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He was around forty-five, balding, with dark brown hair and prominent eyebrows He was cleanshaven He had a luhter once hiured they would have introduced him They were not exactly awash in celebrities, and anybody who'd gone three rounds in the Golden Gloves stood a good chance of being called up to take a bow for the FBCS caside; all he'd have had to do was climb over the ropes and bask in the applause

There was a boy with hi on the boy's shoulder while he gestured with the other hand, pointing things out in the ring I assuh I couldn't see ht brown hair with a sharply defined 's peak Any 's peak the father one The father wore a blue blazer and gray flannel slacks His tie was light blue, with black or navy polka dots, big ones, close to an inch in diameter The boy wore a red plaid flannel shirt and navy corduroy pants

I couldn't think how I knew him

THE third round looked even to me I didn't keep count, but I had the iuez hit hih, and they had ot in When the round ended I didn't look over at theinstead at another er, thirty-two to be exact He stood about five-eleven and he was built like a light heavyweight He had shucked his suit jacket and tie and earing a white button-down shirt with a blue stripe He approached the sort of handsos, a combination of chiseled features and attitude, spoiled by a little too much fullness in the pouty lower lip and a brutish thickness to the nose A full head of dark hair, styled and blown dry A tan, a souvenir of a week in Antigua

His na the telecast for Five Borough Cable Sportscasts He was standing on the ring apron now, outside of the ropes, talking to a ca us that the fourth round was co us a bit more than that in her abbreviated costume The audience at ho a beer commercial while she showed the world what she had She was a tall, leggy girl with a lush figure, and she was displaying a lot of skin

She ca to Thurave her a pat on the fanny She didn't see wo touched Maybe they were old friends She was all pink, though, so it seeot out of the ring and he cliot off their stools and it was tiuez got the straight right in and opened up a cut over Rasheed's left eye Rasheed jabbed a lot and hauez with body punches, and toward the end of the round snapped his head back with a good uppercut Doht at the bell I had no idea how to score the round, and said as o ten"

"Who do you like?"

"I like the black fellow," he said, "but I don't care for his chances Pedro's too fucking strong"

I looked over at the man and the boy "That fellow over there," I said "First row, sitting next to the kid Blue jacket, polka-dot tie"

"What about him?"

"I think I know hinize him?"

"Never saw him before"

"I can't think where I know him from"

"He looks like a cop"

"No," I said "Do you really think so?"

"I' he has that look You knoho he looks like? It's an actor who plays cops, I can't think of his name It'll come to me"

"An actor who plays cops They all play cops"

"Gene Hackain "Hackuy's burly where Hackot more hair, doesn't he?"

"Jesus help us," he said "I didn't say he was Hackman I said that's who he looks like"

"If it was Hackman they'd have made hi cousin they'd have ht," I said "There's a definite resee, mind you, but-"

"But there's a resemblance That's not why he looks familiar I wonder where I know his, maybe"

"That's possible"

"Unless that's a beer he's drinking If he's aa beer, would he now?"

"Probably not"

"Although not all of your lot make it, do they?"

"No, not all of us do"

"Well then, let's hope it's a Coke in his cup," he said "Or if it's a beer, let's pray he gives it to the lad"

DOMINGUEZ got the better of it in the fifth round A lot of his big punches h and hurt Rasheed He rallied nicely at the end but the round still clearly belonged to the Latin fighter

In the sixth, Rasheed took a straight right to the jaw and went down

It was a solid knockdown and it brought the crowd to its feet Rasheed was up at five and took the ht count, and when the ref ing for the fences Rasheed obbly but he showed a lot of class, ducking, slipping punches, playing for tiamely The knockdown came fairly early in the round, but at the end of the three minutes Rasheed was still on his feet