26- Ariyah Nova Stevens
I had no idea what round we were in, and I’m sure that was a bad sign.
All I knew was Tricky’s gloves seemed to keep finding my face, and mine barely found hers at all.
Just as I had the thought, she threw a jab that slipped through my arms before following up with a right that knocked my head back, causing me to stumble.
The crowd exploded; again. They had been doing that shit all night.
Every time she hit me, they asses screamed.
If I lucked up and got a hit in on her, it sounded as if somebody was politely clapping in the back.
Seeing Tricky coming forward, I could see it in her eyes she was about to throw everything at me.
I dropped low to avoid the hit, but it was too low, and she caught me.
Her gloves crashed against my temple, causing my legs to give out.
Before I could register what was happening, the mat caught me.
Looking up, everything was spinning. Blinking a few times, I tried to get my vision clear.
“Five!” I blinked at the ref, confused. When the hell did he get to five?
“Six.” I wished his ass would shut the fuck up.
Rolling onto my knees, I commanded myself to get up.
My body felt like it was buried in cement, but I didn’t stop trying.
Using every piece of strength I had, I pulled up.
Hopefully in time. I looked around for the ref trying to see if I lived to fight another day.
He grabbed my gloves, stared into my eyes, and I nodded.
“I’m good.” Whatever he saw must have let him know I was good, so he motioned for us to continue.
Tricky walked her bean head ass over to me smiling, and I wanted to knock that shit off her face.
At this point, I would have settled for a hit that made her blink.
Going back into my stance, I winced from the pain.
Not wasting any time, she began swinging away. Body, body, jab to the face.
I dropped low like they had been drilling in my head the past month, but when I came back up, the bitch caught me again.
Wobbling back, I fell against the ropes.
When she charged me, I turned my wrist and threw a power punch that should have rocked her back a few steps at least. Instead, a pain shot up my arm causing me to wince.
Fuck! She was beating my ass, and now, I’m helping her.
I pulled back, but not fast enough. She saw it.
Before she could do anything, the bell rang.
I wanted to yell out thank you Jesus as I made my way to the corner the best way I could.
Pippy immediately began working on my face.
“Nova, what is happening out there? This bitch is having her way with you and you’re not doing shit to stop it.” Fixer was pissed, but I didn’t blame him.
“I’m trying.”
“Block, duck, slap her. Hell, do something besides letting her beat on you for the whole round.” He shoved a straw in my mouth, so I rinsed before spitting it back in the bucket. “When she goes upstairs, you go low. Stop being scared to get down there.” I looked at him like he was crazy.
“Do you not see me doing that? I’ve been-…”
“No excuses. Show me something or I’m ending this shit.” I looked over at the crowd, and Danger was sitting there looking at me disappointed. I wondered if he hated he attached his name to mine. “Do you hear what I’m saying to you?” Fixer yelled forcing me to look back at him.
“Yeah.” I stood and they removed the stool.
I couldn’t be mad at him because he wasn’t wrong.
This was my first professional fight. Hell, a fight I’ve been begging for.
They all said I wasn’t ready, and now the whole world gets to see that they were right.
Mouthpiece back in, I tried to psych myself up like I was ready by shaking my arms and rolling my neck.
That shit hurt like a mufucka, but the bell had sounded and I didn’t have time to try and work it out.
As soon as we got in the middle, she swung.
Tricky didn’t give me time to breathe, let alone strategize.
I ducked, she missed, but when I came back up, she caught me again.
It’s like I had nothing to counter against this move.
Even when she didn’t connect, by the time I moved, she got me with the next hit.
Nothing was fucking working. It wasn’t like I wasn’t listening, or had thrown all my training out the window.
I did everything they taught me the last month, and this hoe was still beating my ass like I owed her money.
She backed me into the ropes, and all I could do to limit the assault was throw my hands up.
There was no way Fixer was going to let me come back out here next round.
I had nothing to give in this fight. Tricky was having her way with me.
“Get off the ropes.” I heard someone screaming, so I tried my best to move toward the center.
The crowd erupted as if someone had gotten knocked out, and unless my ass was in delulu land not realizing I was on the ground, I had no idea what had happened.
Tricky was circling me, and I knew she was trying to set me up for a stoppage.
My corner more than likely was going to end this fight, but I didn’t want to go out on the mat.
Keeping my eyes on her, I moved trying to anticipate her move.
The crowd screamed again, but this time, it seemed closer.
Glancing over, I saw him. Landon. What the fuck was he doing here?
I tried to focus, but now my mind had gone into dangerous territory.
I was thinking about something outside the ring, and I couldn’t afford that kind of mistake.
Turning to face Tricky, I realized I was too late when her glove collided with my jaw.
The bell rang, and I walked towards my corner.
He climbed in the ring with Fixer and Pippy, shocking everyone.
“What the fuck you think you doing?” Fixer tried to stop him, but Landon snatched away.
“You better check with registration. My name is listed.”
“How?” Fixer was confused.
“Because I put it there.” I forgot he set the fight up. They knew it had to be true because if it wasn’t, they would’ve disqualified me. Knowing we didn’t have time to argue about it, Pippy went to work. “Ariyah, what the fuck are you doing?”
“Losing, what it look like?” Landon looked at me annoyed.
“I can see that, but I’m talking about your training. You’re leaving yourself wide open.”
“They said-…”
“And why are you going so low? You’re playing right to her strengths.”
“They-…” His ass kept cutting me off.
“Listen, stop throwing your power punches like that. If you get a good hit, you’re going to fracture your wrist.”
“Hey, we know what the fuck we’re doing.”
“We don’t have time for your fucking ego.” He crouched in front of me while putting the straw in my mouth. “Ariyah, look at me.” I looked him in the eyes. “Your arms are too far out. You’re not covering your face. Throw everything you just learned out the window. The shit ain’t working.”
“Okay,” I said willing to try anything. “But what does it matter? Fight is over. I lost.”
“What do I always say?”
“The fight ain’t over until the bell rings in twelve.”
“Exactly. So why the fuck you acting like this mufucka already won? You know what to do, and I know you know because I taught you. Let’s go.
” Standing up, I waited for the bell to ring.
For the first time all night, I didn’t have to think about what I was doing.
I tucked my elbows to my chest, gloves over my face, and got in my stance that felt natural.
Tricky swung, but I blocked it. The next one landed, but I countered with one of my own.
It wasn’t clean, but it was more than I had been giving before now.
She threw a right, left, and a jab, but I came back with a clean right hook that landed.
For the first time tonight, the crowd erupted on my behalf, and the smile that Tricky wore all night, had disappeared.
The rest of the round went about the same.
She continued to hit me, but the effect wasn’t the same.
They weren’t fazing me as much. The last hit I gave knocked her back.
Not by much, but I saw it. The bell rang, and I turned toward my corner.
I wasn’t smiling, but I damn sure wasn’t dragging myself across the mat in pieces. Landon climbed back in when I sat down.
“How did that feel?”
“Better than the other nine rounds.” Pippy was working my shoulders and rubbing Vaseline over my face, while Landon told me what to do next.
“She wants your head,” he said like he had come up with something profound.
“You think? She’s been trying to knock that mufucka off all night.”
“Exactly.” He crouched in front of me while I looked at him for answers. “She wants the knockout so bad, she not protecting nothing else.” My eyes trailed over to Tricky.
“Her body.”
“Now you acting like you was trained by me. This round, I only want you to attack the body. Nothing else.”
“What if I see an opening?”
“What the fuck I just say?”
“Only attack the body.” Landon rubbed my burn scar before standing up.
I’m sure it was out of habit, but it sent a chill down my body.
Getting off the stool, I opened my mouth so they could put my guard in.
The bell rang, and I went toward the middle.
Tricky’s first punch landed on my shoulder damn near spinning me around.
Grimacing, I put my hands up and threw a jab at her side.
When that one connected, I immediately followed up with another one.
She continued to swing at my head, occasionally landing some.
I was trying to block, and get her body at the same time.
For a while, it wasn’t working. Until it did.
Taking a chance, I let my guard down and threw a power right hook.
Her eyes widened, letting me know she felt that shit.
I threw two more jabs to the same side, before countering with a left hook to her other side.
That one cost me though. She came back with an uppercut that would have sent me to the moon in the earlier rounds.
We were now going blow for blow. For every hit I gave, she sent back.
My entire body hurt, but he was right. It wasn’t over, so I intended to give her everything I had.
Mustering up all my strength, I sent a shot into her ribs that rocked her back.
That one hurt her. She felt it, and I saw it.
The bell rang, and now I walked off with new confidence.
Reality was, I wasn’t winning this fight, but at least I can preserve some of my dignity.
When I walked back to the corner, Landon was smiling this time.
“Did you see that?” I asked excitedly as I sat down.
“What’s our next move? She needs to go for the knockout. That’s our only chance,” I agreed with Fixer.
“Not yet. We got two rounds left to do this shit right. You gotta make her work.” I looked at Landon like he had lost it.
“She been working on my ass all night.”
“And until now, that’s been a stroll in the fucking park. She’s been having her way with you the entire fight. So, what that tell you?” He waited for me to understand.
“She’s not tired.”
“Exactly. You don’t have enough to knock her out right now, but if you do what I’m telling you, you will. What’s our game plan?”
“Attack the body.”
“Keep her on the ropes and go to work. No matter how much she tries to move you to the middle, circle her back to the ropes. You can take it. Hell, you’ve been taking it.
She’s been hitting you with everything she has, and you still standing.
You just gotta take it for a lil while longer.
Trust me. Attack the body, and tire her out.
That’s the plan.” I nodded in understanding.
“Don’t be scared to rest your body on her either. The ref going to break it up, but the damage will be done. Put all your weight on her ass,” Fixer was finally on board with Landon’s plan.
“Okay.” They exited the ring, and I stood up.
Yeah, my shit felt like it was falling off the bone, but I had made it this far.
Gearing up, I made my way to the middle when the bell rang.
Before I could do anything, she caught me with a right hook to the temple.
My legs wobbled, but I fought to stay upright.
You just gotta take it for a lil while longer. Trust me.