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It is the night of the big
fight and the two boxers are in their dressing rooms. Johnny Evans is
only twenty years old, but he is already national champion
at
middleweight.
His opponent
is "Fast
feet" Freddie. At forty years
old.
He has never before fought
for
the title. This is
the final chance in his long boxing career.
If he doesn't win, then he has no choice but to quit. Johnny doesn't
want to give him that chance. It's his title.
He's young and determined,
and in
fantastic
shape. Freddie, on the
other hand, is a bit overweight and a bit slow, but he has
lots of strength and experience.
Johnny is warming up
in his
room, sweating as he practises his punching.
'Who's the champion?' Johnny
asks his trainer,
Bobby McGee.
'You are, Johnny. You're the champion. You're the king.'
'That's right. I'm the king. And I'm gonna show Freddie that he is
always a loser.'
'You do that Johnny. You show him that his
time is over.
He can't beat
you, not tonight, not ever.'
'I'm gonna knock him out. I'm always the
winner. I'm the champion.'
'That's right, Freddie. You're the
man!'
Freddie's dressing room is
quiet. Freddie
and his old trainer Mike O'Grady have been
together since Freddie was a teenager. The old trainer knows his
fighter well and understands how Freddie feels tonight. He massages
Freddies broad
shoulders as he gives him a final pre-fight
talk.
'This is your night, Freddie. Tonight is the night that you become
champion. You have the experience to beat him. He's too young and
too stupid to beat you. Tonight you're going to leave the ring as new
champion.'
'That's right, Mike,' says Freddie, looking into his trainer's eyes.
'I've waited all my life for tonight. I can't fail. I must win.'
The two boxers are called into
the arena.
The fight is sold-out. First, Freddie enters the ring to the
loud cheers from the thousands of spectators.
Then Johnny enters and his fans go
wild
with excitement. There are hundreds of flashes from
cameras as everyone takes photos of their heroes.
The two men stand face to face in the centre of the ring.
The referee
tells them both to fight within the rules. They stare
into each others
eyes and then return to their corners
and wait for the bell to ring.
The first round of the fight is slow, with Freddie moving in a circle and Johnny following him, trying to force him into a corner. The two men exchange a few punches, but neither of them seems very aggressive. Johnny's jabs keep stopping Freddie from coming forward and Freddie seems frustrated. Suddenly, near the end of the round, the young champion, Johnny, manages to hit Freddie with two great punches - a right hook and an uppercut. The older boxer's head jerks backwards and he falls to one knee. The fans cheer and the referee starts to count to ten. Luckily, Freddie isn't hurt badly and he stands up quickly.
Johnny comes out very confidently
at the start of
second
round and his punches are
getting through Freddie's guard
and causing his right eye to swell up.
The older boxer tries to protect
himself but his young opponent is too fast. By the end of the round,
Freddie can hardly
see out of his eye. He sits
down on his stool and Mike, his old trainer, says to him, 'Freddie,
listen to me. Your eye is bad. You can't continue all twelve rounds.
The doctor will stop the fight if you get cut. You need
to knock Johnny out. You need to win the fight now. Do you understand
me?'
Freddie nods
his head. He knows this is
his last chance.
The bell sounds for the start
of the third round and both fighters move quickly towards each other.
Freddie surprises the young champion with three good punches: a jab,
followed by a right hook and a body
shot,
and Johhny
falls back against the ropes. The older boxer continues to hit his
young opponent, using his strength to weaken the champion. It looks
like Johnny is going to be knocked out, but
suddenly he moves to his left and hits Freddie on the jaw
with all his
strength. Freddie staggers
backwards and then he falls onto the floor. The fans roar.
He is on his back,
breathing heavily, with the referee standing over him,
counting, 'One!...Two!...Three!...'
Freddie can't get up. He can't move. 'Four!... Five!...' Johnny is told
to
go to his corner and wait. 'Six!... Seven!...' Freddie can feel his
last
chance slipping away. This is it. The end of his career. The younger
champion has defeated the older fighter. 'Eight!... Nine!.... Ten!' The
doctor jumps into the ring to help Freddie, and the referee holds
Johnny's arm high in the air and says 'Still, the middleweight
champion, Johnny Evans.'
The crowd goes
wild. But Johnny kneels down beside Freddie and whispers in his ear, 'I
love you dad. You taught me everything I know. I'm sorry I had
to beat
you tonight.'
Freddie Evans looks up at his son and says, 'Son. You're a great
champion. I'm proud of you.'
Adjectives
determined:
Having a strong desire to do something, and so will not stop.
broad:
= wide.
aggressive:
Behaving in an angry way, showing that you are ready to fight.
frustrated:
Feeling unhappy because you cannot change a bad situation.
Adverbs
hardly:
Almost not.
confidently:
Believing that you can deal with something successfully.
Verbs
fight
for a title:
To box and try to win a championship. (fight>fought>fought)
be
in fantastic shape:
When you are very healthy because of lots of sports training.
warm
up:
To do gentle exercise to get warm, before you start doing a sport.
beat:
To get more points, score more goals, etc, and so defeat another
person/team.
go
wild:
To lose control because you are excited.
stare:
To look at something for a long time without moving your eyes.
exchange:
To give someone something and receive a similar thing back.
jerk:
To move in a short and quick way.
swell
up:
To become bigger, especially because of injury.
protect:
To try to stop something or someone becoming hurt.
nod
your head:
to show you understand or agree, by moving your head up and down.
stagger:
To walk in a very unsteady way because you are hurt or drunk.
Nouns
a
champion:
Someone who has won a competition, especially in sport.
middleweight:
A weight division in boxing that is between 78kg and 84kg.
an
opponent:
Someone who is against you in a competition.
a
title:
For example 'World Champion'.
a
trainer:
A person who helps you improve your sports performance.
an
arena:
A building where people watch sports or entertainment.
a
spectator:
Someone who is watching an event or sport.
a
boxing ring:
The square place where boxers fight, surrounded by ropes.
a
corner:
The corner of a boxing ring, where the boxers sit between each round.
a
round:
A three-minute part of a boxing match. there may be twelve rounds in
total.
a
jab:
A straight punch.
a
right hook:
A punch that travels in a curve, and hits the opponent from the side.
an
uppercut:A
punch that starts low and travels upwards, often
hitting the jaw.
a guard: The defensive
position that a boxer has when his hands protect himl.
a
body shot: A punch to the body.
a
jaw:
The part of your face including your lower mouth and chin, to your
ears.
Expressions
"Fast
feet":
A nickname used because the boxer moves quickly.
his
time is over:
Used to say that someone's career is finished.
You're
the man!:
Used to say that someone is the most important or best person.
Prefixes
pre-:
= before.
'pre-fight' = 'before the fight'.