He was quick. His fist connected with my jaw, snapping my head sideways. The crowd roared and cheered. Others laughed. Then, I tasted blood. I swiped my mouth.
He swung heavy again, too wide and confident. I ducked, came up, but he caught me in the rib, taking my breath away. I stumbled but didn’t fall, blocking his next hits when he went in for the kill.
For a minute, I thought he had me. Then I heard my Pop’s voice.Study him.The lights flickered like he was sending a sign. Nobody paid attention to it but me.Don’t fight to hurt. Fight to control. Control the rhythm.
He swung again. Missed me by a hair.
Find his soft spot.
I stepped back. Vision clear. The noise from the crowd faded. I watched him instead of reacting. His right jaw twitched. He dropped his guard and his shoulder twitched before he went in for a throw. That’s when I knew he was coming.
Found it.
I stepped in, guard up, head back. Sent a punch to his ribs; his guard was open. Hard enough to shake him. He let out a sharp breath.
The crowd roared.
Not wanting to react and chase the finish, I started blowing. Body. Shoulder. Body, then breathe. Every jab landed. He was thrown off. Incoherent. I watched that arrogance fade.
I call you Rayzor because you hit sharp,Pops said.
The room became smaller. Spotlight on me.
He couldn’t regain as I went blow for blow, locking him in and finishing him. One last hook. He fell, hitting the mat hard, gasping. Tears dripping onto the mat. I wanted to smirk but contained it.
His blood stained the mat. The ref slid in and counted down.
“1…” he yelled.
He rolled on his side.
“2…”
He pushed off his fists.
“3…”
He collapsed.
The crowd went crazy as fuck.
“We got a winner!” the ref announced. “What’s your name, kid?”
The noise came rushing over me again.
I shook it. “Rayzor.”
“Razor?” he repeated.
“R-A-Y-Z-O-R,” I enunciated.
Razor is original. You’re different. The Y adds flair.Pops initiated me with my name.
“Rayzor,” he repeated with an approving nod.
He announced it to the crowd.
They shouted my name, whistled and even barked. It was alive and so was I.
