getting him, Ripp. He’s getting him.”

Mc Claskey swung a punch up into Shane’s jaw, and it forced his head back sharply. Shane stumbled, and as soon as he did, I heard Ripp.

“Oh, god damn,” Ripp mumbled.

“What?’ I turned toward Ripp.

“Oh fuck,” Ripp responded, staring at the ring, his hands quickly covered his mouth

I turned back to the fight. MC Claskey jabbed toward Shane, and hit him directly in the face as he was stepping backward away from him. As soon as the punch hit Shane, he went down to the mat.

“Oh my God. Oh my God, Ripp. He’s hurt!” I screamed.

Seeing Shane down on the mat was unsettling to me. I don’t think Shane has ever been knocked down, ever. He says, never been down and never been out, which means he’s never been knocked down and never been knocked out. He’s undefeated for a reason. Shane is better than this, something’s wrong. I reached in my pocket, closed my eyes, and rubbed the dog tags again.

Please, God. Make Shane see what he always sees. Make him understand what to do to keep from getting hurt. I am not asking you to have him win this fight. All I want, Lord, is for you to make him understand what he always understands. Make him see what he always sees. I love him Lord, don’t let him get hurt or die.

Amen.

“Good, thank God,” Ripp said as he pulled his hands from his mouth.

“What?” I asked as Shane quickly stood up.

“See how the referee waved his hands?” he asked, pointing to the ring.

I hadn’t seen it, but I agreed, “Yes.”

“The Referee ruled it a slip, not a knockdown. Thank God. If this goes to the cards, that’d kill him,” Ripp whispered.

“Oh. Good,” I whispered back.

“Get him babe,” I screamed.

Shane was covered in sweat and his arm muscles were flexing each time he threw a swing or got close to the other fighter and defended himself. Seeing him hit the other fighter was exciting and made me wish he would start doing better. This Mc Claskey guy was huge and I didn’t like him beating on Shane.

Ding!

As soon as Shane came to the corner, Kelsey started yelling at him. Kelsey screamed at Shane the entire break. He even hit Shane’s arm a few times as he screamed. He turned and pointed toward Ripp and I a few times as he screamed at Shane. I didn’t like seeing Kelsey or Shane like this.

The third round and the start of the fourth round were just like the first two rounds. Shane and Mc Claskey traded punches, and no real progress made by Shane toward winning. A few times, Mc Claskey got Shane into the corner. According to Ripp, it’s impossible to get Shane in the corner. Ripp said something was wrong with Shane. I wondered about what had changed since Shane’s last fight.

The dog tags. This is the first fight he hasn’t had the dog tags during a fight. Well, he doesn’t know they’re here. Maybe he needs to know I brought them.

Or.

Maybe my being selfish and bringing them to the fight was making him lose. Maybe he doesn’t want them here for a reason. I began to wonder if my bringing the dog tags was causing Shane to fight like this. As the fourth round was coming close to the end, I considered walking to the trash barrel by the ring and throwing them away.

I looked back up at the fight. As Shane stepped from the corner, Mc Claskey swung a wild punch toward Shane. The punch caught Shane’s shoulder as he was stepping away, and Shane went down to the mat again. Ripp screamed.

“It was a slip, Ref, it was a fucking slip.”