After the horrible Labor Day weekend with the McCall loss, I went home and after a few days off, went back to work with my lawn service. I was comatose with disappointment every day, and replayed the stupid choices I had made in my mind, over and over again, like a broken record album. It was hard to not think of what could have been, instead of what actually was.
To get out of my funk, I decided to take my mom out to Vegas for the weekend of September 16. She loved to play slot machines, so I knew she would enjoy herself, and I would certainly relish her company as well. There was also a fight that Saturday night at the MIrage, one I had planned to bet big on if Oliver McCall hadn’t fought like the ‘Atomic Bum’ two weeks earlier. Julio Cesar Chavez was fighting David Kamau, and I still was going to try to make some cash on Chavez, with what little money I had left.
The whole weekend was very pleasant with my mom keeping me company, quite a contrast to the miserable one two weeks earlier. We stayed at Bally’s on the strip, withing walking distance of everything, since I didn’t waste money on a rent-a-car for only a two day trip. We enjoyed meals and playing a few slots, before I headed to the Mirage on Saturday night, to try and make a few bucks.
Terry Norris was on the undercard fighting a guy named David Gonzalez, with the over under at about 4 rounds. I dropped a grand on the under, which would have made me a quick two grand. After paying $100 for my seat to the bout at one of the ballrooms at the Mirage, Norris put Gonzales on the deck in the opening round, before I could even reach my seat. Unfortunately, the guy got up and lasted past the four round mark, meaning another loss on the books. I was as pissed as I could be, and wondered if I could ever get a damn break.
I took $3,000 and put it on Chavez to win a decision over Kamau, which would net me $5,000 if it happened. I was so disgusted that I left the Mirage with my mom, and we headed back to Bally’s. While she stayed in the casino, I headed up to the room, and called my brother on the phone.
I listened to him give me play by play while he was at my house, watching the fight on Showtime on my big screen TV. The bout was about two thirds of the way done when I called him, and asked him to commentate on what he was watching. Fortunately Chavez won the decision, and I finally had a win under my belt, which left me with a $4,000 profit for the weekend.
When I found my mom in the casino, she was so relieved, and we enjoyed the next day, Sunday eating and having a relaxing day. I went home feeling a little bit better about everything, and decided to try to still figure a way out of debt by wagering on the thing that I loved most, professional boxing.
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