Free Abandoned by Lee Shepherd Page B

hard, Charlie, I could really do with you on the team. It’s about time we beat them navy bastards!’
    It only just dawned on Charles now that this wasn’t any old training session. Marcus had actually been watching him with clear interest over the past few weeks and, with the upcoming Inter Service boxing tournament only six weeks away, Marcus had hoped that the promising young fighter would throw his name into the hat. But without that happening until now, he had decided to take matters into his own hands. Therefore it had been no coincidence he had met Charles in the gym that day.
    Charles threw himself into his Combat Medical Technician training over the following weeks. He did, however, take Marcus up on his offer, and after impressing the army boxing coach, he excitedly joined the team and was matched up to fight another young heavyweight from the Royal Navy’s boxing team at the upcoming tournament.
    ***
    For the next three weeks he underwent some seriously intensive sparring sessions with the other fighters, and when fight night finally arrived, he was raring to get through the ropes and unleash his inner fury on to his opponent. His opponent was a big, bulky, young black male fromLondon’s tough east end, by the name of Tyrone Williams. After knocking out his last two opponents, Tyrone was highly confident and had huge expectations from his fellow team members and coach, especially when they learnt that he was up against a novice in his first bout. This did not faze Charles, however, as he knew he was accustomed to receiving heavy beatings over the years. If he could take the pain Jim had put him through all those years and not be broken, there was no way anyone was going to beat him in the ring!
    As the bell sounded at the beginning of the first round, Tyrone rushed menacingly towards Charles, planning to bully him with his size and strength until he finally succumbed to the pressure. It was fruitless, however, as Charles had a game plan of his own — although very simplistic in nature. The plan was to just keep on hitting the larger Tyrone with every ounce of strength he could find, and not stop until one of them was either knocked out or unable to continue.
    Tyrone managed to land the first couple of shots, bloodying Charles’ nose in doing so, and sensed he was in for an easy win as he tried to pin Charles against the ropes and into the corner. Charles tried to remember what his coach had said to him about remaining calm under pressure and not fighting in anger, as this only caused you to make mistakes. He decided to ignore this advice though, as he could feel a burning rage deep inside of him. No longer would he stand back and be on the receiving end of violence.
    In that split second he remembered all the action
    movies he used to watch, and thought especially about his two heroes, as Tyrone tried to land yet another combination. Time to fight back, he thought.
    As Tyrone swung a big overhand punch towards his face, what happened next stunned and amazed the crowd: Charles unleashed a shuddering left hook that seemed to travel all the way from the soles of his feet, right through his body, before finally landing with devastating effect right on the side of Tyrone’s jaw line.
    Tyrone was instantly knocked out by the vicious blow. The crowd were in uproar; all of Charles’ fellow platoon from ‘S’ company had gathered to watch and were absolutely blown away as the nearing seventeen-year-old underdog, Charles, totally annihilated the Navy’s hot prospect inside the first round.
    ‘That was fantastic, Charlie boy! I knew you had a natural ability for boxing, I just knew it!’ Marcus babbled, as they made their way back to the communal dressing room where the other fighters awaited their bouts.
    Charles wasn’t used to this new found adoration and positive reinforcement, but it was welcomed nonetheless. Charles’ popularity grew over the following weeks as the other recruits, many of which were a few