At the highest levels of amateur boxing, a fighter is bound to run into very close fights.
This is especially the case when it involves a clash of styles, a battle of two counterpunchers being today’s example.
Nick Arce and his trainers, Jose and Nacho Saucedo, were well aware of all of this going into the semifinals of the National Blue and Gold Tournament.
At the sweltering hot Community Center of South El Monte, California, where a few electric fans did their damndest to combat the ninety-degree weather, boxers from different parts of country came to participate in a highly competitive tournament.
Amateur bouts on a Saturday usually start at 1:00 pm, but the overwhleming number of fights forced officials to start the fights two hours earlier.
As an assistant to the Saucedo Brothers, I saw first hand the hard work that went into Nick’s preparation.
We’d spent weeks training for the fight, running at Kenneth Hahn Park in Los Angeles, California before a rigorous boxing workout to finish our busy mornings at the gym.
It was a five-day routine that we’d done weekly, culminating each week’s end with a leg workout we’d call “Fun Fridays.”
The past week had been a particularly good one as Nick sparred with a local 140-pounder and nearly dropped him in the third round. It was one of the rare times I saw a fighter’s leg actually wobble crazily during sparring.
Two days prior to the semifinals, Nick was only three pounds away from the amateur Lightweight limit of 132 pounds. A few rounds of jump rope, shadowboxing, and bagwork with a sauna suit easily helped him lose the last few pounds.
Needless to say, he was in great shape and very well prepared.
Nick’s previous five fights had been impressive, as he has won nearly all of them against opponents with over fifty fights.
Today, however, we found ourselves against a counterpuncher just like Nick, but without the power that he possess.
Most of his recent bouts were against tough opponents who came forward, so it took a while to acclimate to his opponent’s style.
The first round was tough, as his opponent waited patiently for Nick to make mistakes. Only a few punches were landed in round that Nick arguably lost.
Sometimes the patience of a quick counterpuncher can throw a fighter off of his game plan.
In the corner, Nacho told Nick that his opponent couldn’t see his jab coming, which indeed he couldn’t. But what was most important was the added confidence Nick needed to launch a quick assault to win the fight.
Indeed, as we yelled for feints and double jabs from his corner, Nick began to find his range, landing a double jab right followed by a counter uppercut at close range.
Nevertheless, despite doing much better in rounds two and three, it was hard to prevent a close loss.
As the referee rose the hand of the fighter across from us, an upset team could only console Nick, tell him what he could have done better, and remind him that there will be more fights to come.
“I didn’t get the win but I’m still proud of my team and myself,” Nick said.
The long walk back to our cars is always a tough one after a loss, but we know the future looks good.
As Jose told the the team as we walked out of the building, “Time to get back to work!”
Work will begin soon, but first a little Labor Day vacation.
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